LIMEN360 - Coastal Services Development and Capacity Building

Spascat is leading the project LIMEN360 - Coastal monitoring to address the implementation of EU policies in Italian beach concessions.

The main objective of our project is to improve the understanding of the dynamic state of the coastline, particularly in highly occupied bathing zones with permanent or temporary infrastructure which are directly affected by the sand surface availability. This will be achieved by deploying the Limen360 platform service. The proposed service is to be used both by UE coastal policymakers administrations and private entities/citizens which will inform about the risk of erosion and sand movement in the aforementioned highly occupied bathing areas. In particular, we will be focusing on the province of Lecce in the Italian region of Puglia.

The project will be carried out through the collaboration of two intra-communitary industrial partners: Spascat, leading it; and on the other hand, Coste360, a start-up based in Lecce (IT) focused on providing all the information related to bathing area concessions in Italy through their portal will provide the expert area knowledge on Italian policy-making and the application aspect of the project in the bathing zones in Italy, including their definitions, occupation levels, and environmental conditions.

What is COPERNICUS?

Copernicus is the European Union’s Earth Observation Flagship Programme, looking at our planet and its environment for the ultimate benefit of all European citizens. It offers information services based on satellite Earth Observation, in situ (non-space) data and numerical models. The Programme is coordinated and managed by the European Commission. It is implemented in partnership with the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the European Environmental Agency (EEA), Mercator Ocean International, other EU Agencies. Vast amounts of global data from satellites (including Copernicus Sentinel satellites), from ground based, airborne and seaborne measurement systems and from numerical models are being used to provide information to help service providers, public authorities and other international organisations improve the quality of life for the citizens of the world. The information services provided are freely and openly accessible to its users.

What is the role of Mercator Ocean International in the Copernicus Programme?

Mercator Ocean International was selected by the European Commission (EC) to implement the Copernicus Marine Service in 2014. Mercator Ocean is an “Entrusted Entity for the Copernicus Marine Service”: The EU delegates to Mercator Ocean International the role and responsibility of implementing the EU budget for delivering the service. Mercator Ocean International manages the Copernicus Marine Service on behalf of EU and reports to the Commission. Mercator Ocean organizes the design, development and operations of the service with its own skills and the support of contractors duly selected through open competition.

What is the Copernicus Marine Service?

The Copernicus Marine Service is the marine component of the European Union’s Copernicus Programme. IIt provides free, open-access, and science-based information on the state of the Ocean at both global and regional scales. This includes data on the physical Ocean (Blue Ocean), sea ice (White Ocean), and Ocean biogeochemistry (Green Ocean).

Funded by the European Commission and implemented by Mercator Ocean International, the service supports the implementation of EU policies and International legal Commitments related to Ocean Governance. It also aims to meet the growing demand for reliable Ocean knowledge across society, and to foster sustainable development in the Ocean sectors (Blue markets | CMEMS ) by providing state-of-the-art Ocean data and forecasts. The Copernicus Marine Service supports major EU and international policies and initiatives, and contributes to a wide range of applications, including marine protection, climate change monitoring, pollution tracking, maritime safety, sustainable use of marine resources, and the development of renewable Ocean energy. It is also an asset for scientific research and innovation, and plays a key role in raising public awareness of Ocean-related issues by making complex Ocean information accessible to citizens all around the world.