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Summary

Area

The specific boundaries of the geographic or political region for which in situ data is required.

name	description	link
Antarctic	Applicable within region south of 66°33´ South.
Arctic	Applicable within region north of 66°33´ North.
Atlantic Iberic Biscay Irish area	Applicable within maritime region of ocean waters off western Europe
Atlantic Ocean	Applicable within maritime region of the Atlantic Ocean
Baltic Sea	Applicable within Baltic Sea region
Black Sea	Applicable within Black Sea region
Continental	Applicable over specified continent.
Disaster affected areas	Applicable within specified impact region
Disaster risk hotspots	Applicable within specified region of risk
EEA33	Applicable within the 33 EEA member nations
EEA38	????
EEA39	Applicable within the 33 EEA member nations and 6 cooperating countries
EU member states	Applicable within EU member borders
EU27	Applicable within the 27 EU nations excluding the UK
Europe	Applicable within Europe
Global	Applicable globally.
Global Land	Applicable globally for all solid surfaces
Global (outside Europe)	Applicable globally, outside Europe
Local	Applicable within the specified sub-national district
Marine
Marine / Land
Mediterranean Sea	Applicable within Mediterranean Sea region
National	Applicable within the specified country
North Atlantic, North West shelf	Applicable within maritime region of the northwest Atlantic Ocean
Regional	Applicable within the specified region
N/A	Not Applicable
Other

Barrier

High level barriers used to illustrate the main reasons why a given in situ data requirement cannot be meet for the product in question.

name	description
Accuracy	The accuracy of the data set is not meeting the requirements
Availability	The availability of the data set is restricted due to technical or access condition reasons
Costs	The cost of the data set or service is not sustainable
Coverage	The coverage of the data set is partial
Data policy	Access and use condition are too restrictive
Format	The available format is not exploitable
Metadata	Missing or incomplete metadata
Resolution	The spatial resolution is not sufficient
Support	The access to the data set is not technically supported by the data provider
Timeliness	The period in between the data collection and data access is too large
Update Frequency	The data set frequency of updating is lower than the required one
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be defined

Compliance level

A measure of how much the data set addresses the given requirement.

name	description	link
Fully	The data set is fully compliant with the requirements
Partially	The data does not fully match the requirements
None	The data does not match the requirements
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be defined

Component

acronym	name	service	entrusted entities
MWR	Micro-Wave Radiometer	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
SRAL	Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
OLCI	Ocean and Land Colour Instrument	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
SLSTR	Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
SLSTR/OLCI	Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer/Ocean and Land Colour Instrument	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
CCC	Climate Change	Copernicus Climate Change Service	European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
EWC	Early Warning	Copernicus Emergency Management Service	Joint Research Centre
BSC	Border Surveillance	Copernicus Security Service	European Border and Coast Guard Agency
MSC	Maritime Surveillance	Copernicus Security Service	European Maritime Safety Agency
AMC	Atmosphere Monitoring	Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service	European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
MMC	Marine Environment Monitoring	Copernicus Marine Service	Mercator Ocean International
TROPOMI	TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
Sentinel-5	Sentinel-5p	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
Se-3-Ocean	Sentinel-3-Ocean	Copernicus Space Component	European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
Sen-3-Land	Sentinel-3-Land	Copernicus Space Component	European Space Agency
	Priority Area Monitoring	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre
	Land Cover and Land Use Mapping	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre
	Bio-geophysical Parameters	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre
	Satellite Data	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre
	Reference and Validation Data	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency Joint Research Centre
	Ground Motion Monitoring	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	European Environment Agency
SESA	Support to EU External and Security Actions	Copernicus Security Service	European Union Satellite Centre
EM	Exposure Mapping	Copernicus Emergency Management Service	Joint Research Centre
RM	On demand Rapid Mapping	Copernicus Emergency Management Service	Joint Research Centre
RR	On demand Risk and Recovery	Copernicus Emergency Management Service	Joint Research Centre

Copernicus service

acronym	name	description	website	created_at	updated_at
CAMS	Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service	The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides continuous data and information on atmospheric composition. The service describes the current situation, forecasts the situation a few days ahead, and analyses consistently retrospective data records for recent years.	http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
CEMS	Copernicus Emergency Management Service	The Copernicus emergency management service (CEMS) provides all actors involved in the management of natural disasters, man-made emergency situations, and humanitarian crises with timely and accurate geo-spatial information derived from satellite remote sensing and completed by available in situ or open data sources. The Copernicus EMS consists of a mapping component and of an early warning component.	http://emergency.copernicus.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
CLMS	Copernicus Land Monitoring Service	The Copernicus land monitoring service (CLMS) provides geographical information on land cover and on variables related, for instance, to the vegetation state or the water cycle. It supports applications in a variety of domains such as spatial planning, forest management, water management, agriculture and food security, etc. The service became operational in 2012 and it consists of three main components: A global component; A Pan-European component; and A local component.	http://land.copernicus.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
CMEMS	Copernicus Marine Service	The Copernicus Marine Service (or Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service) is the marine component of the Copernicus Programme of the European Union. It provides free, regular and systematic authoritative information on the state of the Blue (physical), White (sea ice) and Green (biogeochemical) ocean, on a global and regional scale. The observations and forecasts produced by the service support all marine applications.	http://marine.copernicus.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Nov. 25, 2022, 12:04 p.m.
C3S	Copernicus Climate Change Service	The Copernicus Climate Change service (C3S) responds to environmental and societal challenges associated with human-induced climate changes. The service will give access to information for monitoring and predicting climate change and will, therefore, help to support adaptation and mitigation. It benefits from a sustained network of in situ and satellite-based observations, re-analysis of the Earth climate and modelling scenarios, based on a variety of climate projections. The service will provide access to several climate indicators (e.g. temperature increase, sea level rise, ice sheet melting, warming up of the ocean) and climate indices (e.g. based on records of temperature, precipitation, drought event) for both the identified climate drivers and the expected climate impacts.	http://climate.copernicus.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
CSS	Copernicus Security Service	The Copernicus service for Security (CSS) applications aims to support European Union policies by providing information in response to Europe’s security challenges. It improves crisis prevention, preparedness and response in three key areas: Border surveillance; Maritime surveillance; and Support to EU External Action.	http://www.copernicus.eu/main/security	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
CSC	Copernicus Space Component	N/A	N/A	July 12, 2019, 2:24 p.m.	Feb. 24, 2021, 1:27 p.m.

Criticality

A measure of the relevance of the requirement for the provision of reliable products.

name	description	link
Desirable	Availability of data could improve the product. Data are included for redundancy purposes
Essential	Product specifications will not be met if essential data are unavailable.
Optional
Useful	Additional in situ data not directly linked to product generation, validation or calibration are considered as useful.
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be defined

Country

flag	code	name
	AF	Afghanistan
	AFR	Africa
	AX	ÅLand Islands
	AL	Albania
	DZ	Algeria
	AS	American Samoa
	AD	Andorra
	AO	Angola
	AI	Anguilla
	AQ	Antarctica
	AG	Antigua And Barbuda
	AR	Argentina
	AM	Armenia
	AW	Aruba
	AU	Australia
	AT	Austria
	AZ	Azerbaijan
	BS	Bahamas
	BH	Bahrain
	BD	Bangladesh
	BB	Barbados
	BY	Belarus
	BE	Belgium
	BZ	Belize
	BJ	Benin
	BM	Bermuda
	BT	Bhutan
	BO	Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
	BA	Bosnia And Herzegovina
	BW	Botswana
	BV	Bouvet Island
	BR	Brazil
	IO	British Indian Ocean Territory
	BN	Brunei Darussalam
	BG	Bulgaria
	BF	Burkina Faso
	BI	Burundi
	KH	Cambodia
	CM	Cameroon
	CA	Canada
	CV	Cape Verde
	CAB	Caribbean
	KY	Cayman Islands
	CF	Central African Republic
	TD	Chad
	CL	Chile
	CN	China
	CX	Christmas Island
	CC	Cocos (Keeling) Islands
	CO	Colombia
	KM	Comoros
	CG	Congo
	CD	Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
	CK	Cook Islands
	CR	Costa Rica
	CI	Côte d'Ivoire
	HR	Croatia
	CU	Cuba
	CY	Cyprus
	CZ	Czech Republic
	DK	Denmark
	DJ	Djibouti
	DM	Dominica
	DO	Dominican Republic
	EC	Ecuador
	EG	Egypt
	SV	El Salvador
	GQ	Equatorial Guinea
	ER	Eritrea
	EE	Estonia
	ET	Ethiopia
	EU	European
	FK	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
	FO	Faroe Islands
	FJ	Fiji
	FI	Finland
	FR	France
	GF	French Guiana
	PF	French Polynesia
	TF	French Southern Territories
	GA	Gabon
	GM	Gambia
	GE	Georgia
	DE	Germany
	GH	Ghana
	GI	Gibraltar
	GR	Greece
	GL	Greenland
	GD	Grenada
	GP	Guadeloupe
	GU	Guam
	GT	Guatemala
	GG	Guernsey
	GN	Guinea
	GW	Guinea-Bissau
	GY	Guyana
	HT	Haiti
	HM	Heard Island And Mcdonald Islands
	VA	Holy See (Vatican City State)
	HN	Honduras
	HK	Hong Kong
	HU	Hungary
	IS	Iceland
	IN	India
	ID	Indonesia
	INT	International
	IR	Iran, Islamic Republic Of
	IQ	Iraq
	IE	Ireland
	IM	Isle Of Man
	IL	Israel
	IT	Italy
	JM	Jamaica
	JP	Japan
	JE	Jersey
	JO	Jordan
	KZ	Kazakhstan
	KE	Kenya
	KI	Kiribati
	KP	Korea, Democratic People'S Republic Of
	KR	Korea, Republic Of
	KW	Kuwait
	KG	Kyrgyzstan
	LA	Lao People'S Democratic Republic
	LV	Latvia
	LB	Lebanon
	LS	Lesotho
	LR	Liberia
	LY	Libya
	LI	Liechtenstein
	LT	Lithuania
	LU	Luxembourg
	MO	Macao
	MG	Madagascar
	MW	Malawi
	MY	Malaysia
	MV	Maldives
	ML	Mali
	MT	Malta
	MH	Marshall Islands
	MQ	Martinique
	MR	Mauritania
	MU	Mauritius
	YT	Mayotte
	MX	Mexico
	FM	Micronesia, Federated States Of
	MD	Moldova, Republic Of
	MC	Monaco
	MN	Mongolia
	ME	Montenegro
	MS	Montserrat
	MA	Morocco
	MZ	Mozambique
	XX	Multiple Countries /Not a specific country
	MM	Myanmar
	N/A	N/A
	NA	Namibia
	NR	Nauru
	NP	Nepal
	NL	Netherlands
	NC	New Caledonia
	NZ	New Zealand
	NI	Nicaragua
	NE	Niger
	NG	Nigeria
	NU	Niue
	NF	Norfolk Island
	MP	Northern Mariana Islands
	MK	North Macedonia
	NO	Norway
	OM	Oman
	OTH	Other
	PK	Pakistan
	PW	Palau
	PS	Palestinian Territory, Occupied
	PA	Panama
	PG	Papua New Guinea
	PY	Paraguay
	PE	Peru
	PH	Philippines
	PN	Pitcairn
	PL	Poland
	PT	Portugal
	PR	Puerto Rico
	QA	Qatar
	XK	Republic of Kosovo
	RE	Réunion
	RO	Romania
	RU	Russian Federation
	RW	Rwanda
	BL	Saint Barthélemy
	SH	Saint Helena, Ascension And Tristan Da Cunha
	KN	Saint Kitts And Nevis
	LC	Saint Lucia
	PM	Saint Pierre And Miquelon
	VC	Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
	WS	Samoa
	SM	San Marino
	ST	Sao Tome And Principe
	SA	Saudi Arabia
	SN	Senegal
	RS	Serbia
	SC	Seychelles
	SL	Sierra Leone
	SG	Singapore
	SK	Slovakia
	SI	Slovenia
	SB	Solomon Islands
	SO	Somalia
	ZA	South Africa
	GS	South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands
	ES	Spain
	LK	Sri Lanka
	SD	Sudan
	SR	Suriname
	SJ	Svalbard And Jan Mayen
	SZ	Swaziland
	SE	Sweden
	CH	Switzerland
	SY	Syrian Arab Republic
	TW	Taiwan, Province Of China
	TJ	Tajikistan
	TZ	Tanzania, United Republic Of
	TH	Thailand
	TL	Timor-Leste
	TG	Togo
	TK	Tokelau
	TO	Tonga
	TT	Trinidad And Tobago
	TN	Tunisia
	TR	Turkey
	TM	Turkmenistan
	TC	Turks And Caicos Islands
	TV	Tuvalu
	UG	Uganda
	UA	Ukraine
	AE	United Arab Emirates
	GB	United Kingdom
	US	United States
	UM	United States Minor Outlying Islands
	UY	Uruguay
	UZ	Uzbekistan
	VU	Vanuatu
	VE	Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic Of
	VN	Viet Nam
	VG	Virgin Islands, British
	VI	Virgin Islands, U.S.
	WF	Wallis And Futuna
	EH	Western Sahara
	YE	Yemen
	ZM	Zambia
	ZW	Zimbabwe

Data format

The general category of format with whom the in situ data is provided.

name	description	link
ASCII	A generic Ascii file
Binary	A generic binary file
Excel file	An Excel spreadsheet
Grid	The grid is a native Esri raster dataset storage format
INSPIRE format
Multiple
NetCDF	NetCDF
Raster dataset	A raster is a set of cells arranged in rows and columns and is a commonly used dataset in GIS
Vector dataset	A coordinate-based data model that represents geographic features as points, lines, and polygons
N/A	Not Applicable
TBD	To be defined

Data policy

The policy dictated terms associated with access to required data and any associated costs.

name	description	link
Freely accessible	Data set and information accessible without any fee but than can be subject to re-dissemination policy
Full and Open	Data set and information accessible without any fee and supported by redistribution policy
Members state/provider data policy
Payment Required	Data set and information accessible only under payment
Restricted	Sensitive data set and information accessible only to a restricted gruop of user and/or with restriction in the redistribution
N/A	Not Applicable
TBD	To be defined

Data provider definitions

name	description
Data Provider	Individual institution, organization or commercial entity that is the originator or the final distributor of the in-situ data. A Data Provider can be part of a wider Data Provider Network.
Data Provider Network	A network, a group or an association of institutions, organizations or commercial entities supporting the collection, organization and distribution of in situ data.
Edmo code	Identifier code in the European Directory of Marine Organisations (https://edmo.seadatanet.org/)

Data provider roles

name	description
Originator	Who is in charge of the creation, updating and maintenance of the data.
Distributor	Who is responsible for the distribution/supply of the data. The distributor should provide information about the data owner.

Data type

Provide a classification of in situ data which characterise how the data contents are represented.

name	description	link
Analysis	Information obtained by the analysys of remote sensed or collected data set
Copernicus Service Product	Data sets with significant in-situ contributions, produced by a Copernicus Service and used by other Copernicus Services for production or validation.
Composite	Aggregation of disparate or separate data set or information
Forecast	Data set or information calculated in advance
Geospatial data	Numerically represent a physical object, events or other features identified by a geographic coordinate system (latitude, longitude).
Image	The representation of a portion of the Earth produced by an optical or electronic device. Common examples include remotely scanned data, satellite images, aerial photographs and drone images. An image is stored as a raster dataset of binary or integer values.
Map	A bi/three-dimension representation, on a flat surface, of the features of, or a portion of, the Earth
Observation	Data or information obtained by surface-based and airborne in-situ instruments, as well as by surface-based remote sensing.
Re-analysis	Information obtained by a subsequent analysys of remote sensed or collected data set
N/A	Not Applicable
TBD	To be defined

Definition level

A requirement, essential for a product or family of products, for in situ measurement of a critical physical, chemical or biological variable.

name	description	link
Firm	Result of impact studies of actual data used in actual applications of numerical or conceptual models.
Reasonable	Not firm, but based on a strong heritage of experiments with similar data.
Speculative	Generic interest expressed; requirement figures not provided; experimentation envisaged
Tentative	Positive impact expected but not yet validated due to lack of suitable data and/or models.
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined

Dissemination

The technical means by which the in situ data is accessed.

name	description	link
Client Service	An application that communicates with a remote central server
Delayed mode	Delayed mode
Download Service
Database or data repository	The data is accessed through a database extraction or data repository (e.g., a folder).
INSPIRE Service
NRT Service	Near Real Time Service that enable the access to data set and information in a period between the real time measure and the release after the data processing
OGC Service	The Open Geospatial Consortium recognised services
Offline	Absence of services to access data swet and information
View Service
View and Download Service	Access through web browser interface that enable the view or the download of data set and information
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined

Entrusted entity

acronym	name	website	created_at	updated_at
EEA	European Environment Agency	https://www.eea.europa.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
ECMWF	European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts	https://www.ecmwf.int/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
MOi	Mercator Ocean International	https://www.mercator-ocean.fr/en/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Nov. 25, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
EMSA	European Maritime Safety Agency	http://www.emsa.europa.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
FRONTEX	European Border and Coast Guard Agency	http://frontex.europa.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
SATCEN	European Union Satellite Centre	https://www.satcen.europa.eu/	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
JRC	Joint Research Centre	https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en	Nov. 6, 2017, 11:30 a.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
ESA	European Space Agency	https://www.esa.int/ESA	July 12, 2019, 2:28 p.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
EUMETSAT	European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites	https://www.eumetsat.int/website/home/index.html	July 12, 2019, 2:28 p.m.	Jan. 30, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
EUMETSAT	European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites	https://www.eumetsat.int/	March 28, 2022, 12:58 p.m.	March 28, 2022, 12:58 p.m.

Essential variable

A requirement, essential for a product or family of products, for in situ measurement of a critical physical, chemical or biological variable.

domain	component	parameter	description	link
Atmosphere	Surface	Precipitation	Precipitation, either liquid or solid, is the most important climate variable directly affecting humans. Through either its duration, intensity and frequency or its lack of occurrence, it influences the supply of water, causes risks to life and livelihoods when associated with floods, landslides and droughts, and affects infrastructure planning, leisure activities and more. Precipitation is closely related to cloud properties, a number of terrestrial ECVs and to ocean-surface salinity. It is indicative of the release of latent heat within the energy cycle, as well as being at the heart of the hydrological cycle.	Link
Atmosphere	Surface	Pressure	The humidity of air near the surface of the Earth affects the comfort and health of humans, livestock and wildlife, the swarming behaviour of insects and the occurrence of plant disease. The humidity near the surface affects evaporation and the strength of the hydrological and energy cycles. Evaporation from the surface of the earth is the source of water in the atmosphere and so is responsible for important feedbacks in the climate system due to clouds and radiation.	Link
Atmosphere	Surface	Surface radiation budget	The Surface Radiation Budget is a fundamental component of the surface energy budget that is crucial to nearly all aspects of climate, and needs to be monitored systematically.	Link
Atmosphere	Surface	Temperature	Surface air temperature has profound and widespread impacts on both natural systems and on human lives and activities. It affects health, agriculture, energy demand and much more. Extremes of surface air temperature, both heat waves and extreme cold periods, are particular important for human health. Surface air temperature provides a key indicator of climate change, contributing to the “global surface temperature record”. A goal of limiting changes in global surface temperature provides the measure for the Paris climate agreement.	Link
Atmosphere	Surface	Water vapour	The humidity of air near the surface of the Earth affects the comfort and health of humans, livestock and wildlife, the swarming behaviour of insects and the occurrence of plant disease. The humidity near the surface affects evaporation and the strength of the hydrological and energy cycles. Evaporation from the surface of the earth is the source of water in the atmosphere and so is responsible for important feedbacks in the climate system due to clouds and radiation.	Link
Atmosphere	Surface	Wind speed and direction	Surface winds drive the exchange of momentum between the atmosphere and ocean, producing ocean waves and provides a key forcing of the ocean circulation responsible for the global transport of important amounts of heat and carbon. Extreme winds have huge social and economic impacts, most obviously during hurricanes and tropical cyclones, leading to loss of human life, damage to ecosystems, the destruction of infrastructure and loss of shipping.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Earth radiation budget	The Earth Radiation Budget (at the top of the atmosphere) describes the overall balance between the incoming energy from the sun and the outgoing thermal (longwave) and reflected (shortwave) energy from the earth. It can only be measured from space. The radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere is the basic radiative forcing of the climate system. Measuring its variability in space and time over the globe provides insight into the overall response of the system to this forcing.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Lightning	Lightning is one of the most dramatic weather phenomena, causing many fatalities as well as substantial loss and damage for example by forest fires, damage to electrical infrastructure and other sectors every year all over the world. On top, even more damage is caused by the storms which generate lightning. This direct link to convection makes lightning also a potentially valuable indicator to track and understand trends in storminess, particularly under climate variability and change. In addition, lightning itself impacts the global climate by producing nitrogen oxides (NOX), a strong greenhouse gas.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Temperature	Temperature is one of the fundamental state variables for understanding and predicting the behaviour of the atmosphere. It is basic to the energy budget of the climate system as a whole through the temperature dependence of the long-wave radiation of energy from the atmosphere to space. Upper-air observations are of key importance for detecting and attributing climate change in the troposphere and stratosphere because the warming of the troposphere and the cooling of the stratosphere are unique fingerprints of anthropogenic GHG. They are needed for the development and evaluation of climate models, and for the initialization of medium term and seasonal forecasts.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Water vapour	Water vapour is the predominant gaseous source of infrared opacity in the atmosphere, accounting for about 60% of the natural greenhouse effect for clear skies. Water vapour condenses to produce clouds, changing radiative properties and releasing latent heat that drives or modifies atmospheric circulation systems. Water vapour in the lower stratosphere, though present only in small amounts, is radiatively significant. Consequently, there is potential for additional climate change feedbacks through perturbations of the processes that control the amount of water vapour in the stratosphere, such as the Brewer-Dobson circulation that strongly influences tropical tropopause temperatures and the amount of CH4 oxidized in the stratosphere.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Wind speed and direction	Wind is one of the fundamental state variables for understanding and predicting the behaviour of the atmosphere. It is basic to the working of the climate system through transport of heat, moisture and trace constituents. Measurements of wind are vital for initializing and verifying climate projections and for detecting, understanding and attributing variability and change in the climate system.	Link
Atmosphere	Upper-air	Clouds	The variable properties of clouds determines the clouds profound effects on radiation and precipitation. They are influenced by and in turn influence the motion of the atmosphere on many scales. They are affected by the presence of aerosols, and modify atmospheric composition in several ways, including the depletion of ozone when they form in the polar stratosphere.	Link
Atmosphere	Atmospheric Composition	Aerosols	Atmospheric aerosols are minor constituents of the atmosphere by mass, but a critical component in terms of impacts on the climate and especially climate changes. Aerosols influence the global radiation balance by directly scattering solar radiation and indirectly through influencing cloud reflectivity, cloud cover and cloud lifetime.	Link
Atmosphere	Atmospheric Composition	Carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases	The atmospheric abundance of carbon dioxide (CO2), the dominant human-produced greenhouse gas, has increased by about 50% since pre-industrial times due to the proliferation of fossil fuel combustion. Methane (CH4) is also a strong greenhouse gas; its atmospheric abundance has more than doubled since the pre-industrial era because of human activities. Other significant greenhouse gases include nitrous oxide (N2O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).	Link
Atmosphere	Atmospheric Composition	Ozone	Ozone (O3) is a naturally occurring trace gas in the stratosphere that inhibits harmful UV radiation from reaching Earth’s surface. Ozone in the troposphere is a pollutant, harmful to all living things. Ozone is strongly linked to climate by its influence on Earth’s radiation budget. The amount of ozone in the global stratosphere began to decrease in 1980 due to catalytic reactions with chlorine and bromine from man-made CFCs and other halocarbons. Severe, seasonal depletions over Antarctica (“ozone hole”) have occurred annually since 1985. Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty enacted to curtail the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, stratospheric ozone levels are expected to return to pre-depletion values.	Link
Atmosphere	Atmospheric Composition	Precursors for aerosols and ozone	Precursor species lead to the production of aerosols and ozone. Precursors include nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and formaldehyde (HCHO). Aerosols and ozone in the near-surface atmosphere can directly harm human health and produce detrimental environmental impacts (e.g., crop damage, acid rain). Reductions in near-surface aerosols and ozone have been observed in specific regions where the emissions of some precursors are regulated.	Link
Land	Hydrosphere	Groundwater	It is estimated that groundwater accounts for about 30% of the world’s total freshwater resources, and it is by far the largest available reservoir of liquid freshwater. Groundwater counts in average for one third of the freshwater consumed by humans, but at some parts of the world, this percentage can reach up to 100%. Climate change affects groundwater recharge rates through changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration. However, attributing observed groundwater change to climate change is difficult because of the influence of land-use change and groundwater abstraction. The extent to which groundwater recharge and storage has already been affected by climate change is widely unknown. Climate change can also affect groundwater through saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers as sea level rises.	Link
Land	Hydrosphere	Lakes	Information on changes in lake level and area is required on a monthly basis for climate assessment purposes. Approximately 95% of the volume of water held globally in approximately 4 000 000 lakes is contained in the world’s 80 largest lakes.	Link
Land	Hydrosphere	River discharge	River-discharge measurements have essential direct applications for water management and related services, including flood protection. They are needed in the longer term to help identify and adapt to some of the most significant potential effects of climate change. The flow of freshwater from rivers into the oceans also needs to be monitored because it reduces ocean salinity, and changes in flow may thereby influence the thermohaline circulation.	Link
Land	Hydrosphere	Terrestrial water storage	TWS is the total amount of water stored in all continental storage compartments (ice caps, glaciers, snow cover, soil moisture, groundwater, surface water bodies, water in biomass). The change of TWS over time balances the budget of the water fluxes precipitation, evapotranspiration and runoff, i.e., it closes the continental water balance. TWS changes thus represent the net effect of climate variability and climate change as well as of anthropogenic impacts on the water cycle.	Link
Land	Cryosphere	Glaciers	Glacier changes provide independent and reliable evidence of climate change. Past, current and future glacier changes impact global sea level, the regional water cycle, and may increase local hazard risks.	Link
Land	Cryosphere	Ice sheets and ice shelves	The understanding of the timescale of ice sheet response to climate change has changed dramatically over the last decade. Rapid changes in ice-sheet mass have surely contributed to abrupt changes in climate and sea level in the past.	Link
Land	Cryosphere	Permafrost	The properties of frozen ground react sensitively to climate and environmental changes in high-latitude and high-altitude regions. This includes the temperature distribution in the permafrost layer and the depth of the overlying active layer where seasonal freezing and thawing occur. Changes in these quantities have important impacts on terrain stability, coastal erosion, surface and subsurface water, the carbon cycle and vegetation development.	Link
Land	Cryosphere	Snow	Snow refers to forms of ice crystals that precipitate from the atmosphere (usually from clouds) and undergo changes on the Earth's surface. Snow cover on the ground plays a significant role in the climate system due to its high albedo, heat insulation and contribution to soil moisture and runoff, thus an important variable in monitoring climate change.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Above-ground biomass	Vegetation biomass is a crucial ecological variable for understanding the evolution and potential future changes of the climate system. Photosynthesis withdraws CO2 from the atmosphere and stores carbon in vegetation in an amount comparable to that of atmospheric carbon. Vegetation systems have the potential either to sequester more carbon in the future or to contribute as an even larger source. Depending on the quantity of biomass, vegetation cover can have a direct influence on local, regional and even global climate, particularly on air temperature and water vapour.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Albedo	The land surface albedo is the ratio of the radiant flux reflected from Earth’s surface to the incident flux. It is a key forcing parameter controlling the partitioning of radiative energy between the atmospheric and surface. In the case of vegetation, a reference surface is typically defined at or near the top of the canopy and must be specified explicitly. Surface albedo depends on natural variations, highly variable in space and time as a result of terrestrial properties changes, and with illumination conditions and human activities and is a sensitive indicator of environmental vulnerability.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Evaporation from land	Terrestrial evaporation is an important process in the global water cycle. It acts like an air conditioner for the surface, as it absorbs radiation (latent heat) that otherwise would be used to warm up the atmosphere (sensible heat). At the same time, water vapour acts as a greenhouse gas by trapping radiation in the lower atmosphere. Evaporation acts as a climate change diagnostic, being very sensitive to changes in atmospheric composition and the Earth's radiation balance. Moreover, it plays a crucial role in dampening the intensification of drought and heatwave events, it is a pivotal variable for agriculture that determines the needs for irrigation, and it constrains human water management.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Fire	Fires have impacts on several identified radiative forcing agents. While they can be a natural part of many ecosystems, they have a strong human control, particularly in Tropical ecosystems. Fires contribute to the build-up of CO2 through deforestation and forest degradation, emissions from peatland fires, and alterations of fire regimes(more frequent, larger or more severe fires). They also emit CH4, and are a major source of aerosols, CO and oxides of nitrogen, thus affecting local and regional air quality. Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions due to fires are essential for realistic modelling of climate and its critical component, the global carbon cycle. Fires caused deliberately for land clearance (agriculture and ranching) or accidentally (lightning strikes and human error) are a major factor in land-cover variability and change, and hence affect fluxes of energy and water to the atmosphere.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR)	Solar radiation in the spectral range 400–700 nm, known as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), provides the energy required by terrestrial vegetation to produce organic materials from mineral components. The part of this PAR that is effectively absorbed by plants is called FAPAR. FAPAR is related to, but different from, Leaf Area Index, which describes the amount of leaf material in the canopy. FAPAR plays a critical role in assessing the primary productivity of canopies, the associated fixation of atmospheric CO2 and the energy balance of the surface. Monitoring FAPAR provides information on the amount and health cycle of vegetation.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Land cover	Land cover is the observed (bio)-physical cover on the Earth’s surface. It influences climate by modifying water and energy exchanges with the atmosphere and by changing greenhouse gas and aerosol sources and sinks. Land-cover conditions are inherently dynamic (i.e. seasonality) and distributions are linked to regional climatic conditions, so changes in cover can be due to climate change on a regional scale as well as directly due to human activities.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Land surface temperature	The Land Surface Temperature (LST) is the skin temperature of ground. It is mainly a product of albedo, the vegetation cover and the soil moisture. From a climate perspective, LST is important for evaluating land surface and land-atmosphere exchange processes, constraining surface energy budgets and model parameters, and providing observations of surface temperature change both globally and in key regions.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Leaf area index	The Leaf Area Index (LAI) of a plant canopy or ecosystem, defined as one half of the total green leaf area per unit horizontal ground surface area, measures the area of leaf material present in the specified environment. On sloping surfaces, the leaf area should be projected to the underlying ground along the normal to the slope. This dimensionless variable varies between 0 and values of about 10 or so, depending on local conditions. It partly controls important mass and energy exchange processes, such as radiation and rain interception, as well as photosynthesis and respiration, which couple vegetation to the climate system. Hence, LAI appears as a key variable in many models describing vegetation–atmosphere interactions, particularly with respect to the carbon and water cycles.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Soil carbon	Carbon in soils occurs in organic and inorganic forms. The inorganic carbon is derived from weathered bedrock, is relatively inert and constitutes little to the carbon cycle. Soil organic carbon is derived from plant and other decaying matter and is a significant part of the carbon cycle. About 10% of the atmospheric carbon cycles through soils each year. Soil organic carbon represents the largest terrestrial carbon pool, amounting to about two to three times the net size of the biomass pools. Carbon sinks may be explained by changes in above-ground biomass on seasonal to decadal timescales, but soil organic carbon stocks become significant on longer timescales, and can be a significant source at all timescales after disturbances.	Link
Land	Biosphere	Soil moisture	Soil moisture is an important variable in land–atmosphere feedbacks at both weather and climate timescales. It plays a major role in partitioning the incoming radiation flux onto the land into fluxes of latent and sensible heat from the land to the atmosphere, and in separating precipitation into runoff, subsurface flow, and infiltration. Soil moisture is intimately involved in the feedback between climate and vegetation, as both local climate and vegetation influence soil moisture through evapotranspiration, while soil moisture is a determinant of the type and condition of vegetation in a region. Changes in soil moisture can accordingly have substantial impacts on agricultural productivity, forestry and ecosystem health.	Link
Land	Anthroposphere	Anthropogenic greenhouse gas fluxes	Global anthropogenic emissions of Greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O and F-gases) continue to be emitted at an annual rate that is not yet significantly decreasing. The global warming potential of each of the greenhouse gases and their long residence time in the atmosphere are causing increased surface temperature and climate change. The scientific community illustrated with inverse models and data assimilation how consistent the reported inventories and the atmospheric observations are, which is taken up also in few national inventory reports (e.g. UK, Switzerland, Australia).	Link
Land	Anthroposphere	Anthropogenic water use	Data on water extractions by sector and available renewable freshwater provide key information on the availability of freshwater and the amount of water stress in a country. Climate Change is projected to reduce renewable surface-water and groundwater resources significantly in most dry subtropical regions. In contrast, water resources are projected to increase at high latitudes. Climate change is also projected to reduce raw water quality, posing risks to drinking water quality, even with conventional treatment. The availability of freshwater plays a crucial role in food production and food security.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Ocean surface heat flux	Surface heat flux is exchange of heat, per unit area, crossing the surface between the ocean and the atmosphere. It consists of the turbulent and the radiative components. These fluxes are major contributors to the energy and moisture budgets, and are largely responsible for thermodynamic coupling the ocean and atmosphere at global and regional scales, and variability of these fluxes is in part related to large-scale variability in weather and climate patterns.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea ice	Sea ice variability is a key indicator of climate variability and change in the polar regions. The primary parameters that define the state of sea ice include: concentration, area and extent, ice type, motion, deformation, age, thickness, and volume. The presence of sea ice strongly modifies surface waves and air-sea exchanges of heat, momentum, moisture and gases. Sea ice has a significant impact on the Earth’s albedo and hence changes in Sea Ice impact the global energy budget. The properties of many water masses of the global ocean and strongly influenced determined freezing and melting processes in sea ice regions.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea level	Sea Level is one of the primary indicators of global climate change. Change in the global mean sea level provides a measure of the net change in ocean mass due to melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and net change in ocean volume due to thermal expansion. Sea level observations characterize inter-seasonal variability such as ENSO. On the regional scales, changes in sea level can be far larger than the globally averaged value due to changes in temperature, salinity and circulation. Along many continental margins vertical land displacement associated with crustal adjustments to past and current land ice melt also cause regional variations in apparent sea level independent of the ocean. Coastal sea level change is a major driver of societal impacts.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea state	Sea State is the characterization of wave and swell, typically in terms of height, wavelength, period, and directional wave energy flux. Waves generated by ocean surface stress evolve from wind waves to swell through nonlinear dynamical processes.. Wave characteristics are modified by bathymetry when the depth of the water is comparable to the wavelength, and by surface currents. Sea state is most well known for its impacts on marine safety, marine transport and damage to structures. It is also a substantial modifier of air-sea exchanges of momentum, moisture and CO2. Waves also impact beach erosion, storm-related water damage (wave set-up contributes to storm surge), surface albedo, and transport of larva. Waves can also modify the growth or decay of sea ice.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea surface currents	The surface ocean general circulation is responsible for significant surface transport of heat, salt, passive tracers and ocean pollutants. On basin scales, surface currents and their variations are a major player in climate to weather fluctuations. The boundary currents on each side of the ocean basins transport significant amounts of heat, salt and passive tracers. Western Boundary Currents in particular transport heat and properties polwards, moderating climate. Convergences/divergences, spiralling eddies, and filaments all contribute to vertical motions and mass exchange. Surface currents impact the steepness of surface waves, and are thus important for generating accurate marine sea state forecasts.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea surface salinity	Sea surface salinity observations contribute to monitoring the global water cycle (evaporation, precipitation and glacier and river runoff). On large scales, surface salinity can be used to infer long-term changes of the global hydrological cycle. Surface salinity, together with surface temperature, is indicative of the surface expression of ocean frontal features and eddies.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea surface stress	Ocean surface stress (OSS) is the two-dimensional vector drag at the bottom of the atmosphere and the dynamical forcing at the top of the ocean. OSS influences the air-sea exchange of energy, water and gases. OSS is important for determining the large scale momentum forcing of the ocean, and consequent ocean circulation including ocean upwelling regions. Accurate knowledge of stress magnitudes is also essential for reliable computations of air-sea heat fluxes as well as air-sea gas exchanges and mass fluxes.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Sea surface temperature	Sea Surface temperature (SST) is a vital component of the climate system as it exerts a major influence on the exchanges of energy, momentum and gases between the ocean and atmosphere. SST largely controls the atmospheric response to the ocean at both weather and climate time scales. Daily variations in SST can exceed 3 degrees Celsius and could alter the surface energy budget by more than 10 Wm-2 over the tropics and subtropics. Therefore, the SST and horizontal gradients in SST are also important for coupling with the atmosphere for sub-seasonal to seasonal prediction timescales. The spatial patterns of SST reveal the structure of the underlying ocean dynamics, such as, ocean fronts, eddies, coastal upwelling and exchanges between the coastal shelf and open ocean.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Subsurface currents	Observations of subsurface ocean velocity contribute to estimates of ocean transports of mass, heat, freshwater, and other properties on local, to regional and basin to global scales. They are essential in resolving the wind and buoyancy driven ocean circulation, and the complex vertical velocity structure, for example, in the major ocean boundary currents, tides, equatorial currents, wave propagations, ocean eddies. Vertical velocity profile information can be used to estimate the order of ocean mixing using fine-scale parameterizations of turbulent dissipation by internal wave breaking. Velocity estimates can be combined in data assimilation models to provide gridded global estimates of ocean circulation at varying temporal and spatial scales.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Subsurface salinity	The global subsurface salinity observing system is vital for closure of the global hydrological cycle, estimates of oceanic evaporation and precipitation, and halosteric component of sea level change. Subsurface salinity are required to calculate in situ density and ocean freshwater transports, respectively, and coincident subsurface observations of salinity, temperature and pressure provide an estimate of the ocean geostrophic velocity. In addition, subsurface salinity is used to derive large-scale gridded climate products including ocean velocity, mixed-layer depth, density stratification, sea level and indirect subsurface ocean mixing used in many weather and climate applications.	Link
Ocean	Physical	Subsurface temperature	Subsurface temperature is a fundamental variable that is required to monitor variability and change in the physical environment of the ocean, energy flows, climate patterns and sea level. Many other physical variables are derived from subsurface temperature along with subsurface salinity, including subsurface density, geostrophic circulation, heat transport and steric sea level. Heat uptake by the global ocean accounts for more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in the Earth system in the past few decades. This ocean heat uptake helps to mitigate surface warming but, in turn, increases the global ocean volume through thermal expansion, and thus results in global-mean sea-level rise, accounting for about one third of the increase observed over the past few decades.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Inorganic carbon	The ocean is a major component of the global carbon cycle, absorbing enormous quantities of carbon in natural cycles driven by the ocean circulation, biogeochemistry and biology. Since seawater has very high capacity for absorbing carbon, the ocean has an inhibitory effect on the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and related greenhouse effect. The net ocean carbon uptake depends significantly on chemical and biological activity, and therefore it varies due to changing oceanic conditions and ecosystem composition. The chemical pathways of the inorganic carbon in the ocean mean that this uptake causes a decline in ocean pH, also known as ocean acidification.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Nitrous oxide	Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important climate-relevant trace gas in the Earth’s atmosphere. In the troposphere it acts as a strong greenhouse gas and in the stratosphere it acts as an ozone depleting substance because it is the precursor of ozone depleting nitric oxide radicals. The ocean - including its coastal areas such as continental shelves, estuaries and upwelling areas - contribute about 30% to the atmospheric N2O budget.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Nutrients	Nutrients are essential for ocean life. Nutrient data provide important biogeochemical information, and provide essential links between physical climate variability and ecosystem variability. They can provide additional information on ocean mixing and climate related phenomena such as changes in primary and export production (nutrient transports regulate new production which is correlated with export production), eutrophication and shifts in phytoplankton community composition. Therefore it is necessary to develop accurate observations of trends in dissolved nutrients in both upper- and deep-ocean waters.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Ocean colour	Ocean colour is the radiance emanating from the ocean normalized by the irradiance illuminating the ocean. Products derived from ocean colour remote sensing (OCRS) contain information on the ocean albedo and information on the constituents of the seawater, in particular, phytoplankton pigments such as chlorophyll-a. OCRS products are used to assess ocean ecosystem health and productivity, and the role of the oceans in the global carbon cycle, to manage living marine resources, and to quantify the impacts of climate variability and change.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Oxygen	Oxygen (O2) is essential for nearly all multicellular life. Subsurface oxygen concentrations reflect a balance between supply through circulation and ventilation and consumption by respiratory processes. Changes in either of these processes is susceptible to lead to changes in O2 distribution. A global ocean O2 observing network will act as a sensitive early warning system for trends that climate change is causing. Ocean deoxygenation (decline in O2 concentration) is under way in part because of ocean warming and increased stratification, but also because of increased nutrient loads in the coastal ocean. Deoxygenation has been largely under the radar to most people including policy advisers and decision makers. Yet it is deoxygenation that will have profound implications not just for ecosystems but also for communities and economies that depend on a healthy ocean.	Link
Ocean	Biogeochemical	Transient tracers	Oxygen (O2) is essential for nearly all multicellular life. Subsurface oxygen concentrations reflect a balance between supply through circulation and ventilation and consumption by respiratory processes. Changes in either of these processes is susceptible to lead to changes in O2 distribution. A global ocean O2 observing network will act as a sensitive early warning system for trends that climate change is causing. Ocean deoxygenation (decline in O2 concentration) is under way in part because of ocean warming and increased stratification, but also because of increased nutrient loads in the coastal ocean. Deoxygenation has been largely under the radar to most people including policy advisers and decision makers. Yet it is deoxygenation that will have profound implications not just for ecosystems but also for communities and economies that depend on a healthy ocean.	Link
Ocean	Biological/ecosystems	Marine habitats	Marine coastal regions are amongst the most productive systems of the planet, yet they are undergoing rapid transformations in response to intensifying human activities and global change. Regime shifts, abrupt transitions between alternative states, are increasingly observed in a wide range of coastal systems, including coral reefs, macroalgal forests, seagrasses and mangroves. These non-linear responses to deteriorating environmental conditions often result in considerable loss of ecosystem functions and services.	Link
Ocean	Biological/ecosystems	Plankton	Plankton are at the base of the marine food web and generally not fished by humans. Changes in the plankton will have impacts on the rest of the marine ecosystem including on the carbon cycle, living marine resources used by humans and threatened marine species including apex predators. Climate variability significantly impacts plankton in the ocean, both the microflora (phytoplankton) and the microfauna (zooplankton), over both short and long timescales.	Link

Inspire theme

The INSPIRE theme register contains all spatial data themes, as defined in the Annexes of theINSPIRE Directive ( Directive 2007/2/EC ).

name	annex	description	link
Addresses	Annex I	Location of properties based on address identifiers, usually by road name, house number, postal code
Administrative units	Annex I	Units of administration, dividing areas where Member States have and/or exercise jurisdictional rights, for local, regional and national governance, separated by administrative boundaries
Cadastral parcels	Annex I	Areas defined by cadastral registers or equivalent
Coordinate reference systems	Annex I	Systems for uniquely referencing spatial information in space as a set of coordinates (x,y,z) and/or latitude and longitude and height, based on a geodetic horizontal and vertical datum
Geographical grid systems	Annex I	Harmonised multi-resolution grid with a common point of origin and standardised location and size of grid cells
Geographical names	Annex I	Names of areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns or settlements, or any geographical or topographical feature of public or historical interest
Hydrography	Annex I	Hydrographic elements, including marine areas and all other water bodies and items related to them, including river basins and sub-basins. Where appropriate, according to the definitions set out in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, and in the form of networks
Protected sites	Annex I	Area designated or managed within a framework of international, Community and Member States' legislation to achieve specific conservation objectives
Transport networks	Annex I	Road, rail, air and water transport networks and related infrastructure. Includes links between different networks. Also includes the trans-European transport network as defined in Decision 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and future revisions of that decision
Elevation	Annex II	Digital elevation models for land, ice and ocean surfaces. Includes terrestrial elevation, bathymetry and shoreline
Geology	Annex II	Geology characterised according to composition and structure. Includes bedrock, aquifers and geomorphology
Land cover	Annex II	Physical and biological cover of the earth's surface including artificial surfaces, agricultural areas, forests, (semi-)natural areas, wetlands, water bodies
Orthoimagery	Annex II	Geo-referenced image data of the Earth's surface, from either satellite or airborne sensors
Agricultural and aquaculture facilities	Annex III	Farming equipment and production facilities (including irrigation systems, greenhouses and stables)
Area management/restriction/regulation zones & reporting units	Annex III	Areas managed, regulated or used for reporting at international, European, national, regional and local levels. Includes dumping sites, restricted areas around drinking water sources, nitrate-vulnerable zones, regulated fairways at sea or large inland waters, areas for the dumping of waste, noise restriction zones, prospecting and mining permit areas, river basin districts, relevant reporting units and coastal zone management areas
Atmospheric conditions	Annex III	Physical conditions in the atmosphere. Includes spatial data based on measurements, on models or on a combination thereof and includes measurement locations
Bio-geographical regions	Annex III	Areas of relatively homogeneous ecological conditions with common characteristics
Buildings	Annex III	Geographical location of buildings
Energy resources	Annex III	Energy resources including hydrocarbons, hydropower, bio-energy, solar, wind, etc., where relevant including depth/height information on the extent of the resource
Environmental monitoring facilities	Annex III	Location and operation of environmental monitoring facilities includes observation and measurement of emissions, of the state of environmental media and of other ecosystem parameters (biodiversity, ecological conditions of vegetation, etc.) by or on behalf of public authorities
Habitats and biotopes	Annex III	Geographical areas characterised by specific ecological conditions, processes, structure, and (life support) functions that physically support the organisms that live there. Includes terrestrial and aquatic areas distinguished by geographical, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-natural
Human health and safety	Annex III	Geographical distribution of dominance of pathologies (allergies, cancers, respiratory diseases, etc.), information indicating the effect on health ( biomarkers, decline of fertility, epidemics) or well-being of humans (fatigue, stress, etc.) linked directly (air pollution, chemicals, depletion of the ozone layer, noise, etc.) or indirectly (food, genetically modified organisms, etc.) to the quality of the environment
Land use	Annex III	Territory characterised according to its current and future planned functional dimension or socio–economic purpose (e.g. residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, forestry, recreational)
Meteorological geographical features	Annex III	Weather conditions and their measurements; precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, wind speed and direction
Mineral resources	Annex III	Mineral resources including metal ores, industrial minerals, etc., where relevant including depth/height information on the extent of the resource
Natural risk zones	Annex III	Vulnerable areas characterised according to natural hazards (all atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic and wildfire phenomena that, because of their location, severity, and frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society), e.g. floods, landslides and subsidence, avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
Oceanographic geographical features	Annex III	Physical conditions of oceans (currents, salinity, wave heights, etc.)
Population distribution and demography	Annex III	Geographical distribution of people, including population characteristics and activity levels, aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit
Production and industrial facilities	Annex III	Industrial production sites, including installations covered by Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control and water abstraction facilities, mining, storage sites
Sea regions	Annex III	Physical conditions of seas and saline water bodies divided into regions and sub-regions with common characteristics
Soil	Annex III	Soils and subsoil characterised according to depth, texture, structure and content of particles and organic material, stoniness, erosion, where appropriate mean slope and anticipated water storage capacity
Species distribution	Annex III	Geographical distribution of occurrence of animal and plant species aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit
Statistical units	Annex III	Units for dissemination or use of statistical information
Utility and governmental services	Annex III	Includes utility facilities such as sewage, waste management, energy supply and water supply, administrative and social governmental services such as public administrations, civil protection sites, schools and hospitals
N/A		Not applicable
TBD		To be determined

Metrics

name	description
Threshold	The “threshold” or “minimum requirement“ is the value that has to be met to ensure that data are useful. Below this minimum, the benefit derived does not compensate for the additional cost involved in using the observation. Threshold requirements for any given observing system cannot be stated in an absolute sense; assumptions have to be made concerning which other observing systems are likely to be available.
Breakthrough	Within the range between threshold and goal requirements, the observations become progressively more useful. The “breakthrough” is an intermediate level between “threshold” and “goal“ which, if achieved, would result in a significant improvement for the targeted application.
Goal	The “goal” or “maximum requirement“ is the value above which further improvement of the observation would not cause any significant improvement in performance for the application in question. The cost of improving the observations beyond the goal would not be matched by a corresponding benefit. The goals are likely to evolve as applications progress and develop a capacity to make use of better observations.

Product group

The product group attribute is used to assemble a group (or product family) of individual products under the same heading.This attribute is used in addition to other relevant ways of classifying a given product including coverage and status.

name	description
AMC Antropogenic Emissions	CAMS products concerning antropogenic emissions
AMC Atmospheric Composition NRT Analysis and Forecast	CAMS products concerning global atmospheric composition analysis and forecast
AMC Atmospheric Composition Reanalysis	CAMS products concerning global atmospheric composition reanalysis
AMC Climate Forcings	CAMS products concerning climate forcings
AMC European Air Quality NRT Analysis and Forecast	CAMS products concerning European air quality analysis and forecast
AMC European Air Quality Reanalysis	CAMS products concerning European air quality reanalysis
AMC European Interim Air Quality Reanalysis	CAMS products concerning European interim air quality reanalysis
AMC Fire Emissions	CAMS products concerning fire emissions
AMC Greenhouse Gas Fluxe Inversions	CAMS products concerning greenhouse gas flux inversions
AMC Policy Support	CAMS products concerning policy support
AMC Solar Radiation	CAMS products concerning solar radiation
CCC climate monitoring	C3S reanalysis products for the monthly climate bulletin
AMC Ship Emissions
CSS Border Surveillance	CSS Border Surveillance products
CSS Maritime Surveillance	CSS Maritime Surveillance products
CSS Support to External Action	CSS Support to External Action products
EMC Exposure	EMS Exposure Mapping products
EMC Mapping	EMS Rapid Mapping products
EMC Risk and Recovery	EMS Risk and Recovery mapping products
EU-GM	Pan-EU Land Ground Motion products
EWC Forecasts	Early Warning - forecast products
EWC Hydrological conditions	Early Warning - information about the hydrological conditions
EWC Meterological conditions	Early Warning - information about the meteorological conditions
GLC Cryosphere	Global Land products containing information about the cryosphere
GLC Energy	Global Land products containing information about energy
GLC Hot Spots	GLC Hot Spots products provide detailed land information on specific areas of interest (Protected Areas and Key Landscapes for Conservation).
GLC Vegetation	Global Land products containing information about vegetation
GLC Water	Global Land products containing information about water
LLC Coastal Zones	This LC/LU product maps from the European baseline a 10 km landwards buffer. The justification for monitoring LC/LU dynamics in coastal zones is in the need to coordinate an economic growth that maintains a resilient state of the coastal environment, safeguarding coastal protection and the basis for human wellbeing.
LLC Natura 2000	Local Land products containing information about Natura 2000 zones
LLC Riparian Zones	Local Land products containing information about riparian zones
LLC Urban Atlas	Local Land Urban Atlas products
MMC NRT Observations	CMEMS NRT observations
MMC NRT/REP Observations	CMEMS NRT observations and reprocessing observations
MMC REP Observations	CMEMS re-processing observations
MMC Biogeochemical and Biological RAN	CMEMS reanalysis products on the biological state of the oceans
MMC Biogeochemical NRT/RAN	CMEMS NRT and reanalysis products on the biological state of the oceans
MMC Biogeochemical and Biological analysis/forecast	CMEMS NRT products on the biological state of the oceans
MMC Physical NRT/RAN	CMEMS NRT and reanalysis products on the physical state of the oceans
MMC Physical RAN	CMEMS reanalysis products on the physical state of the oceans
MMC Physical analysis/forecast	CMEMS NRT products on the physical state of the oceans
MMC Wave RAN	CMEMS reanalysis products containing information about sea surface waves
MMC Wave NRT/RAN	CMEMS NRT and reanalysis products containing information about sea surface waves
MMC Wave analysis/forecast	CMEMS NRT products containing information about sea surface waves
PLC Biophysical Parameters	The systematic monitoring of biophysical parameters consists of a set of bio-geophysical products on the status and evolution of the land surface. These high spatial resolution products are used to monitor dynamics of the vegetation, the water cycle, energy budget and terrestrial cryosphere variables. The products are continuously produced at an European extent.
PLC Corine Land Cover	Pan-European Land Corine Land Cover products
PLC High Resolution Layers	Pan-European Land high resoultion layers
PLC Image Mosaics	Image mosaics products
PLC Reference Data	Pan-European Land reference data
Sentinel-3-OLCI
Sentinel-3-Synergy
Sentinel-3
Sentinel-3-SLSTR
Sentinel-3-Altimetry
Sentinel-5p
Sentinel-5p-TROPOMI
Wildfire monitoring	Wildfire monitoring
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be defined

Provider type

The following definitions mainly refer to the Primary Role of the provider and the funding nature. It is recommended to only use Commercial, Institutional and Research categories.

name	description	link
Commercial	Private entities that collect in situ data for commercial use or collect them in operations linked to their commercial activities.
Institutional	National or governmental bodies collecting in situ data in the framework of environmental monitoring activities to answer to legal (National or European) requirements.
Public	Public-funded institution collecting in situ data for public utility.
Research	Public or private, Research or scientific institution collecting data for research and innovation purposes based on short term research funds.
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be defined

Relevance

Categorisation of the way in which the data is utilised and the associated level of criticality.

name	description	link
Calibration and validation	Utilised to calibrate and validate imagery, other measurements or products
Product generation	Used to underpin specific products
Supporting exploitation	Supporting the exploitation of products, but not essential
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined

Requirement group

A classification of requirements oriented to group them with respect to the prevalent information contents of the underlying data sets.

name	description
Administrative boundaries	It includes all the official administrative boundaries from the continental up to the district ones.
Aerial Ortho-imagery	The aerial ortho-imagery are all the remote sensed imageries not acquired by the satellite (i.e. acquired from aircraft or UAV or drone etc).
Atmosphere	Atmosphere
Cryosphere	It includes snow, sea ice, lake and river ice, icebergs, glaciers, permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
Digital Elevation Model	The digital elevation model (DEM) is a digital model or 3D representation of the terrain's surface. If it represents the bare ground surface without any objects like plants and buildings it is defined Digital Terrain Model (DTM).
Hydrology	Measurement (or science of) the amount and flow of water in the environment, and its properties. Includes products of river flow, lake volume, water quality, etc.
Hydrography	The mapping of the rivers and the coast and ocean, i.e. static spatial data. Includes products of map of rivers, streams, and catchments.
Industry and Utilities	It includes mainly industries facilities and power station.
Land cover / Land use	Land cover refers to the observed (bio)physical cover on the earth's surface mapping homogeneous landscape patterns. It typically includes artificial surface (urban areas, industrial areas etc), agricultural areas, forest / natural and semi natural areas, wetlands and water bodies with different levels of detail. Additionally, this group includes land use referring to the purpose the land serves, such as recreation, wildlife habitat, or agricultural production, characterized by the arrangements, activities and inputs humans undertake in a certain land cover type to produce, change or maintain it.
Land parcel (LPIS) data	Land parcel data (i.e. cadastral data) provide geographically referenced information about the rights, interests, and value of property. Land Parcel Identification System data contain alphanumeric data sets, Vector and raster.
Large scale population information	Ir refers to information on the population in terms of number of people, age, education and so on.
Maritime elements	It includes all types of objects related to the open sea (vessel, nautical charts, etc).
Meteorology	It includes all types of meteorological data (atmospheric parameters, precipitations, wind and wave parameters, etc).
Natural risk zones	Vulnerable areas characterised according to natural hazards (all atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic and wildfire phenomena that, because of their location, severity and frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society), e.g. floods, landslides and subsidence, avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions’
Ocean	It includes all types of data related to the ocean (sea ice, surface/subsurface temperature and salinity, etc.) and its composition (Clorophyll, Oxygen, etc).
Physiography	It includes information on elevation such as contour lines, cliffs and heights above sea level.
Settlements	Includes all typologies of settlements from the big city to the rural hamlet, but also taking into account temporary and informal settlements like slums or refugee camps
Terrestrial	Includes data related to physical properties of the earth and vegetation such as soil moisture, surface temperature, and surface reflectance properties.
Toponyms	geographical name (toponym of a feature on the Earth) - proper noun applied to a real world entity (INSPIRE 2010)
Transportation network	The transportation network is a basic layer that displays the network which permits any type of vehicular movements (i.e. roads, railways, airports/airfileds, harbours, etc)
Other	Additional geospatial information that fall under the In Situ data umbrella (e.g. GCP, GNSS, etc.)
TBD	To be determined

Quality control procedure

Source of in situ data measurement and associated level of data assurance.

name	description	link
Automatic	Automatic quality check
Manual	Manual quality check
Semiautomatic	Semiautomatic quality check
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined

State

Requirement, Data and Data Provider are all passing through a validation workflow. The state field shows the user in which validation stage the object is in.

name	description
Draft	This is the state that the object has on its creation. In this state the object and its relations are editable. The owner or one of their teammates can mark as ready the object.
Ready for validation	In this state the object and its relations cannot be edited. A user different from the owner or their teammates can either mark as valid the object and end the workflow or request changes if that user considers that there is missing information.
Changes requested	In this state the object and its relations cannot be edited. The owner or one of their teammates can get the object back to the draft state. When an object’s state is changed into “changes requested”, the user requesting the changes can fill a feedback field in which they inform the owner of the object about the changes that should be made. The owner receives an e-mail that their object has requests for changes, the user that made those requests and what changes the user requested (from the feedback field). The users in the application can see this feedback when the object is in state “Changes requested” or “Draft” on the detail page of the object.
Valid	In this state the object and its relations cannot be edited. The workflow has ended and the object cannot be modified anymore. The object can be placed back in the “Draft” state if the users agree that more changes should be made to it.

Status

This attribute is used to classify a given product according to its matureness or operational status.

name	description	link
Demonstrational	Products that are provided to users without any commitment on the quality or availability of the service. Considered to be useful to be disseminated in order to enabling users to test the product and to provide feedback.	Link
In development	Products that are in development and not yet available to users.	Link
Pre-operational	Products with documented limitations that are able to satisfy the majority of applicable requirements	Link
Operational	Products with documented non-relevant limitations that largely satisfy the applicable requirements.	Link
Discontinued	Products that have been previously (pre-) operationally provided to users but are not (pre-) operational anymore and are considered not useful for further dissemination.	Link
N/A	Not Applicable
TBD	To Be Defined

Timeliness

Maximum delay to data reception to satisfy requirements.

name	description	link
<5 min
< 1 hr	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
1 hour	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
3 hours	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
6 hours	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
12 hours	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
1 day	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
2 days	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
3 days	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
1 week	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
1 month	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
6 months	refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data
Latest version available	Not reliant on current data
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined

Update frequency

Maximum delay to data currency to satisfy requirements.

name	description	link
<5 min	refer to the time expectation of data update
5 min	refer to the time expectation of data update
15 min	refer to the time expectation of data update
30 min	refer to the time expectation of data update
<1 hr	refer to the time expectation of data update
Hourly	refer to the time expectation of data update
Four times a day	refer to the time expectation of data update
2 Hours	refer to the time expectation of data update
Twice a day	refer to the time expectation of data update
Daily	refer to the time expectation of data update
1-5 days	refer to the time expectation of data update
Weekly	refer to the time expectation of data update
Monthly	refer to the time expectation of data update
10-16 days	refer to the time expectation of data update
Yearly	refer to the time expectation of data update
Continuous	Very near real-time data essential
Irregular	Infrequent updates
Historical	A historical dataset that is not being updated
Periodic Update	Update done when necessary, not on regular basis
Single Acquisition	Not reliant on current data
N/A	Not applicable
TBD	To be determined