The partners of the project Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin – PONTOS (BSB889) developed several tools to assess the environment in the area targeted by the project: Sevan Lake and Sevan Lake Basin in Armenia, Rioni River Delta and Kolkheti National Park in Georgia, Nestos River and Nestos River Delta in Greece and Coastline from Odesa city to the Danube river delta as well as Dniester river delta area and adjacent estuary in Ukraine.
The Platform offers easy-to-use, easy-to-access and free-of-charge online services for various specialists, including those who do not have the technical expertise to write codes or algorithms to process data (scientists, policymakers, citizens).
The platform retrieves and manages satellite, airborne, and field data, automatically finds and utilises existing maps from Copernicus and other repositories, and allows data uploads from end users.
The Platform offers the following services:
PONTOS Open Data Cube (ODC): easy production of maps from satellite data
It empowers the end-users to explore, manage, analyse and visualise Analysis Ready Data (ARD) from satellite missions for each pilot area. PONTOS Data Cube contains Landsat 5, 7 and 8 ARD in a spatial resolution of 30m from 1984 to present and Sentinel-2 ARD in a spatial resolution of 10 m from 2015 to present.
PONTOS Web Application: airborne and in-situ data management support
It manages and analyses the airborne and in-situ data created within the project. The Web Application is complementary to PONTOS Data Cube and PONTOS WebGIS. The Web Application Services are available in English, Armenian, Greek, Georgian, and Ukrainian languages.
PONTOS WebGIS: a combination of already available information already existing on maps
The aim of creating the Web Geographic Information System (GIS) is to enhance further the user experience in terms of user accessibility, data aggregation and data visualisation. The WebGIS aids decision-making, provides reliable datasets to scientists and engineers, engages active citizens and the broader public in coastal zone issues, and promotes information distribution among coastal managers, stakeholders and the general public.
The system combines the principles and tools of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and aims to harmonise the large and multi-dimensional datasets collected within the Project. WebGIS supports visualising chlorophyll concentration, land uses, salinity and temperature, hydrology, weather, and topography data.
An essential ingredient for enhancing the use of Copernicus products and services for the environmental monitoring of the Black Sea is to enable and improve participation, knowledge, and skills of most possible local and regional actors, from scientists to government employees and citizens.
Constant improvement and quality validation of the tools are important to the project. To achieve this, a feedback form is provided in the PONTOS Web Application and PONTOS Data Cube to enable users to provide continuous feedback about the quality of the application. Users can write their message about their experience or suggest improvements. All user input is saved in the database follows closely GDPR legislation and super users can review them at any time.
Access the platform Here and, if needed, see the tutorial Here.