Coastal Observations Applications, Services and Tools

Coastal Observations Applications Services and Tools (COAST) Virtual Constellation

Purpose

There are significant risks and threats to human health and safety, as well as to the abundant ecosystem resources at the land-sea interface of coasts. Coastal hazards such as flooding and inundation, as well as water quality and associated impacts (e.g., eutrophication, hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, sediment loadings and coral reef et al. habitat degradation) to ecosystem health and productivity, represent particularly great challenges for society to address. To address these and other challenges and risks in the coastal zone, CEOS formed the COAST (Coastal Observations, Applications, Services and Tools) team to provide new and improved scientific/technical capabilities and building capacity for a more robust, end-to-end value chain (observations to data to products to information to actionable knowledge) in support of coastal stakeholders and global sustainable development.

CEOS Alignment & Benefit to Stakeholders

COAST is implementing high impact pilot projects which leverage the CEOS Analysis Ready Data (ARD) framework already demonstrated for terrestrial applications, as well as leverage the Systems Engineering Office CEOS Analytics Lab. COAST-VC encourages broader utilization of Earth observations and other CEOS capabilities for societal benefits within coastal zones (e.g., Blue Economy; SDG-14), and demonstrates specific opportunities for CEOS engagement, particularly through the linkage of the Group on Earth Observations Blue Planet and AquaWatch Initiatives, and external stakeholders such as Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission/Global Ocean Observing System, United Nations (UN) Environment, World Meteorological Organization, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). User co-design and co-development are key to the implementation process of COAST solutions.

Scope & Priorities

There is a broad spectrum of coastal needs, issues and challenges, with a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders to engage in product development. Six Geographic pilot regions have been selected for demonstrations of some or all products in development (see figure below). The CEOS-COAST deliverables identified the specific scope and priorities of the COAST effort moving forward, focusing on the transboundary and transdisciplinary nature of the coastal zone. Specifically, this includes sea impacts on land – including coastal hazards such as flooding and inundation, at continental as well as for small island states – as well as land impacts on the sea, including water quality issues such as coastal eutrophication and sediment loading, affecting the ability of the coastal ecosystem to deliver valuable goods and services.