CCM2 Hydrographical code as example for a world wide coastal coding system

The Limit of Oceans and Seas is a standard to define the names and limitations of the waters of the Earth using light houses and other visible or measurable features. The limits were defined at the beginning of the 20th century and finalized in the fifties. These shared delineations and names are of great help for sailors and other people working on the oceans in other to describe events unambiguously whilst using different languages and names for topographic features. With the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Europe, a similar need was felt for the definition, delineation, naming and coding of hydrographic features such as rivers and lakes (Vogt e.a. 2002). It proved that many hydrographic features are defined differently depending on the country, and that, also for legal purposes, a predictable definition is desired. To enable automated data-exchange, in for example Spatial Data Infrastructures, such definitions and unique codifications are a technical requirement. With the creation of CCM (Catchment Characterisation and Modelling) we took the opportunity to define a coding system for the features that were generated with CCM (Vogt e.a. 2007). It is a coding system that is applied to the European continental coastline, islands, watersheds, lakes and riverbranches. The coding system developed was based on the advice of the Water Frame Directive Committee. A system inspired on the so-called Pfafstetter coding was exploited (Pfafstetter 1989). We will present our experience in this paper and give insight in the effort to be expected to make a coding system for oceans, seas, coasts, islands and of the world. Furthermore we will present some of the benefits of a comprehensive coding system as implemented for Europe through CCM. Our scope is to present to IHO representatives a framework for realising a world-wide coastal coding system.

DE JAGER Alfred; 

2012-02-23

CORILA

JRC68171

9788889405246,   

http://coastgis.corila.it/2011/download/book/CoastGIS_2011_Proceedings_Vol_3.pdf,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC68171,