Marine Regions Data Products Ontology

Salvador Fernández

An ontology is a categorization of all of the concepts in some field of knowledge.

GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

The data products hosted at marineregions.org are of vector type, which they come together with attribute tables. These attribute tables are named, but such names are not yet standardized.

To ease the understanding of the data products, the Marine Regions Team has described the attributes.

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), hosting institution behind Marine Regions, is currently working towards Open Linked Data standards (Lonneville et al., 2021). The naming of these attributes will likely turn into standardized terms reusing or expanding on-going RDF-available ontologies.

This work was triggered during the rOpenSci review. Thanks to @sheilasaia for raising this issue.

You can consult the list in your R session via the mrp_ontology object that is loaded with mregions2

library(mregions2)
mrp_ontology
#> # A tibble: 374 × 4
#>    layer colname    type   definition                                           
#>    <chr> <chr>      <chr>  <chr>                                                
#>  1 eez   mrgid      int    Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature.…
#>  2 eez   geoname    string Name of the feature.                                 
#>  3 eez   mrgid_ter1 int    Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territor…
#>  4 eez   pol_type   string Basis of creation or legal status of feature. One of…
#>  5 eez   mrgid_sov1 int    Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereig…
#>  6 eez   territory1 string Specific land area which directly relates to the fea…
#>  7 eez   iso_ter1   string ISO 3 code of the territory feature.                 
#>  8 eez   sovereign1 string State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.   
#>  9 eez   mrgid_ter2 int    Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territor…
#> 10 eez   mrgid_sov2 int    Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereig…
#> # ℹ 364 more rows

---

Exclusive Economic Zones (200 NM) (v11, world, 2019)

Version 11 of the Exclusive Economic Zones from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a seazone extending from a state’s coast or baseline over which the state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. Generally a state’s EEZ extends 200 nautical miles out from its coast, except where resulting points would be closer to another country. This dataset also contains delimitation of disputed areas and joint regimes.

Update (2021-01-14): corrected centroid longitude for features crossing the dateline

layer	colname	type	definition
eez	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
eez	mrgid_ter1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature. One of: 200NM, Joint regime, Overlapping claim.
eez	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez	mrgid_ter2	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	mrgid_sov2	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez	iso_ter2	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez	mrgid_ter3	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	mrgid_sov3	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	territory3	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez	iso_ter3	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez	sovereign3	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez	mrgid_eez	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez	area_km2	int	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	iso_sov2	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	iso_sov3	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	un_sov1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	un_sov2	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	un_sov3	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez	un_ter1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez	un_ter2	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez	un_ter3	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.

Maritime Boundaries (v11, world, 2019)

Version 11 of the Maritime Boundaries from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. Boundaries have been built using information about treaties between coastal countries. When treaties are not available, median lines have been calculated. This dataset also contains delimitation of disputed boundaries and joint regimes.

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_boundaries	line_id	decimal	Unique identifier of feature.
eez_boundaries	line_name	string	Name of the feature.
eez_boundaries	line_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature. One of: 200 NM, Archipelagic Baseline, Connection line, Joint regime, Median line, Straight Baseline, Treaty, Unilateral claim (undisputed), Unsettled, Unsettled median line
eez_boundaries	mrgid_sov1	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	mrgid_ter1	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_boundaries	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_boundaries	mrgid_ter2	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_boundaries	mrgid_sov2	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_boundaries	mrgid_eez1	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature that origins this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	eez1	string	Name of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature that origins from this feature
eez_boundaries	mrgid_eez2	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature that origins this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	eez2	string	Name of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature that origins from this feature
eez_boundaries	source1	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	url1	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	source2	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	url2	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	source3	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	url3	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
eez_boundaries	origin	string	Type of source of feature. One of: Buffer, Database, External, Link, Median
eez_boundaries	doc_date	date	Date of publication of the authoritative source.
eez_boundaries	mrgid_jreg	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Joint Regime polygon feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_boundaries	joint_reg	string	Name of the Joint Regime polygon feature related to this feature.
eez_boundaries	length_km	decimal	Length of feature in kilometers.

Territorial Seas (12 NM) (v3, world, 2019)

Version 3 of the Territorial Seas from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. Territorial seas are a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state.

Update (2021-01-14): corrected centroid longitude for features crossing the dateline

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_12nm	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_12nm	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
eez_12nm	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
eez_12nm	mrgid_ter1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_12nm	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_12nm	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_12nm	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_12nm	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_12nm	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_12nm	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_12nm	mrgid_eez	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_12nm	area_km2	int	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez_12nm	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_12nm	un_sov1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_12nm	un_ter1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.

Contiguous Zones (24 NM) (v3, world, 2019)

Version 3 of the Contiguous Zones from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. The Contiguous Zone is a band of water extending from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 24 nautical miles (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) from the baseline.

Update (2021-01-14): corrected centroid longitude for features crossing the dateline

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_24nm	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_24nm	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
eez_24nm	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
eez_24nm	mrgid_ter1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_24nm	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_24nm	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_24nm	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_24nm	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_24nm	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_24nm	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_24nm	mrgid_eez	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_24nm	area_km2	int	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez_24nm	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_24nm	un_sov1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_24nm	un_ter1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.

Internal Waters (v3, world, 2019)

Version 3 of the Internal Waters from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. Internal Waters are the waters on the landward side of the baseline of a nation’s territorial waters, except in archipelagic states. It includes waterways such as rivers and canals, and sometimes the water within small bays.

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_internal_waters	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_internal_waters	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
eez_internal_waters	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
eez_internal_waters	mrgid_ter1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_internal_waters	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_internal_waters	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_internal_waters	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_internal_waters	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_internal_waters	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_internal_waters	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_internal_waters	mrgid_eez	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_internal_waters	area_km2	int	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez_internal_waters	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_internal_waters	un_sov1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_internal_waters	un_ter1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.

Archipelagic Waters (v3, world, 2019)

Version 3 of the Archipelagic Waters from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. Archipelagic Waters are waters falling within archipelagic baselines.

Update (2021-01-14): corrected centroid longitude for features crossing the dateline

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_archipelagic_waters	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_archipelagic_waters	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	mrgid_ter1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_archipelagic_waters	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_archipelagic_waters	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_archipelagic_waters	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_archipelagic_waters	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_archipelagic_waters	mrgid_eez	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_archipelagic_waters	area_km2	int	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez_archipelagic_waters	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	un_sov1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_archipelagic_waters	un_ter1	double	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.

High Seas (v1, world, 2020)

High Seas from the VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea describes the high seas as ‘all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic State.’ In the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase, Marine Regions makes available most of the maritime areas defined in the Law of the Sea Convention: Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), Territorial Seas (TS), Contiguous Zones (CZ), Internal Waters (IW), Archipelagic Waters (AW) and High Seas (HS).

Flanders Marine Institute (2020). Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: High Seas, version 1. Available online at http://www.marineregions.org/ https://doi.org/10.14284/418.

Methodology: https://www.marineregions.org/eezmethodology.php

layer	colname	type	definition
high_seas	__gid	long	Unique identifier of feature.
high_seas	mrgid	decimal	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
high_seas	source	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
high_seas	area_km2	decimal	Area of feature in square kilometers.

Extended Continental Shelves (v01, world, 2022)

This dataset represents the legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles as submitted to/recommended by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) or deposited to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS). In the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase, Marine Regions makes available most of the maritime areas defined in the Law of the Sea Convention: Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), Territorial Seas (TS), Contiguous Zones (CZ), Internal Waters (IW), Archipelagic Waters (AW) and High Seas (HS).

layer	colname	type	definition
ecs	geoname	string	Name of the feature.
ecs	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
ecs	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter1	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter1	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov1	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov1	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter2	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter2	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter2	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov2	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov2	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov2	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory3	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter3	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter3	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter3	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign3	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov3	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov3	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov3	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory4	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter4	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter4	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter4	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign4	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov4	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov4	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov4	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory5	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter5	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter5	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter5	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign5	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov5	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov5	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov5	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory6	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter6	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter6	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter6	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign6	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov6	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov6	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov6	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	territory7	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs	mrgid_ter7	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_ter7	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
ecs	un_ter7	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
ecs	sovereign7	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs	mrgid_sov7	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	iso_sov7	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	un_sov7	string	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
ecs	x_1	string	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
ecs	y_1	string	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4332
ecs	area_km2	string	Area of feature in square kilometers.
ecs	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs	mrgid_ecs	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Extended Continental Shelf feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.

Extended Continental Shelves - boundaries (v01, world, 2022)

This dataset represents the outer boundaries of the legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles as submitted to/recommended by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) or deposited to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS). In the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase, Marine Regions makes available most of the maritime areas defined in the Law of the Sea Convention: Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), Territorial Seas (TS), Contiguous Zones (CZ), Internal Waters (IW), Archipelagic Waters (AW) and High Seas (HS).

layer	colname	type	definition
ecs_boundaries	line_id	double	Unique identifier of feature.
ecs_boundaries	line_name	string	Name of the feature.
ecs_boundaries	line_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature. One of: ECS CLCS Joint Recommendation, ECS CLCS Joint Submission, ECS CLCS Recommendation, ECS CLCS Submission, ECS Connection Line, ECS DOALOS Deposit, ECS DOALOS Joint Deposit, ECS Treaty
ecs_boundaries	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	territory3	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign3	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	territory4	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign4	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	territory5	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign5	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	territory6	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
ecs_boundaries	sovereign6	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
ecs_boundaries	origin	string	Type of source of feature. One of: Buffer, Database, External, Link, Median
ecs_boundaries	url1	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	source1	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	doc_date	date	Date of publication of the authoritative source.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter1	double	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter2	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter3	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter4	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter5	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_ter6	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov1	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov2	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov3	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov4	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov5	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	mrgid_sov6	double	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
ecs_boundaries	url2	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	url3	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	source2	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	source3	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
ecs_boundaries	length_km	decimal	Length of feature in kilometers.

IHO Sea Areas (v3)

World seas represents the boundaries for the major oceans and seas of the world. The source for the boundaries is the publication ‘Limits of Oceans & Seas, Special Publication No. 23’ published by the IHO in 1953. (http://www.marineregions.org/files/S23_1953.pdf)

layer	colname	type	definition
iho	id	string	Unique identifier of feature.
iho	longitude	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	latitude	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	min_x	decimal	Minimum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	min_y	decimal	Minimum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	max_x	decimal	Maximum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	max_y	decimal	Maximum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
iho	area	long	Area of feature in square kilometers.
iho	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.

Global Oceans and Seas (v1)

Global Oceans and Seas represents the boundaries between the 10 main oceans and seas (Arctic Ocean, North and South Atlantic Ocean, North and South Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Region, South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas). The boundaries are largely based on the publication ‘Limits of Oceans & Seas, Special Publication No. 23’, published by the IHO in 1953. The dataset is available in World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84).

layer	colname	type	definition
goas	latitude	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	longitude	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	min_y	decimal	Minimum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	min_x	decimal	Minimum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	max_y	decimal	Maximum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	max_x	decimal	Maximum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
goas	area_km2	double	Area of feature in square kilometers.

The intersect of the Exclusive Economic Zones and IHO areas (v4)

The maritime boundaries provide a useful tool to limit national marine areas, but do not include information on marine regional and sub regional seas. This hampers the usage of these boundaries for implementing nature conservation strategies or analyzing marine biogeographic patterns. For example, a species occurring in the German EEZ can live in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea or Kattegat area. Each of these different marine areas has very distinct hydrological, oceanographic and ecological conditions.

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_iho	mrgid	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	marregion	string	Name of the feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_iho	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the International Hydrographic Office Sea Area feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	iho_sea	string	Name of the International Hydrographic Office Sea Area polygon feature related to this feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_eez	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	eez	string	Name of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_ter1	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_iho	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	un_ter1	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_sov1	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_iho	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	un_sov1	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_ter2	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_iho	iso_ter2	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	un_ter2	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_sov2	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_iho	iso_sov2	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	un_sov2	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_ter3	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	territory3	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_iho	iso_ter3	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	un_ter3	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_iho	mrgid_sov3	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_iho	sovereign3	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_iho	iso_sov3	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	un_sov3	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_iho	area_km2	long	Area of feature in square kilometers.
eez_iho	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_iho	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326

Marine and land zones: the union of world country boundaries and EEZ’s

This dataset combines the boundaries of the world countries and the Exclusive Economic Zones of the world. It was created by combining the ESRI world country database and the EEZ version 11 dataset.

layer	colname	type	definition
eez_land	union	string	Name of the feature.
eez_land	mrgid_eez	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the Exclusive Economic Zone feature related to this feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	territory1	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_land	mrgid_ter1	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_ter1	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_land	un_ter1	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_land	sovereign1	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_land	mrgid_sov1	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_sov1	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	un_sov1	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	territory2	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_land	mrgid_ter2	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_ter2	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_land	un_ter2	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_land	sovereign2	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_land	mrgid_sov2	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_sov2	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	un_sov2	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	territory3	string	Specific land area which directly relates to the feature.
eez_land	mrgid_ter3	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the territory feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_ter3	string	ISO 3 code of the territory feature.
eez_land	un_ter3	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the territory feature.
eez_land	sovereign3	string	State that claims jurisdiction over the territory.
eez_land	mrgid_sov3	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the sovereign nation feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
eez_land	iso_sov3	string	ISO 3 code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	un_sov3	long	United Nations M49 Country Code of the sovereign nation feature.
eez_land	pol_type	string	Basis of creation or legal status of feature.
eez_land	y_1	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_land	x_1	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
eez_land	area_km2	long	Area of feature in square kilometers.

Global Biogeochemical Provinces (Longhurst)

The dataset represents the division of the world oceans into provinces as defined by Longhurst (1995; 1998; 2006). The division has been based on the prevailing role of physical forcing as a regulator of phytoplankton distribution. The dataset contains the initial static boundaries developed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada. Note that the boundaries of these provinces are not fixed in time and space, but are dynamic and move under seasonal and interannual changes in physical forcing. At the first level of reduction, Longhurst recognised four principal biomes: the Polar biome, the Westerlies biome, the Trade winds biome, and the Coastal biome. These four biomes are recognised in every major ocean basin. At the next level of reduction, the ocean basins are divided into provinces, roughly ten for each basin. These regions provide a template for data analysis or for making parameter assignments on a global scale. Please refer to Longhurst’s publications when using these shapefiles.

layer	colname	type	definition
longhurst	provcode	string	Unique identifier of feature as 4 code.
longhurst	provdescr	string	Name of feature.
longhurst	x	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
longhurst	y	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
longhurst	area_m2	decimal	Area of feature in square meters.
longhurst	orig_fid	int	Unique identifier of feature.
longhurst	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.

Global contourite distribution

Contourites are sedimentary units which are deposited or substantially reworked by alongslope bottom currents. They refer to the lithological unit and the terminology reflects the grain size of the sediment. Drifts refer to the same sedimentary unit as a contourite, but the word ‘drift’ reflects the morphological appearance of the sedimentary unit. Their terminology reflects the external shape, and the internal shape, which is determined by seismography. If drifts are clustered into a local area of certain size, we call the clustered sediment group a Contourite Depositional System (CDS). These sedimentary units are generally, but not exclusively, found in the deep sea (>2000m depth). They are a useful tool for determining paleoceanic and paleoclimatic changes, since their distribution is linked to bottom currents. They have gained interest from the hydrocarbon industry, since accumulation of source rocks may be influenced by bottom currents. Slope instability is also an area of interest for further research.

Source methodology: For acquisition of the resulting information, several hundreds of papers on the relevant subject were read. Firstly, abstracts, introductions and conclusions were read for a general view on the article. Then further reading on the relevant chapters provided the presented information.

In 2013, 166 records with the place type Drift were added to the Marine Gazetteer. These are linked to one of the 24 Contourite Depositional Systems, if they make part of such a system. Each drift is also influenced by a water mass or current. This water mass or current determines the sedimentation, erosion and movements of these sediments.

In 2014, the list was extended with 81 records of the place type Drift. No Contourite Depositional Systems were added. The search process was identical to 2013, only this time a summary paper was the starting point (Rebesco et al., 2014). In this publication, the major drifts were listed with their most relevant sources along with them. These listed sources were then sought after and read. Not all papers were accessible at the time of this process, and thus it is advised to read these publications in the future as well.

layer	colname	type	definition
cds	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
cds	added_in	short	Year of designation of feature.
cds	__xmin	double	Minimum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
cds	__xmax	double	Maximum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
cds	ymin	double	Minimum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
cds	ymax	double	Maximum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
cds	centroid	string	Centroid of feature in EPGS:4326

Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI (NOx emission control)

Polygon data representing the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI (NOx emission control). The outline coordinates were processed in June 2019. The coastline was extracted from the ESRI Countries 2014. Available ECAs: 1) North American area (regulation 13.6.1 and appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI); 2) United States Caribbean sea area (regulation 13.6.2 and appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI)

Preferred citation: Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium; (2020). Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI (NOx emission control). Available online at http://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/396

layer	colname	type	definition
eca_reg13_nox	area	string	Name of feature.
eca_reg13_nox	regulation	string	Legal regulation of feature.

Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 14 of MARPOL Annex VI (SOx and particulate matter emission control)

Polygon data representing the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 14 of MARPOL Annex VI (SOx and particulate matter emission control). The outline coordinates were processed in June 2019. The coastline was extracted from the ESRI Countries 2014. Available ECAs: 1) Baltic Sea area (regulation 14.3.1 of MARPOL Annex VI and regulation 1.11.2 of MARPOL Annex I); 2) North Sea area (regulation 14.3.1 of MARPOL Annex VI and regulation 1.14.6 of MARPOL Annex V); 3) North American area (regulation 14.3.2 and appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI); 4) United States Caribbean sea area (regulation 14.3.3 and appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI)

Preferred citation: Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium; (2020). Emission Control Areas (ECAs) designated under regulation 14 of MARPOL Annex VI (SOx and particulate matter emission control). Available online at http://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/397

layer	colname	type	definition
eca_reg14_sox_pm	area	string	Name of feature.
eca_reg14_sox_pm	regulation	string	Legal regulation of feature.

UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites (v02, 2023)

This file contains the shapefile of the 50 marine sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (as of 1 January 2023). Launched in 2005, the mission of the World Heritage Marine Programme is to establish effective conservation of existing and potential marine areas of Outstanding Universal Value to make sure they will be maintained and thrive for generations to come. In order to create the data, information from the UNESCO World Heritage Marine Programme and Protected Planet were collected and compiled.

Citable as data publication UNESCO (2023). Boundaries of UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites (v02). Available online at https://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/592

layer	colname	type	definition
worldheritagemarineprogramme	full_name	string	Name of feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	country	string	State in which the feature lies.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	year	string	Year of designation of feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	beauty	string	Boolean. Indicates if the designation of feature is based on landscape criteria.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	geology	string	Boolean. Indicates if the designation of feature is based on geological importance criteria.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	ecology	string	Boolean. Indicates if the designation of feature is based on ecological importance criteria.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	habitat	string	Boolean. Indicates if the designation of feature is based on ecological importance criteria.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	long_whc	string	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
worldheritagemarineprogramme	lat_whc	string	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
worldheritagemarineprogramme	source	string	Name of the authoritative source that defines the feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	buffer	string	Boolean. Indicates if the feature is a buffer around another feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	url	string	Uniform Resource Locator to the authoritative source that defines the feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	mrgid	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	refid	string	Unique Identifier of the feature.
worldheritagemarineprogramme	area_km2	decimal	Area of feature in square kilometers.

The 66 Large Marine Ecosystems of the World

LMEs are natural regions of ocean space encompassing coastal waters from river basins and estuaries to the seaward boundary of continental shelves and the outer margins of coastal currents. They are relatively large regions of 200,000 km2 or greater, the natural boundaries of which are based on four ecological criteria: bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, and trophically related populations. The theory, measurement, and modeling relevant to monitoring the changing states of LMEs are imbedded in reports on ecosystems with multiple steady states, and on the pattern formation and spatial diffusion within ecosystems. The concept that critical processes controlling the structure and function of biological communities can best be addressed on a regional basis has been applied to the ocean by using LMEs as the distinct units for marine resources assessment, monitoring, and management.

layer	colname	type	definition
lme	objectid	long	Unique identifier of feature.
lme	lme_name	string	Name of feature.
lme	grouping	string	Boolean: Indicates if the feature belongs to the category: Artic
lme	arctic	string	Boolean: Indicates if the feature belongs to the category: Artic
lme	uslmes	string	Boolean. Indicates if the feature is related to the nation: United States
lme	shape_leng	decimal	Perimeter of feature in meters calculated in spheroid.
lme	shape_area	decimal	Cartesian area of feature in square meters.
lme	sum_gis_km	decimal	Geodetic area of feature in square kilometers.
lme	mrgid	long	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
lme	minlat	double	Minimum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	minlong	double	Minimum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	maxlat	double	Maximum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	maxlong	double	Maximum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	lat	double	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	lon	double	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
lme	lme_number	long	Unique identifier of feature.

Marine Ecoregions of the World - Ecoregions

MEOW is a biogeographic classification of the world’s coasts and shelves. It is the first ever comprehensive marine classification system with clearly defined boundaries and definitions and was developed to closely link to existing regional systems. The ecoregions nest within the broader biogeographic tiers of Realms and Provinces.

MEOW represents broad-scale patterns of species and communities in the ocean, and was designed as a tool for planning conservation across a range of scales and assessing conservation efforts and gaps worldwide. The current system focuses on coast and shelf areas (as this is where the majority of human activity and conservation action is focused) and does not consider realms in pelagic or deep benthic environment. It is hoped that parallel but distinct systems for pelagic and deep benthic biotas will be devised in the near future.

The project was led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with broad input from a working group representing key NGO, academic and intergovernmental conservation partners.

(source: WWF - Marine Ecoregions of the World)

Note: The inland boundaries of the ecoregions extend far inland - a convention to ensure inclusion of any coastline and estuarine/lagoonal systems which may be derived from different map sources. For visualisations in the Marine Regions gazetteer, the areas inland have been removed from the shapefile.

References: Spalding, M. D. Fox, H. E. Allen, G. R. Davidson, N. Ferdana, Z. A. Finlayson, M. Halpern, B. S. Jorge, M. A. Lombana, A. Lourie, S. A., (2007). Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas. Bioscience 2007, VOL 57; numb 7, pages 573-584. doi: 10.1641/B570707

layer	colname	type	definition
ecoregions	eco_code	long	Unique identifier of feature.
ecoregions	ecoregion	string	Name of feature. Areas of relatively homogeneous species composition, clearly distinct from adjacent systems. The species composition is likely to be determined by the predominance of a small number of ecosystems and/or a distinct suite of oceanographic or topographic features. The dominant biogeographic forcing agents defining the ecoregions vary from location to location but may include isolation, upwelling, nutrient inputs, freshwater influx, temperature regimes, ice regimes, exposure, sediments, currents, and bathymetric or coastal complexity.
ecoregions	lat	decimal	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
ecoregions	long	decimal	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
ecoregions	placetype	string	Type of feature.
ecoregions	mrgid	int	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.

SeaVoX - Sea Areas Polygons (v18, 2021)

SeaVoX is a combined SeaDataNet and MarineXML vocabulary content governance group, it is moderated by BODC (https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/codes_and_formats/seavox/). This polygon data set defines the geographic extent of the terms specified by the SeaVoX vocabulary governance to describe coherent regions of the hydrosphere. It includes land masses enclosing freshwater bodies. The coastline data set used in the shapefile is taken from the World Vector Shoreline data set (scale 1:250,000). Reference for the data set: “polygon data set of the extent of water bodies from the SeaVoX Salt and Fresh Water Body Gazetteer, http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/C19/current/”. The data file follows a hierarchical structure with each region consisting of one or more polygons. This approach was adopted to avoid the need to have overlapping polygons in regions where a sea area included a number of sub-regions, for example the Mediterranean Sea includes the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea etc. The following gives the level in the structure at which particular regions, which consist of more than one polygon can be found. This level in the structure is given by the polygon’s attributes. Attribute: REGION: ARCTIC OCEAN, ATLANTIC OCEAN,BALTIC SEA,INDIAN OCEAN,MEDITERRANEAN REGION,PACIFIC OCEAN,SOUTH CHINA AND EASTERN ARCHIPELAGIC SEAS,SOUTHERN OCEAN,MAINLAND NORTH AMERICAMAINLAND,EUROPE,MAINLAND ASIA Attribute: LEVEL_1: ARAFURA SEA,DAVIS SEA,GREENLAND SEA,GULF OF BOTHNIA,MEDITERRANEAN SEA,NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN,NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN,ROSS SEA,SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN,SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN,TIMOR SEA, LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKED Attribute: LEVEL_2: MEDITERRANEAN SEA, WESTERN BASIN,MEDITERRANEAN SEA,EASTERN BASIN,NORTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN (40W),NORTHEAST PACIFIC OCEAN (180W),NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN (40W),NORTHWEST PACIFIC OCEAN (180W),SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN (20W),SOUTHEAST PACIFIC OCEAN (140W),SOUTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN (20W),SOUTHWEST PACIFIC OCEAN (140W), LAKE ERIE, LAKE SUPERIOR, DETROIT RIVER, ST. CLAIR RIVER, LAKE ST. CLAIR, NIAGARA RIVER, LAKE HURON, LAKE ONTARIO, LAKE MICHIGAN, ST. MARYS RIVER Attribute: LEVEL_3: BERING SEA,BRISTOL CHANNEL,CELTIC SEA,CORAL SEA,ENGLISH CHANNEL,GULF OF MAINE,INNER SEAS OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND,IRISH SEA,JAPAN SEA,NORTH SEA,TASMAN SEA,YELLOW SEA Attribute: LEVEL_4: CARDIGAN BAY,DOVER STRAIT,FIRTH OF CLYDE,LIVERPOOL BAY,NORTH CHANNEL,POOLE BAY,SOLENT,SOLWAY FIRTH Attribute: SUB_REGION: This is the lowest level in the structure. This version of the shapefile corresponds to version 18 of the SeaVoX Salt and Fresh Water Body Gazetteer. This version includes the following updates: addition of 1 new level 3 area (Gulf of Maine) and 1 new sub-region (Gulf of Maine) Credits Polygon data set of the extent of water bodies from the SeaVoX Salt and Fresh Water Body Gazetteer, http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/C19/current/ Use limitations The source of the data set should be attributed as: “polygon data set of the extent of water bodies from the SeaVoX Salt and Fresh Water Body Gazetteer, http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/C19/current/”

layer	colname	type	definition
seavox_v18	sub_region	string	Name of feature.
seavox_v18	region	string	Name of the first hierarchical level of classification feature
seavox_v18	level_1	string	Name of the second hierarchical level of classification feature.
seavox_v18	level_2	string	Name of the third hierarchical level of classification feature.
seavox_v18	level_3	string	Name of the fourth hierarchical level of classification feature
seavox_v18	level_4	string	Name of the fifth hierarchical level of classification feature
seavox_v18	skos_url	string	Uniform Resource Identifier of feature
seavox_v18	lat	double	Centroid latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	long	double	Centroid longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	minlat	double	Minimum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	minlong	double	Minimum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	maxlat	double	Maximum latitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	maxlong	double	Maximum longitude of feature in EPGS:4326
seavox_v18	mrgid_sr	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	mrgid_r	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the first hierarchical level of classification feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	mrgid_l1	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the second hierarchical level of classification feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	mrgid_l2	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the third hierarchical level of classification feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	mrgid_l3	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the fourth hierarchical level of classification feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	mrgid_l4	string	Marine Regions Geographic Identifier of the fifth hierarchical level of classification feature. Unique, persistent and resolvable identifier used in the Marine Regions gazetteer.
seavox_v18	area_km2	decimal	Geodetic area of feature in square kilometers.