ECFAS provides and demonstrates tools, methods, and protocols that relied on input by Services CEMS, CMEMS, C3S and CLMS through the provision of products derived from Sentinel data as well as oceanographic modelling.
ECFAS operated at different levels: a first component (ECFAS-Warning) is related to the improvement of EFAS to build an awareness system for coastal areas, following the framework and technical requirements of EFAS. A second component (ECFAS-Mapping) provides added-value products to improve the Rapid Mapping and Risk and Recovery Mapping of CEMS.
Users’ requirements were identified with a standardised methodology together with an analysis of the relevant legal framework. The result of this activity has informed all the phases of the ECFAS implementation.
To evaluate coastal risk, available datasets of exposure and vulnerability components of the European coastal zone were identified and used. A new algorithm to extract shorelines from Sentinel and Landsat optical images was implemented (SAET - Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool). The algorithm was used to integrate new coast-targeted mapping products (i.e. beach erosion impact).
To implement the EWS component of ECFAS, up to 5-day forecasts of Total Water Level (TWL) at the coast are provided daily, including contributions from tides, waves, storm surges and steric sea level effects. Different modelling systems of CMEMS were used to produce TWLs, identifying pan-EU local thresholds to activate the warnings.
The tools and models developed in ECFAS have been largely tested and validated using recent storm events that inundated coastal areas, generating significant impacts. These datasets were used to develop a flood maps catalogue considering different combinations of TWL and storm duration. A new impact assessment method and the related algorithm were implemented, verified and used to produce a companion impact catalogue for assets and population. All the results have been integrated in the ECFAS PoC, an interactive web-based platform.
ECFAS was presented at several events at national and international level and to users belonging to various institutions (public and private) such as the EO Community, including Copernicus EMS users, Research Community, Civil Protection Authorities, Local and Regional Authorities, Managers, Practitioners, SMEs and Industry actors, Decision Makers, International and National Agencies/Organisations and Funding Bodies. Over half of the activities undertaken addressed audiences of at least 200 people, and a few key activities reached extremely large audiences.
The ECFAS project produced many exploitable results for the public and the private sector, namely the ECFAS PoC (the web-platform) and all its components, including the developed algorithms that have a large potential for exploitation and uptake, as it is reflected in the analysis of users’ needs and requirements. The training and research material produced by the project will be used to transfer knowledge into the new generations of technical experts that will occupy key positions in the consultancy and coastal management and risk assessment environments.
