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EMODNet Geology

EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) is a European project funded by the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE). It is aimed at the creation of a European database, available online, concerning the knowledge of submerged areas. The activities are subdivided into different Lots regarding: bathymetry, geology, biology, physical parameters, seabed habitat, chemistry and human activities. The Project is structured in subsequent phases from the first, started in 2009, to the sixth which is going to start in September 2025.

The "Geology" Lot is realized by a Consortium of Geological Surveys of European Countries in which the Geological Survey of Italy-ISPRA is part. EMODnet - Geology  consists in the realization of digital maps of the seabed geological characteristics (sediments distribution, geology of the substrate, coastal behaviour, geological events, mineral occurrences, submerged landscapes). The aim of the Project is to gather and make available in a single dedicated Portal existing geological data of European seas which are generally patchy and difficult to access.

The Geological Survey of Italy is the Italian Project Partner and coordinates the "Geological events and probabilities" Work Package that includes information on volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and fluid emissions as well as Quaternary tectonics which is in connection with many events.

In order to better harmonize data from specific geographic areas, dedicated working groups have been organized. One working group is focused on the Adriatic Sea and includes Geological Survey organizations of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. It allowed to produce a single sediments distribution shapefile for the whole Adriatic Sea. (https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/geoviewer/).

EMODnet Geology Infoday (20/01/2017)

EMODnet Geology results (last update: January 2025)

Project products are digital geological maps of the European seas, which can be downloaded from the Project Portal (https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en).
Themes considered are: Sea-bed Substrate, Sea-floor Geology (bedrock), Coastal Behaviour, Geological events and probabilities, Marine Minerals and Submerged landscapes.

The Geological Survey of Italy - ISPRA coordinates Work Package 6 “Geological events and probabilities”, which includes digital maps of geological events occurrences in European seas at 1:250,000 scale (including data at lower resolution) and at 1:100,000 (including also data at higher resolution). Data are represented as polygons, lines and points layers. The use of different geometric features is related to the peculiar characteristics of each occurrence, as well as to the scale of representation:

  • Earthquakes (points)
  • Submarine landslides (lines, polygons and points)
  • Submarine volcanoes (lines, polygons and points)
  • Tsunamis origin (points) and affected coasts (points)
  • Fluid emissions (polygons and points)
  • Quaternary tectonics (lines)

The earthquakes layer mainly displays events considered relevant at local level but not included in the “Seismic Portal of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC)” (http://www.seismicportal.eu/), a European infrastructure for seismological data, that reports many data provided by EMODnet Partners, but applies a very strict automated protocol of selection of the events recorded.


Data sources include detailed information held by the Project Partners plus any further publicly available third-party or literature data. All products delivered by Partners have been gathered, verified and validated in order to obtain the best degree of standardization and harmonization at European level as well as INSPIRE compliance. In order to achieve such result, specific guidelines to organize data at national level have been elaborated and circulated to Partners. Particular attention has been devoted to attribute tables, which provide all relevant available information regarding the diverse geological and physiographic settings of European seas.

In addition to the localization and classification of the events represented and their references (mandatory), other fields (optional) are provided in order to store as much detailed information as possible for further applications. Layers are updated periodically.

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EMODnet map viewer

Data available on the EMODnet Portal might provide a base for further detailed studies or elaboration of thematic maps. A case study is represented by the Structural map of seas surrounding Italy which aims to be an update concerning submerged areas of the Structural model of Italy (Bigi et al., 1992).

Structural map of seas surrounding Italy