The map represents the degree of pressure based on the intensity of transport in the Mediterranean Sea. Three variables were taken into account: vessels traffic, port activity and oil spills. Shipping data (Halpern et al., 2008) provide an estimate of the occurrence of ships at a particular location, and therefore an estimate of the amount of pollution they produce, under the assumption that traveling ships primarily affect their immediate waters. The dispersal of port-derived pollution was modeled as a diffusive plume based on data of transport of goods (thousand tonnes) and passengers (thousand passengers). Pressures generated by oil spills and other pollution releases are represented as a density layer based on data registered by the REMPEC, and also the oil spills map generated by Cinirella et al, 2012 (based on JRC 2009 data).

The indicators represent the distribution and degree of accumulation of marine in the Mediterranean Sea. Main source data were modelled by Lebreton et al., 2012 using a Lagrangian particle tracking model to simulate 30 years of input and transport of floating debris in the world’s ocean. The relative contribution of different sources to the total amount was taken into account in their model.

This indicator represent the pressure on marine ecosystems due to climate change on a continuous scale of intensity from low to high. The pressure on marine ecosystems due to climate change was determined by a composite indicator based on the combined influence of two variables: sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, where the temperature exceeds a threshold value like the long-term mean (differences in anomaly frequency between 2000-2005 and 1985-1990), and sea level rise (SLR), which show the sea level rise trends in mm/year.

The map shows the distribution of main passengers transport ports in the Mediterranean Sea. Pressure on marine regions are represented by the port influence area, based also on their activity level. The dispersal of port-derived pollution was modeled as a diffusive plume based on their activity level using Eurostat data on transport of goods (thousand tonnes) and passengers (thousand passengers). Calculations were made following the same methodology developed for ESaTDOR Project (ESPON, 2013).

Map representing the number of nights in coastal areas per km2, as an indicator of the local intensity of tourism demand. This pressure index is based on Eurostat tourism statistic on number of tourism nights in accommodation establishments and the DMSP-OLS Nighttime Lights Time Series image. Eurostat's tourism demand statistics differentiate between coastal and non-coastal areas within a NUTS2 region. The total number of nights in coastal areas of a NUTS2 region was disaggregated to the most intense nighttime light emission pixels of the Nighttime Lights Time Series assuming that most bed places are located in areas with high nighttime light emissions. Results are showing low to high intensive tourism demand per km2 pixel.

The map shows the distribution of main fishing ports in the Mediterranean Sea and its corresponding area of pressure (based on self calculations using the total capacity: tonnage of vessels, DG MARE, 2014). The influence of fishing activity was modeled as a buffer with and exponential decay based on self calculations using the total capacity of the fleet: tonnage of vessels (in gross tonnage, GT). This indicator is based on fleet stats of DG MARE, 2014. Calculations were made following the same methodology developed for ESaTDOR Project (ESPON, 2013).

The map highlight the potential intensity of pressure related to marinas on marine ecosystems. The dispersal of yachting port-derived pollution was modeled as a diffusive plume up to 20 km based on the data on mooring capacity of each yachting port. The spatial proximity of yachting ports increases the overall pressures. The influence was modeled as a buffer with and exponential decay based on self calculations using mooring capacity of each yachting port. Calculations were made following the same methodology developed for ESaTDOR Project (ESPON, 2013). The extension area is based on HELCOM, 2012 and it is the theoretical maximum expansion distance for pressures generated by recreational shipping.