5b608062-5c64-4f8f-a437-4f89c9594393 English series series 2026-07-20T15:35:43 MEDIN 3.1.2 oceans Structure and stability of the water column SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents) SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Research The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Phases 2012-05-15 revision Research and Development Activity The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Areas 2012-05-15 revision Hydrography GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2009-07-31 revision SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision North Sea SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision English Channel SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision Celtic Sea SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision Irish Sea and St. George's Channel SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision North Atlantic Ocean SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2020-05-21 revision water column 2010-01-01T00:00:00 2023-12-31T00:00:00 -15 9.5 47 64 TCE-4124 Marine Data Exchange 2010-2023, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, FRONTWARD, Shelf-sea fronts: UK satellite climatology of thermal and colour fronts Shelf-sea fronts: UK satellite climatology of thermal and colour fronts 2025-04-23T13:24:41 publication English Ocean fronts are the interface zones between distinct water masses, often locations of enhanced or sustained biological productivity and hence linked to higher abundance and biodiversity of certain marine animals. This series describes the strength and persistence of fronts, using monthly and seasonal long-term averages based on 10 years of sea-surface temperature data (1km resolution) and 7 years of chlorophyll-a data (300m resolution). There will be no limitations when published on the Marine Data Exchange otherRestrictions Data Must be used in accordance to the Marine Data Exchange's Terms of Use: https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/content/info/terms-of-use otherRestrictions The Crown Estate +44 020 7851 5000 enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk custodian Plymouth Marine Laboratory forinfo@pml.ac.uk originator The Crown Estate +44 020 7851 5000 enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk distributor The Crown Estate 02078515000 enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk owner unknown Documents https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/details/TCE-4124/summary A link to the web service or dataset. https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk A link to the general host site. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08T00:00:00 publication Conformity with the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 was either not relevant to this dataset or not a requirement of the Marine Data Exchange for the creation and submission of this dataset; therefore, conformity has not been assessed and cannot be declared False series 3.1 Front detection The monthly front strength and persistence products, which form the basis of subsequent longer average products in FRONTWARD, are derived from compositing fronts detected on individual satellite images. This process is described below. 3.1.1 Sea surface temperature fronts To detect Sea Surface temperature (SST) fronts in individual scenes the single-image edge detection (SIED) algorithm by Cayula and Cornillon (1995) is used. SIED is an automated method that identifies where there is a significant difference between the mean temperature of neighbouring water masses. It is a robust approach for identifying genuine oceanic fronts from other thermal gradients. In this work, a front is indicated where the mean temperatures of the adjacent water masses differ by at least 0.45ᵒC. To generate the SST fronts, the SIED algorithm was applied to a timeseries of AVHRR SST data over the FRONTWARD study area for the period 01-01-2010 to 31-12-2019. For the years 2010 to 2019, all fronts detected over a month window were included in composite monthly front maps (Miller, 2009). 3.1.2 Ocean colour fronts The same front detection algorithm was applied to ocean colour data: these are the daily Sentinel-3A OLCI chlorophyll-a data at higher (300m) resolution for 7.5 years from launch in May 2016 to Dec. 2023. The product used in this study was the OC5CI chlorophyll-a product (Pardo et al., 2024), a variation of the OC5 algorithm (Gohin, Druon and Lampert, 2002). This algorithm is designed for both open ocean (Case 1) waters and optically complex coastal (Case 2) waters. The colour properties of Case 1 waters are determined by the concentration of phytoplankton and its associated chlorophyll, while in Case 2 waters the colour properties are determined by other constituents such as sediment or coloured dissolved organic matter. As Chl-a has a log-normal distribution, the product is first log-transformed to enable front detection to apply consistently to low and high concentrations. A front is indicated where the Chl-a concentration differs by at least 0.06 log mg Chl-a. Although the algorithm is designed to estimate Chl-a concentration only, due to the inherent complexity of marine optics it will also indicate some suspended sediment features. This is actually an advantage for the current study, as the fronts will delineate both phytoplankton blooms and sediment plumes, which may influence the distribution of biodiversity. ABP Marine Environmental Research 02380711840 enquiries@abpmer.co.uk pointOfContact EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2022-11-29 revision WGS 84