Critical Sandpit Depth

General Information

North Sea

Baltic Sea

Clyde Marine Region

Adriatic Sea

Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Critical Sandpit Depth

Layer Info
Category	Management
Sub-category	Environmental Conditions
Editable	No

Description

The critical sandpit depth for stratification identifies the depth at which sandpits may begin to experience thermal stratification. This occurs when deeper pits disrupt natural tidal mixing, leading to layers of water with different temperatures leading to limited oxygen exchange. Understanding these depth thresholds helps in sustainable marine sand extraction, minimizing ecological risks and preserving water quality.

MSP Challenge

In the MSP Challenge, the Critical Sandpit Depth for Stratification layer highlights depth thresholds where sandpits may disrupt natural water mixing, potentially causing stratification.

This layer is not editable, it provides crucial insights for players to assess environmental impacts and optimize sand extraction strategies while maintaining ecological balance.

This datalayer is an output of the OR ELSE project and is available in the Sand Extraction Edition and in the Digitwin Edition.

Sand Extraction Edition

Types

• 0 - 5 m
• 5 - 7 m
• 7 - 9 m
• 9 - 11 m
• 11 - 13 m
• 13 - 15 m
• 15 - 20 m
• 20 - 25 m
• 25 - 30 m
• > 30 m

Metadata

Data Source

This layer was provided by partners from the ORELSE project.

Creator: Mohammad Daliri (NIOZ).

Original Title

Critical Sandpit Depth for Stratification Map - Southern North Sea - April 2025

Description

This layer represents spatial distribution of critical sandpit depths (in meters) estimated for the onset of water column stratification across a model domain in the Southern North Sea. Output based on hydrodynamic simulations conducted in GETM.

Derived from GETM (GeneralEstuarine Transport Model) simulation outputs, forced by ECMWF ERA-5 meteorology, TOPEX-P.

Creation Date

04/2025

Methodology

The original file type was NetCDF.

1. Extracted lat, lon, critical_depth variables into csv through python script.
2. Csv to points, reprojected and cleaned data (empty points far outside study area)
3. Preformed TIN interpolation
4. Clipped raster to mask based on the extent of original points
5. Reclassified by table

Not applicable.

This layer is not available in the Baltic Sea Edition.

Not applicable.

This layer is not available in the Clyde Marine Region Edition.

Not applicable.

This layer is not available in the Adriatic Sea Edition.

Not applicable.

This layer is not present in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.