RSCy 2019

Seventh International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment, 18-21 March, 2019, Paphos, Cyprus

A Cross-Border Cooperation for Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in Cyprus

Diofantos Hadjimitsis a, Christodoulos Mettas a*, Athos Agapiou a, Evagoras Evagorou a, Kyriacos
Themistocleous a, Christos Danezis a, Christiana Papoutsa a, Marios Tzouvaras a, Argyro Nisantzi a, Kyriacos
Aliouris b, Nicolas Ioannou b, Georgia Papathoma c, Georgios Kokosis c, Chrysanthi Kleanthous c

a Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus; b Shipping Deputy Ministry, Cyprus; c Department of Lands and
Surveys, Ministry of Interior, Cyprus

Marine Spatial Planning in Cyprus

An important milestone for the implementation of the MSP in Cyprus was the successful completion of a cross-border project entitled as “Cross-Border Cooperation for Maritime
Spatial Planning Development”, in short “THAL-CHOR”, co-funded under the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Interreg “Greece–Cyprus 2007–2013” framework.
Following this, the House of Representatives of Cyprus approved, on the 29th of September 2017, the MSP Act transposing the Directive 2014/89/EU. As Cyprus has not yet
developed a formal MSP, the further implementation of MSP in the marine waters of the country will be the focus area of the ongoing project: “Cross-Border Cooperation for
Implementing Maritime Spatial Planning” referred as “THAL-CHOR 2”. A very important task of this project is the development of draft maritime spatial plan(s) of Cyprus based
on the experiences gained from "THAL-CHOR" and best practices of already implemented European MSPs taking into consideration the national legislation, local conditions and
environment. The actions carried out by the CUT are presented in a more detailed way and mentioned in the update of the “THAL-CHOR” database, the determination of tidal
levels as well as Bathymetric surveys using Remote Sensing techniques in maritime area of Cyprus.

Open Access Data

The update and enrichment of the Open Access Data of “THAL-CHOR” is a work package to take place in “THAL-CHOR 2”. Twenty activities from open access data were
updated/enriched i.e.: blue flags, fish-farming stations, swimming areas, stations and telecommunication cables etc.

Figure 1: THAL – CHOR 2 maps from Open Access data

Determination of Tidal levels Mapping bathymetry using Remote Sensing

One additional activity of “THAL-CHOR 2”, is the determination of the altimetric
starting heights for the marine and continental area of Cyprus. Basic activities for the
Determination of Hydrographic network is the establishment of a modern network of
tidal stations and evaluation control points, processing and analysis of the time series of
the sea level, determination of tidal components and determination of tidal levels.
Bathymetry is a critical component for the implementation of the Marine Spatial
Planning. In “THAL-CHOR 2” a study was carried for the mapping of bathymetry
using Remote sensing technology. A multi-temporal analysis of 12 Sentinel-2
images, LiDAR data and the empirical method of Stumph (ratio transformation
algorithm) were used in a pilot area in Cyprus (Limassol). The study was published
in an open-access journal (Evagorou et al., 2019) indicating an error ranging from
1.39 up to 2.56 m. The best accuracy of bathymetry data is found in Sentinel image
acquired on June with a 𝑅2 = 0.94, RMSE = 1.39m and MAE=1.05m.

Figure 2: Specifications (dimensions) of tidal stations Figure 3: Tidal station in the port of Limassol

Outcomes for the Marine spatial Planning of Cyprus

The aforementioned activities will give a comprehensive Hydrographic network, Figure 5: Correlation between observed
Bathymetric maps for the coastal regions and an integrated platform supporting for the depths and SDB depths obtained in June
.
wind potential of Cyprus. The update and enrichment of the Geospatial database/tools and July of 2017
and collection of new data (legal framework, procedure indexing) will be used to fulfill Figure 4: Predicted and mapped Bathymetry with
the gaps towards the implementation of the integrated plans. ranges 0 to - 22m depth

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research is supported by the project entitled: “Cross-Border Cooperation for Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning”
referred as “THAL-CHOR 2” and is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by national funds of Greece
and Cyprus, under the Cooperation Programme “INTERREG V-A Greece-Cyprus 2014-2020”. The title / Acronym of the project in
the Greek language: “ΔΙΑΣΥΝΟΡΙΑΚΗ ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΕΦΑΡΜΟΓΗ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΟΥ ΧΩΡΟΤΑΞΙΚΟΥ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΥ” / “ΘΑΛ – ΧΩΡ 2”.