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28 ST | January 2018 www.sea-technology.com Moreover, by adding periodic bathymetric updating that may be derived from Sentinel images and incorporating new data assimilation routines, it will become possible to achieve a new level of analysis for coastal seas, with satellite oceanog- raphy constraining models and sup- porting downstream applications. Overall, this would represent a tangible new step toward improved forecasting and to a new level of re- analysis, which would also translate into a benefit in the field of design/ risk probability analysis for civil engineering structures at climatic scales. These advances, once integrat- ed into the overarching Copernicus architecture, will prove the techni- cal feasibility of a new wealth of "coastal services" directly address- ing the needs of public managers (e.g., coastal authorities) and private users (e.g., renewable energy com- panies) competing for the limited coastal zone space, therefore, pro- viding the necessary resources for careful maritime spatial planning activities. With the aim of assessing these new coastal services, the EU has recently funded the project "Coper- nicus Evolution and Applications with Sentinel Enhancements and Land Effluents for Shores and Seas" (CEASELESS) under the EU initia- tive Horizon 2020. The CEASE- LESS project started November 2016, under the coordination of the Polytechnic University of Cat- alonia (UPC) and involving several European partners: Italian National Research Council, Technical Uni- versity of Denmark, Helmholtz-Ze- ntrum Geesthacht, Danish Hydrau- lic Institute, Geographic Resources Analysis and Science, Natural En- vironmental Research Council, Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. CEASELESS highlights limits and potentialities of the new Sentinel measurements and how they can support the development of a coast- al dimension in Copernicus by pro- viding an unprecedented level of resolution/accuracy/continuity with respect to present products. The retrieval and validation for restricted domains and for an en- larged set of combined variables will be the basis to advance the state of the art in assimilation, mod- eling and applications, at a level commensurate with the new Senti- nel capabilities. The mutual validation of satellite data, numerical results and in-situ observations will generate recip- rocal profit for enhanced compet- itiveness of EU coastal industries, although the suitability for cases in poor countries opening new busi- ness opportunities for a coastal Co- pernicus, will be also assessed by the CEASELESS team. CEASELESS will specifically ad- dress the wide and multiple scales coexisting in littoral areas by devel- oping new shallow-water parame- terizations, introducing them into coupled model suites (dealing with wind-wave-surge-current-land dis- charge) and setting new standards for coastal simulations and analy- ses. The permanent database pro- duced by the project, in addition to the modular structure of the devel- oped models, will demonstrate the technical feasibility of a future oper- ational Copernicus coastal service. More specifically, the data repos- itories (accessible via a dedicated portal), regularly updated with the evolving (satellite-derived) bathym- etry, will facilitate the use/re-use of our high-resolution results, support- ing a new set of Copernicus coast- al applications, such as renewable energy, coastal erosion or harbor exploitation. Generally speaking, results de- riving from CEASELESS activities will be directly employed to assess and mitigate the level of conflicts that characterize the very densely populated coastal regions in the EU, where these conflicts are grow- ing as a consequence of climate change-related impacts. Sea level rise, coastal flooding and erosion and increase of wave storms are just some of the examples that require a new level of understanding and modeling in order to provide fac- tual and efficient support to a wide range of economic sectors taking place in the land border area. find out more www.blueprintsubsea.com enquiries@blueprintsubsea.com sound by design Multibeam Imaging Sonars Single and Dual Frequency Operation Portable Sidescan Sonars Towed, OEM, Hull and Pole Mounted Micro-USBL Tracking Beacons Bidirectional Acoustic Data Modems