Research on Coastal Waters: Joint Research Project SECOS: The Service of Sediments in German Coastal Seas; Project: Monetary Evaluation

Coastal and marginal seas serve as natural reaction sites for the processing and accumulation of land-derived discharges. The main location of modification and accumulation of input into coastal and marginal seas are in most cases the sediments. Their key positions as central reactors in land-sea interaction is insufficiently studied and assessed so far. In the framework of this project, distribution and quantitative relevance of sedimentary services in the range of the German Baltic waters shall be mapped and modelled including projection of future scenarios with the aim to advance the development of management tools. This will be primarily realized by the functional assessment of those main sedimentary areas that are most relevant contributors to desired feedbacks to the environment and society, and by a typology derived from these services. The IÖW will develop an approach for the monetary assessment of the relevant ecosystem services.