CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE USE OF GIS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS OF THE AZOV-BLACK SEA BASIN IN THE FRAMEWORK OF BLUE GROWTH

Abstract

Topicality. The paper discusses the possibility of using modern GIS technologies for studying coastal ecosystems of the Azov-Black Sea basin within the framework of blue growth. Today, GIS technologies greatly facilitate the study of the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the natural environment. The development of these technologies has increased greatly in recent decades. Now they can be used as a separate and independent tool for research in various areas of production. Based on the results obtained on the basis of GIS technologies, it is possible to draw scientific conclusions or create and implement management decisions to maintain sustainable or resilient development of the state of the environment under significant environmental pressure. Also conduct an economic, environmental, social assessment of the consequences of anthropogenic and natural impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems and the terrestrial ecosystem.Aim and tasks. Scientific substantiation of the possibilities of using modern GIS technologies regarding the sustainable development of the coastal ecosystem of the Azov-Black Sea basin within the framework of blue growth was the aim of the study.Materials and Methods. The studies were based on coastal mapping methods. The classification of environmental parameters based on United States Geological Survey (USGS) data was the initial information. The ecological coastal classification (Ecological Coastal Units (ECU)) was developed by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with Esri and the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). These data were developed as part of a Group on Earth Observation (GEO) initiative called GEO Ecosystems (GEO ECO). They are linked to the GEO ECO task of developing global data on coastal ecosystems.Research results. The state of the coastal strip of the seas of Ukraine according to the classification of environmental parameters based on data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was described in this paper. It was stated that the ecological status of coastlines is classified into five ocean parameters, two land parameters and three coastal parameters. The research results showed that the ecological situation of the coastal strips of the seas of Ukraine generally corresponds to the second, third, sixth and fifteenth classes according to the ecological coastal classification.Conclusion. It is presented that the coastal strip classification method discussed in this paper based on US Geological Survey (USGS) data can serve as a very powerful tool in the process of managing coastal zones of the Azov-Black Sea basin. It has been established that GIS technologies at the current stage of development have very great potential for studying coastal ecosystems of the Azov-Black Sea basin within the framework of blue growth.