Type TIFF
This layer shows the cumulative impact of human activities (such as fishing and pollution) on marine ecosystems across North America, based on Halpern et al. 2008. Seventeen global maps of human activities were combined with maps of marine ecosystem vulnerability to produce a single map of relative human impact.
This map layer prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) presents the cumulative impact of human activities on marine ecosystems across North America based on Halpern et al. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319 (5865): 948–952. To generate this map, a research team collected or created global maps of 17 different human activities, such as fishing and pollution, that have an impact on marine ecosystems, as well as maps of different marine ecosystems. The team quantified the vulnerability of each marine ecosystem to the different human activities, and this map of human impacts was made by combining the threat maps and the vulnerability scores.
Geographic Coverage
The coverage spans North American marine areas, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.
Data Sources and Licensing
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Halpern et al. (2008). The data is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution.
Update frequency: Not planned
Limitations of use: Acknowledgment of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and/or the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is appreciated in products derived from these data.
Vintage: 2007–2008
Applications (Intended Use)
* Marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management.
* Allocation of conservation resources and identification of priority areas for protection.
* Assessing cumulative human pressures on ocean ecosystems for research and education.
* Supporting cross-border environmental cooperation and policy-making among North American nations.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2008. “North American Environmental Atlas - Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems”. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Ed. 1.0, Raster digital data [0.25 arc-minute]. Halpern et al. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319 (5865): 948–952.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
| West | -180 | East | -50 |
| North | 85 | South | 14 |
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:150,000,000 |
Contact Person: Ben Halpern
This map shows the impacts of humans on the ocean’s ecosystems. To generate this map, the research team collected or created global maps of 17 different human activities, such as fishing and pollution, that have an impact on marine ecosystems, as well as maps of different marine ecosystems. The team quantified the vulnerability of each marine ecosystem to the different human activities. This map of human impacts was made by combining the threat maps and the vulnerability scores. Source: Halpern et al. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319 (5865): 948–952.
Este mapa muestra los efectos de los seres humanos en los ecosistemas de los océanos. Para generar este mapa el equipo de investigación recopiló o creó mapas mundiales de 17 actividades humanas —entre ellas, la pesca y la contaminación— que tienen impacto en mares y océanos, así como mapas de los diversos ecosistemas marinos. El equipo cuantificó la vulnerabilidad de cada ecosistema marino ante las actividades humanas. Este mapa del impacto humano se realizó combinando los mapas de las amenazas y las calificaciones o niveles de vulnerabilidad. Fuente: Halpern et al, «A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems», Science, 319 (5865): 948-952, 2008.
Cette carte montre les impacts qu’ont les êtres humains sur les écosystèmes océaniques. Pour produire cette carte, l’équipe de chercheurs a recueilli ou créé des cartes mondiales de 17 activités humaines différentes (par exemple la pêche et la pollution) qui ont un impact sur les écosystèmes marins, ainsi que des cartes des différents écosystèmes marins. Elle a quantifié la vulnérabilité de chaque écosystème marin face aux différentes activités humaines. On a créé cette carte en combinant les cartes relatives aux menaces et les taux de vulnérabilité. Source: Halpern et coll. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems, Science, 319 (5865), p. 948-952, 2008.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which came into force at the same time as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. As of 2020, the CEC operates in accordance with the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force at the same time as the CUSMA/T-MEC/USMCA trade agreement. Please contact before distributing dirived data. For original data, please visit http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/GlobalMarine For distribution of orignal data, please use proper citation. This data set is available in several formats, including TIFF, Map package, and a PDF Map, along with other files appropriate to particular format, such as .lyrx and .qlr files.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2008. “North American Environmental Atlas - Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems”. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Ed. 1.0, Raster digital data [0.25 arc-minute]. Halpern et al. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319 (5865): 948–952.
This dataset includes Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems data for all North America.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
A comprehensive list of 38 categories of anthropogenic drivers of change in marine ecosystems, developed through expert workshops, was assessed for global data availability. We intentionally did not further subdivide these categories into unique drivers (e.g., each specific type of pollutant), as this would lead to an overemphasis on certain activities when impacts are summed. Our analyses were limited to anthropogenic drivers with pre-existing global coverage or those for which we could assemble or develop such coverage. Although many regional-scale datasets, as well as global datasets with incomplete coverage, exist for a variety of specific human activities, including them would bias global comparisons; therefore, they were excluded. Anthropogenic drivers that could not be included are, among others: hypoxic zones, coastal engineering (piers, rock walls, etc.), non-cargo shipping (ferries, cruise ships, etc.), aquaculture, disease, recreational fishing, changes in sedimentation and freshwater input, and tourism. For all of these drivers, data exist for one or more regions, but none has full global coverage. We also assessed the availability of global data for 23 different marine ecosystems and were able to access or develop spatial data for 20 of them. The datasets included in our analyses are listed in Table S1 and described in detail below. Our cumulative impact model follows a four-step process. First, we assembled global data for each anthropogenic driver (Di) and each ecosystem (Ej). Second, we applied a log[X+1] transformation and rescaled each driver layer between 0 and 1 to create a single, unitless scale that allows direct comparison, while converting ecosystem data into 1 km² presence/absence layers. Third, for each 1 km² cell of ocean, we multiplied each driver layer by each ecosystem layer to create driver-by-ecosystem combinations and then multiplied these combinations by the appropriate weighting variable (uij). These weighting variables were derived from an expert survey that assessed the vulnerability of each ecosystem to each driver based on five ecological traits. The weighting values represent the relative impact of an anthropogenic driver on an ecosystem within a given cell when both occur in that cell; they do not represent the relative global impact of a driver or the overall status of an ecosystem. The sum of these weighted driver-by-ecosystem combinations represents the relative cumulative impact of human activities on all ecosystems within a particular 1 km² cell. Finally, to provide ecological meaning to these relative cumulative impact scores, we used empirical data on ecosystem condition to ground-truth our results.
A comprehensive list of 38 categories of anthropogenic drivers of change in marine ecosystems, developed through expert workshops, was assessed for global data availability. We intentionally did not further subdivide these categories into unique drivers (e.g., each specific type of pollutant), as this would lead to an overemphasis on certain activities when impacts are summed. Our analyses were limited to anthropogenic drivers with pre-existing global coverage or those for which we could assemble or develop such coverage. Although many regional-scale datasets, as well as global datasets with incomplete coverage, exist for a variety of specific human activities, including them would bias global comparisons; therefore, they were excluded. Anthropogenic drivers that could not be included are, among others: hypoxic zones, coastal engineering (piers, rock walls, etc.), non-cargo shipping (ferries, cruise ships, etc.), aquaculture, disease, recreational fishing, changes in sedimentation and freshwater input, and tourism. For all of these drivers, data exist for one or more regions, but none has full global coverage. We also assessed the availability of global data for 23 different marine ecosystems and were able to access or develop spatial data for 20 of them. The datasets included in our analyses are listed in Table S1 and described in detail below. Our cumulative impact model follows a four-step process. First, we assembled global data for each anthropogenic driver (Di) and each ecosystem (Ej). Second, we applied a log[X+1] transformation and rescaled each driver layer between 0 and 1 to create a single, unitless scale that allows direct comparison, while converting ecosystem data into 1 km² presence/absence layers. Third, for each 1 km² cell of ocean, we multiplied each driver layer by each ecosystem layer to create driver-by-ecosystem combinations and then multiplied these combinations by the appropriate weighting variable (uij). These weighting variables were derived from an expert survey that assessed the vulnerability of each ecosystem to each driver based on five ecological traits. The weighting values represent the relative impact of an anthropogenic driver on an ecosystem within a given cell when both occur in that cell; they do not represent the relative global impact of a driver or the overall status of an ecosystem. The sum of these weighted driver-by-ecosystem combinations represents the relative cumulative impact of human activities on all ecosystems within a particular 1 km² cell. Finally, to provide ecological meaning to these relative cumulative impact scores, we used empirical data on ecosystem condition to ground-truth our results.
0.25 [arc-minute] spatial resolution
Contact Person: Ben Halpern
None. Acknowledgment of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and (or) the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.