Illustrative: sea-surface temperature, eddy-driven surface drifters and the ice edge

Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Course catalogue · Earth and Environmental Sciences

Climate and Ocean Sciences

Oceans and coasts

Oceans and coasts, taught twice over: as the working methods of the field and as its frontier since 2024, with labs on the Academy's tools, open data and the Nexus Standards.

Core course Frontier course

The discipline

01Core course · L2 Intermediate

Oceans and coasts: foundations and practice

This area covers marine ecosystems, coastal hazards such as storm surge, erosion and sea-level rise, ocean observation, and the communities, fisheries, ports and blue economy that depend on the ocean.

Level
L2 Intermediate
Study time
about 24 hours (planning estimate)
Status
In authoring
Prerequisites
An L1 course in the area, or an entry review

Why now

Reef loss weakens coastal protection, fisheries and tourism; an expected El Niño raises the prospect of renewed bleaching before reefs recover. NOAA NESDIS, World's Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Likely Ended in 2025, 2 June 2026

Learning outcomes

  1. Define storm surge and the other key terms of the discipline and use them correctly in a written case
  2. Explain sea-level rise and coastal flood and storm surge and coastal erosion with a worked example and its source
  3. Apply the discipline's method to a documented case and explain each result with its source
  4. Analyse a named case against marine ecosystems and ocean warming, stating evidence, date and limits

Modules

  1. Sea-level rise and coastal flood
    • Sea-level rise and coastal flood
    • Storm surge and coastal erosion
    • Marine ecosystems and ocean warming
  2. Ocean acidification and deoxygenation
    • Ocean acidification and deoxygenation
    • Fisheries and coastal livelihoods
    • Ports and maritime infrastructure
  3. Marine pollution
    • Marine pollution
    • Ocean observation
    • Island resilience
  4. Blue economy
    • Blue economy
  5. Lab: the discipline's method
    • Mean sea level rises by an amount the ice and the ocean set; extreme sea levels ride on that mean, so the surge height that once returned every 100 years returns exponentially more often as the mean rises; the return period of a defence being overtopped is the quantity a coastal decision uses.
    • Work the method through a documented case and explain each result
    • Read the method's sources and stated values

Labs with Academy tools

Nexus Standards

Teaches

  • NRS-X3 Oceans and coasts risk
  • NRS-H11 Hazard family: Coastal and sea-level hazards
  • NRS-H12 Hazard family: Ocean-state extremes
  • NRS-H16 Hazard family: Floating ice
  • NRS-H67 Hazard family: Ocean circulation and marine tipping
  • NRS-H63 Hazard family: Seabed and deep-sea hazards
  • NRS-M17 Method fabric: Climate, nature and biodiversity

Relies on

  • NS-1 The UNI and the artefact catalogue
  • NS-16 UNI application profile (how articles, documents, code, data, APIs and interfaces carry the UNI)
  • NRS-C1 Risk vocabulary and ontology
  • NRS-C2 Risk assessment method
  • NRS-C3 Hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity data
  • NRS-C4 Risk data model, identifiers and exchange
  • NRS-C7 Early warning, triggers and anticipatory action
  • NRS-C8 Evidence, uncertainty and provenance

Assessment

  • 40%Lab recordWork the discipline's method through a documented case and explain each result with its source and date
  • 40%Case memoApply the discipline's methods to a named place or organisation, stating evidence and limits
  • 20%Key terms checkShort answers on the key terms, marked against the definitions

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Intermediate, 5 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. NOAA NESDIS, World's Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Likely Ended in 2025, 2 June 2026
  2. Vousdoukas et al., Global probabilistic projections of extreme sea levels show intensification of coastal flood hazard, 2018
  3. Hunter, A simple technique for estimating an allowance for uncertain sea-level rise, 2012
  4. Kopp et al., Probabilistic 21st and 22nd century sea-level projections at a global network of tide-gauge sites, 2014
02Live map

Ocean state in the Maghreb

Marine heat, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll and sea ice from satellite analyses, over the Maghreb.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 1

Ocean state

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Ocean state, framed on the Maghreb.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GHRSST Level 4 MUR analyses, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS Aqua ocean colour, NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group; distributed by the NASA Ocean Biology DAAC (OB.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (8 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Sea surface temperature anomaly: GHRSST MUR25, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Sea surface temperature: GHRSST MUR, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Ocean chlorophyll-a concentration: MODIS Aqua ocean colour, NASA OB.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Sea ice concentration: GHRSST MUR, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

03How learning runs

How learning runs, as a process you can run

Select a scenario and press Play: course, pathway, practice, faculty, cells and record.

04What is changing

Frontier course · L3 advanced, programme courses and standards

Oceans and coasts: frontier methods

The methods, data, tools and studies that changed oceans and coasts between 2024 and 2026, taught by reproducing them on open data.

Level
L3 Advanced
Study time
about 28 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
Oceans and coasts: foundations and practice; Working knowledge of a scripting language (Python or R) for the labs

Why now

Reef loss weakens coastal protection, fisheries and tourism; an expected El Niño raises the prospect of renewed bleaching before reefs recover. NOAA NESDIS, World's Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Likely Ended in 2025, 2 June 2026

Learning outcomes

  1. Explain what changed in oceans and coasts since 2024 and cite the studies, data or rules behind each change
  2. Reproduce fourth global coral bleaching event likely ended in 2025 on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  3. Evaluate a 2024 to 2026 study: its question, data, method, limits and what it changes for practice
  4. Design an analysis that combines a frontier method with the faculty's instruments, and justify each choice

Modules

  1. Fourth global coral bleaching event likely ended in 2025
    • NOAA concluded the fourth global coral bleaching event, confirmed in April 2024, likely ended in mid-2025 after bleaching-level heat stress reached 84% of the world's reef area and mass bleaching was documented in at least 83 countries and territories.
    • Reef loss weakens coastal protection, fisheries and tourism; an expected El Niño raises the prospect of renewed bleaching before reefs recover.
    • NOAA NESDIS, 2 June 2026
  2. Ocean acidification assessed as a breached planetary boundary
    • The Planetary Health Check 2025, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, assessed ocean acidification as crossing its planetary boundary for the first time, making seven of nine boundaries breached; surface pH has fallen about 0.1 units.
    • Acidification affects shellfish, aquaculture and reef-dependent livelihoods; its formal boundary status supports including it alongside warming in marine risk assessment.
    • Stockholm Resilience Centre, 24 September 2025
  3. High seas biodiversity treaty reaches ratifications to enter into force
    • The BBNJ Agreement under UNCLOS passed 60 ratifications in September 2025 and entered into force on 17 January 2026, setting binding rules for marine protected areas, benefit sharing from marine genetic resources and impact assessment beyond national jurisdiction.
    • It creates a legal basis for protected areas and environmental assessment covering about two-thirds of the ocean, affecting shipping, fishing and seabed activity planning.
    • UN News, 20 September 2025
  4. WTO agreement curbing harmful fisheries subsidies enters into force
    • The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies entered into force once two-thirds of members accepted it.
    • Subsidy discipline targets one driver of stock depletion, relevant to the long-term viability of fisheries-dependent coastal economies and seafood supply chains.
    • World Trade Organization, 15 September 2025
  5. Reproduction lab
    • Extend the discipline's method with one frontier method and compare its results
    • State the uncertainty and the limits of the result
    • Peer review against a shared checklist
  6. Technology that helps and the risks it carries
    • Earth observation and acoustic monitoring, environmental DNA and GeoAI.
    • The governance of biotechnology releases, and data sovereignty.

Labs with Academy tools

Nexus Standards

Teaches

  • NRS-X3 Oceans and coasts risk
  • NRS-H11 Hazard family: Coastal and sea-level hazards
  • NRS-H12 Hazard family: Ocean-state extremes
  • NRS-H16 Hazard family: Floating ice
  • NRS-H67 Hazard family: Ocean circulation and marine tipping
  • NRS-H63 Hazard family: Seabed and deep-sea hazards
  • NRS-M17 Method fabric: Climate, nature and biodiversity

Relies on

  • NS-1 The UNI and the artefact catalogue
  • NS-16 UNI application profile (how articles, documents, code, data, APIs and interfaces carry the UNI)
  • NRS-C1 Risk vocabulary and ontology
  • NRS-C2 Risk assessment method
  • NRS-C3 Hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity data
  • NRS-C4 Risk data model, identifiers and exchange
  • NRS-C7 Early warning, triggers and anticipatory action
  • NRS-C8 Evidence, uncertainty and provenance

Assessment

  • 50%Method reproductionReproduce one frontier method on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  • 30%Study reviewA critical review of a 2024 to 2026 study: question, data, method, limits, what it changes
  • 20%Peer reviewReview two other learners' reproductions against a shared checklist

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Expert, 6 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. NOAA NESDIS, World's Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Likely Ended in 2025, 2 June 2026
  2. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached, 24 September 2025
  3. UN News, UN 'high seas' treaty clears ratification threshold, to enter into force in January, 20 September 2025
  4. World Trade Organization, WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies enters into force, 15 September 2025
  5. Vousdoukas et al., Global probabilistic projections of extreme sea levels show intensification of coastal flood hazard, 2018
  6. Hunter, A simple technique for estimating an allowance for uncertain sea-level rise, 2012
  7. Kopp et al., Probabilistic 21st and 22nd century sea-level projections at a global network of tide-gauge sites, 2014
05Take part

Take part in the work

Start from who you are.

06Questions

Questions, answers and key terms

Is the course free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the course?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.

Key terms

Term

Storm surge

An abnormal rise of sea level during a storm, driven mainly by wind and low pressure.

Term

Relative sea-level rise

The change in sea level relative to the land, combining ocean rise with land subsidence or uplift.

Term

Ocean acidification

The fall in seawater pH as the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Term

Marine heatwave

A prolonged period of unusually warm sea temperatures at a location.

ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

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