1.4 Inputs Needed for ERA Acute
11
As for oil drift simulations, VEC-data are entered as input data to ERA Acute.
Figure 1.4 shows a map of a monthly distribution of a sea bird VEC with partial data
coverage.
The distribution of a VEC population within an area is sensitive to the quality
of data, which directly affects the accuracy of the impact calculations. VEC data at
the A.3 level should be prepared using caution and scientific approaches to handle
uncertainty (see Chap. 4). Sources of quality data from specialist scientific institutions that carry out VEC distribution modelling, validated with observations are
preferable. For example, for seabirds, colony data with additional foraging area
distributions around the colonies are relevant for breeding seasons, whereas data for
Fig. 1.4 Example of a monthly distribution map showing population fractions of a seabird VEC
in each grid cell with a limited geographic coverage of the data set
11
As for oil drift simulations, VEC-data are entered as input data to ERA Acute.
Figure 1.4 shows a map of a monthly distribution of a sea bird VEC with partial data
coverage.
The distribution of a VEC population within an area is sensitive to the quality
of data, which directly affects the accuracy of the impact calculations. VEC data at
the A.3 level should be prepared using caution and scientific approaches to handle
uncertainty (see Chap. 4). Sources of quality data from specialist scientific institutions that carry out VEC distribution modelling, validated with observations are
preferable. For example, for seabirds, colony data with additional foraging area
distributions around the colonies are relevant for breeding seasons, whereas data for
Fig. 1.4 Example of a monthly distribution map showing population fractions of a seabird VEC
in each grid cell with a limited geographic coverage of the data set