A benthic environments classification system is devised from digital interpretations of multi-spectral IKONOS satellite imagery for 1,360 km2 of the carbonate platform and presented in a comprehensive digitized map. The classification scheme is designed as a 7th order hierarchical structure that integrates 5 Physiographic Realms, 24 Morphodynamic Zones, 11 Geoforms, 39 Landforms, 6 dominant surface sediment types, 9 dominant biological covers and 3 densities of biological covers for the description of benthic environments. Digital analysis of the high-resolution (4 m) IKONOS imagery employed ESRI's ArcMap to manually digitize 412 mapping units at a scale of 1:6,000 differentiated by spectral reflectance, color tones, and textures of seafloor topologies. The context of each morphodynamic zone is characterized by the content and areal distribution (in km2) of geomorphic forms and biological covers. Over 58% of the mapping area is occupied by sediment flats, and seagrasses are colonized in almost 80% of the topologies. / by Jacob Thomas Steinle. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of Oregon's Nearshore Research Inventory (NRI) project was to inventory and map the current and future use of Oregon's nearshore environment by the scientific research community for use in Oregon's marine spatial planning process. Spatial and qualitative data on the use of Oregon's ocean and coast by the scientific research community was collected using ethnographic research methods, including the geographic distribution of research, the people who are conducting scientific research, timeline for scientific research, and more. Through the NRI project, Oregon's Territorial Sea amendment process became the first marine spatial planning process in the world, other than through ocean zoning (e.g. Australia's Great Barrier Reef and China), to comprehensively recognize the scientific community as a stakeholder. This thesis contains the methods used to create the NRI database, interview the scientific community, and includes future recommendations for managers and the scientific community based on the results of the NRI. As new uses, such as wave energy extraction, get proposed along coastlines and in the ocean, marine spatial planning (MSP) can be a tool to reduce conflict and find compatible uses of ocean and coastal space. Sound science needs to be used to understand social, ecological, and economic components to ocean and coastal resources and make tradeoff decisions about ocean and coastal space use in the MSP process. The results of the NRI project demonstrate the need to recognize that the scientific research community as a stakeholder in the MSP process. Their use of ocean and coastal space helps provide the sound scientific information that is needed to make ecosystem-based management decisions. Interruptions in long-term scientific research and monitoring could limit the availability of scientific information for use in future management decisions. There are also other values to comprehensively inventorying use of the ocean and coast by the scientific community. Spatial data about where people conduct scientific research provides information for potential collaboration amongst the scientific community and between scientists and non-scientists. It also identifies data gaps, which can then be filled to help have a more comprehensive understanding of ocean and coastal issues. The NRI can act as a template for other states to include the scientific community as a stakeholder in a MSP process, and as a template for a regional inventory of scientific research which can be useful for ecosystem based approaches to management. Overall, there should be value placed on sound scientific information for management decisions and the scientific community as a stakeholder in the marine spatial planning process, as demonstrated through the NRI. / Graduation date: 2013

Ålgräs fungerar som ekosystemingenjörer som förser både människan och naturen med en mängd viktiga ekosystemtjänster och tillhandahåller olika ekosystemfunktioner. Ålgräsängens vegetation skapar en fysisk struktur till den annars kala, mjuka ler- eller sandbottnen och ökar den biologiska mångfalden. En annan viktig funktion som ålgräsängar skapar är habitat som fungerar som barnkammare för olika fiskarter, såsom torsk, flundror och sej. Det uppskattas att cirka 30% av de kända arealerna av ålgräsängar har försvunnit globalt och att 7% försvinner årligen. I Sverige kan liknande historiska förluster av ålgräs visas, bara i Bohuslän har 60% försvunnit sedan 1980-talet och ålgräsängarna fortsätter att minska till följd av fortsatt exploatering av kustområden. I detta projekt har vi undersökt ålgräsets förmåga till etablering samt dess tillväxt efter förflyttning och omplantering i ett nytt habitat vid Hallands kust. Plantering av ålgräs har inte tidigare gjorts i Halland och syftet med denna studie var att se om plantering var möjligt och hur stor tillväxt det sker på blad samt antal nya tillväxande vegetativa skott.Våra resultat visade att det fanns signifikanta skillnader för ålgräsets överlevnad mellan de tre olika metoder som vi utförde vid plantering. Vår metod singelskottsmetoden visade sig vara mest lyckad vid platsen, som låg på ett område med relativt hög våg- och vindexponering, vilket vi anser är typiskt för den Halländska kusten. De andra två metoderna, nätmetoden samt grillspettsmetoden, som användes inkluderade förankring av plantorna vilket resulterade i sämre överlevnad. Detta kan ha berott på att det fanns flera stressfaktorer vid platsen som vågor, vind och algpåväxt och att förankring störde ålgräsets etablering. / Eelgrass act as ecosystem engineers, providing both humans and nature with a variety of important ecosystem services and providing various ecosystem functions. The vegetation that eelgrass beds provide is a physical structure to the otherwise bare, soft clay or sand seabed and increases biodiversity. Another important function that eelgrass beds provide is that they create habitats that act as nurseries for various fish species, such as cod, flounder and pollock. It is estimated that around 30% of the known areas of eelgrass meadows have disappeared globally and that 7% is decreasing annually. In Sweden, similar historical losses of eelgrass can be seen, only in Bohuslän, 60% has disappeared since the 1980s and continues to decrease as a result of continued exploitation of coastal areas.  In this project, we have investigated the ability of eelgrass to establish as well as its growth after relocation and replanting in a new habitat on the coast of Halland. Planting of eelgrass has not previously been done in Halland, so the purpose of this study was to see if this was possible and how much growth occurs on leaves and the amount of new growing vegetative shoots. Our results showed that there were significant differences in the survival of the eelgrass between the three different methods we used when planting. Our method the single-shoot method proved to be most successful at the site, which was in an area with relatively high wave and wind exposure, which we believe is typical for the coast of Halland. The other two methods used, the netmethod and skewermethod, included anchoring the plants which resulted in poorer survival. This may have been because there were several stress factors at the site such as waves, wind and algae growth and that anchoring disturbed the establishment of the eelgrass.

Oregon's ocean waters are a potential source of wind, wave, and tidal energy; of interest to renewable energy entrepreneurs and to the U.S. government as it seeks to bolster energy security. In order to install technology to capture this energy, however, it may be necessary to mitigate conflict with existing ocean space users. The objective of this research was to construct a conflict analysis model in a GIS to answer the following research questions: (1) Within the study area off the coast of Oregon, where are stakeholders currently using ocean space and how many uses overlap? (2) To what extent might existing ocean space use present potential for conflict with renewable energy development? (3) How do various types of uncertainty affect analysis results? (4) What are the implications of these findings for ecosystem based management of the ocean? All available spatial information on ocean space usage by commercial fishing, commercial non-fishing, recreational, Native American, and scientific communities was gathered. Stakeholder outreach with these communities was used to vet the collected data and allow each to contribute knowledge not previously available through GIS data clearinghouses maintained by government or interest groups. The resulting data were used as inputs to a conflict visualization model written in Python and imported to an ArcGIS tool. Results showed extensive coverage and overlap of existing ocean space uses; specifically that 99.7% of the 1-nm² grid cells of the study area are occupied by at least 6 different categories of ocean space use. The six uses with the greatest coverage were: Fishing – Trolling, Habitat, Military, Fishing - Closure Areas, Protected, and Marine Transportation - Low Intensity. An uncertainty analysis was also completed to illustrate the margin for error and therefore the necessity of appropriate stakeholder outreach during the renewable energy siting process, as opposed to relying only on a GIS. Ranking of each category by its potential for conflict with renewable energy development demonstrated which areas of the ocean may be particularly contentious. Because rankings are subjective, a tool was created to allow users to input their own rankings. For the purpose of this report, default rankings were assigned to each as justified by the literature. Results under these assumptions showed that space use and potential for conflict were highest between the coast and approximately 30 nm at sea. This is likely because certain space use is limited by depth (e.g., recreational use); there is increased shipping density as vessels approach and depart major ports; and increased fuel costs associated with traveling further from shore. Two potential applications of model results were demonstrated. First, comparison with existing wave energy permit sites highlighted relative potential for conflict among the sites and the input data detailed the specific uses present. Second, comparison with areas determined most suitable for development by the wave energy industry illustrated that areas of high suitability often also had high rankings for potential for conflict. It appeared that the factors that determined development suitability were often the same factors that drew current ocean space users to those locations. Current support at the state, regional and federal level under the National Ocean Policy for the use of marine spatial planning as a tool to implement ecosystem based management of the oceans requires that tools such as the one developed in this research are used, to ensure that all components of the marine ecosystem are considered prior to implementation of a management plan. The addition of renewable energy to the current social landscape of the ocean will reduce the resource base for many categories of ocean space use. Model results demonstrated that mitigation of conflict between development and existing space use is not merely a best practice supported by current policy, but a necessity. Results presented a visualization of the social landscape of the ocean that could help managers determine which stakeholders to engage during the initial stage of choosing a site for development. / Graduation date: 2012

Marine sediments are a key component of the global carbon cycle and climate system. They host one of the largest carbon reservoirs on Earth, provide the only long-term sink for atmospheric CO2, recycle nutrients and represent the most important climate archive. Early diagenetic pro- cesses in marine sediments are thus central to our understanding of past, present and future biogeochemical cycling and climate. Because all early diagenetic processes can be directly or indirectly linked back to the degradation of organic matter (OM), advancing this understand- ing requires disentangling the different factors that control the fate of OM (sedimentation, degradation and burial) on different spatial and temporal scales. In general, the heterotrophic degradation of OM in marine sediments is controlled by the quantity and, in particular, by the ap- parent reactivity of OM that settles onto marine sediments. While the potential ((micro)biological, chemical and physical) controls on OM reactivity are increasingly well understood, their relative significance remains difficult to quantify. Traditionally, integrated data-model approaches are used to quantify apparent OM reactivity (i.e. OM degradation rate constants) at well-studied drill-sites. These approaches rely on Reaction-Transport Models (RTMs) that typically account for transport (advection, molecular diffusion, bioturbation, and bioirrigation) and reaction (pro- duction, consumption, equilibrium) processes, but vary in complexity. Apparent OM reactivity (i.e. the OM degradation rate constant) is generally considered as a free parameter that is used to fit observed depth-profiles, reaction rates or benthic-pelagic exchange fluxes. Currently, no quantitative framework exists to predict apparent OM reactivity in areas where comprehensive benthic data sets are not available.To evaluate the impact of this knowledge gap, the sensitivity of benthic biogeochemical reaction rates, as well as benthic-pelagic exchange fluxes to variations in apparent OM reactivity (i.e. reactive continuum model parameters a and ν) is explored by means of a complex, numerical diagenetic model for shelf, slope and deep sea depositional environments. Model results show that apparent OM reactivity exerts a dominant control on the magnitude of biogeochemical reaction rates and benthic-pelagic exchange fluxes across different environments. The lack of a general framework to quantify OM reactivity thus complicates the parametrization of regional and global scale diagenetic models and, thus, compromises our ability to quantify global benthic-pelagic coupling in general and OM degradation dynamics in particular.To make a first step towards an improved systematic and quantitative knowledge of OM reac- tivity, apparent OM reactivity (i.e. reactive continuum model parameters a and ν) is quantified by inverse modelling of organic carbon, sulfate (and methane) sediment profiles, as well as the location of the sulfate-methane transition zone using a complex, numerical diagenetic model for 14 individual sites across different depositional environments. Model results highlight again the dominant control of OM reactivity on biogeochemical reaction rates and benthic exchange fluxes. In addition, results show that, inversely determined ν-values fall within a narrow range (0.1 < ν < 0.2). In contrast, determined a-values span ten orders of magnitude (1 · 10−3 < a < 1·107) and are, thus, the main driver of the global variability in OM reactivity. Exploring these trends in their environmental context reveals that apparent OM reactivity is determined by a dynamic set of environmental controls rather than traditionally proposed single environmental controls (e.g. water depth, sedimentation rate, OM fluxes). However, the high computational demand associated with such a multi-species inverse model approach, as well as the limited availability of comprehensive pore water data, limits the number of apparent OM reactivity estimates. Therefore, while providing important primers for a quantification of OM reactivity on the global scale, inverse model results fall short of providing a predictive framework.To overcome the computational limitations and expand the inverse modelling of apparent OM reactivity to the global scale, the analytical model OMEN-SED is extended by integrating a nG- approximation of the reactive continuum model that is fully consistent with the general structure of OMEN-SED. The new version OMEN-SED-RCM thus provides the computational efficiency required for the inverse determination of apparent OM reactivity (i.e. reactive continuum model parameters a and ν) on the global scale. The abilities of the new model OMEN-SED-RCM in capturing observed local, as well as global patterns of diagenetic dynamics are rigorously tested by model-data, as well as model-model comparison.OMEN-SED-RCM is then used to inversely determine apparent OM reactivity by inverse modelling of 394 individual dissolved oxygen utilisation (DOU) rate measurements. DOU is commonly used as a proxy for OM reactivity, it is more widely available than comprehensive porewater data sets and global/regional benthic maps of dissolved oxygen utilisation rates (DOU) have been derived based on the growing DOU data set. Sensitivity test show that, while inverse modelling of DOU rates fails to provide a robust estimate of RCM parameter ν, it is a good indicator for RCM parameter a. Based on previous findings, parameter ν was thus assumed to be globally constant. Inversely determined a-values vary over order of magnitudes from a = 0.6 years in the South Polar region to a = 5.6 · 106 in the oligotrophic, central South Pacific. Despite a high intra- as well as interregional heterogeneity in apparent benthic OM reactivity, a number of clear regional patterns that broadly agree with previous observations emerge. High apparent OM reactivities are generally observed in regions dominated by marine OM sources and characterized by efficient sinking of OM and a limited degradation during sinking. In contrast, the lowest apparent OM reactivities are observed for regions characterized by low marine primary production rates, in combination with a great distance to the continental shelf and slope, as well as deep water columns. Yet, results also highlight the importance of lateral transport processes for apparent OM reactivity. In particular, deep sea sediments in the vicinity of dynamic continental margin environments or under the influence of strong ocean currents can receive comparably reactive OM inputs from more productive environments and, thus, reveal OM reactivities that are higher than traditionally expected. Finally, based on the observed strong link between apparent OM reactivity (i.e. RCM parameters a) and DOU rate, a transfer function that predicts the order of magnitude of RCM parameter a as a function of DOU is used to derive, to our knowledge, the first global map of apparent OM reactivity.Finally, we use the new global map of apparent OM reactivity to quantify biogeochemical dynamics and benthic-pelagic coupling across 22 benthic provinces that cover the entire global ocean. To this end, the numerical diagenetic model BRNS model is set-up for each province and forced with regionally averaged boundary conditions derived from global data sets, as well as apparent OM reactivities informed by the global OM reactivity map. The 22 regional model set-ups were then used to quantify biogeochemical process rates, as well as benthic carbon and nutrient fluxes in each province and on the global scale. Model results of regional and global fluxes and rates fall well within the range of observed values and also agree with general globally observed patterns. Results also highlight the role of the deeper ocean for benthic-pelagic cycling and indicate towards a large regional variability in benthic cycling at great depth. This is a first step towards a more refined global estimate of benthic biogeochemical cycling that accounts for the global heterogeneity of the seafloor environment. This aspect is critical to improve our understanding of benthic feedbacks on benthic-pelagic coupling and on the carbon-climate system, which can then be incorporated in benthic processes in Earth System Models. / Les sédiments marins sont un élément clé du cycle mondial du carbone et du système climatique. Ils abritent l’un des plus grands réservoirs de carbone sur Terre, fournissent le seul puits à long terme pour le CO2 atmosphérique, recyclent les nutriments et constituent les archives climatiques les plus importantes. Les processus de la diagénèse précoce dans les sédiments marins sont donc au cœur de notre compréhension des cycles et du climat biogéochimiques passés, présents et futurs. Étant donné que tous les processus diagénétiques précoces peuvent être directement ou indirectement liés à la dégradation de la matière organique (MO), faire progresser cette compréhension nécessite de démêler les différents facteurs qui contrôlent le devenir de la MO (sédimentation, dégradation et enfouissement) à différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles. En général, la dégradation hétérotrophique de la MO dans les sédiments marins est contrôlée par la quantité et, en particulier, la réactivité apparente de la MO qui se dépose sur les sédiments marins. Bien que les contrôles potentiels ((micro) biologiques, chimiques et physiques) de la réactivité de la MO soient de mieux en mieux compris, leur importance relative reste difficile à quantifier. Traditionnellement, des approches de modèle de données intégrées sont utilisées pour quantifier la réactivité apparente de la MO (c’est-à-dire les constantes de vitesse de dégradation de la MO) sur des sites de forage bien étudiés. Ces approches reposent sur des modèles de réaction-transport (RTM) qui tiennent généralement compte des processus de transport (advection, diffusion moléculaire, bioturbation et bio-irrigation) et de réaction (production, consommation, équilibre), mais leur complexité varie. La réactivité apparente de la MO est généralement considérée comme un paramètre libre qui est utilisé pour ajuster les profils de profondeur, les taux de réaction ou les flux d’échange benthique-pélagique observés. À l’heure actuelle, aucun cadre quantitatif n’existe pour prédire la réactivité apparente de la MO dans les zones où aucun ensemble complet de données benthiques n’est disponible.Pour évaluer l’impact de ce manque de connaissance, nous avons exploré la sensibilité des taux de réaction biogéochimiques benthiques, ainsi que des flux d’échange benthique-pélagique aux variations de la réactivité apparente de la MO (c.-à-d. les paramètres du modèle de con- tinuum réactif a et ν) au moyen d’un modèle diagénétique numérique complexe appliqué aux zones de dépôts sur les plateaux, les talus et en haute mer. Les résultats du modèle montrent que la réactivité apparente de la MO exerce un contrôle dominant sur l’ampleur des taux de réaction biogéochimiques et des flux d’échange benthique-pélagique dans différents environ- nements. L’absence d’un cadre général pour quantifier la réactivité de la MO complique donc la paramétrisation des modèles diagénétiques à l’échelle régionale et mondiale et, ainsi, compromet notre capacité à quantifier le couplage benthique-pélagique global en général et la dynamique de dégradation de la MO en particulier.Pour tendre à meilleure connaissance systématique et quantitative de la réactivité de la MO, la réactivité apparente OM (c.-à-d. les paramètres du modèle de continuum réactif a et ν) est quantifiée par modélisation inverse des profils de sédiments organiques de carbone, de sulfate (et de méthane), ainsi que localisation de la zone de transition sulfate-méthane à l’aide d’un modèle diagénétique numérique complexe pour 14 sites individuels à travers différents environnements de dépôt. Les résultats du modèle mettent à nouveau en évidence le contrôle dominant de la réactivité de l’OM sur les taux de réaction biogéochimiques et les flux d’échanges benthiques. De plus, les résultats montrent que les valeurs déterminées inversement déterminées se situent dans une plage étroite (0,1 <ν<0,2). En revanche, les valeurs déterminées s’étendent sur dix ordres de grandeur (1 ·10−3 <ν< 1·107) et sont donc le principal moteur de la variabilité globale de la réactivité OM. L’exploration de ces tendances dans leur contexte environnemental révèle que la réactivité apparente de l’OM est déterminée par un ensemble dynamique de contrôles environnementaux plutôt que par des contrôles environnementaux uniques traditionnellement proposés (par exemple, la profondeur de l’eau, le taux de sédimentation, les flux OM). Cependant, la forte demande de calcul associée à une telle approche de modèle inverse multi-espèces, ainsi que la disponibilité limitée de données complètes sur l’eau interstitielle, limitent le nombre d’estimations apparentes de la réactivité OM. Par conséquent, tout en fournissant des amorces importantes pour une quantification de la réactivité de l’OM à l’échelle mondiale, les résultats du modèle inverse sont loin de fournir un cadre prédictif.Pour surmonter les limites de calcul et étendre la modélisation inverse de la réactivité apparente de l’OM à l’échelle mondiale, le modèle analytique OMEN-SED est étendu en intégrant une approximation nG du modèle de continuum réactif qui est pleinement cohérente avec la structure générale d’OMEN-SED. La nouvelle version OMEN-SED-RCM fournit ainsi l’efficacité de calcul requise pour la détermination inverse de la réactivité apparente de l’OM (c’est-à-dire les paramètres du modèle de continuum réactif a et ν) à l’échelle mondiale. Les capacités du nouveau modèle OMEN-SED-RCM à capturer les modèles locaux et globaux de dynamique diagénétique observés sont rigoureusement testés par les données du modèle, ainsi que la comparaison modèle- modèle.OMEN-SED-RCM est ensuite utilisé pour déterminer inversement la réactivité apparente de l’OM par modélisation inverse de 394 mesures individuelles du taux d’utilisation de l’oxygène dissous (DOU). Le DOU est couramment utilisé comme indicateur de la réactivité de l’OM, il est plus largement disponible que les ensembles de données exhaustifs sur l’eau interstitielle et les cartes benthiques mondiales/régionales des taux d’utilisation de l’oxygène dissous (DOU) ont été dérivées sur la base de l’ensemble de données DOU croissant. Le test de sensibilité montre que, bien que la modélisation inverse des taux de DOU ne fournisse pas une estimation robuste du paramètre RCM ν, c’est un bon indicateur pour le paramètre RCM a. Sur la base des résultats précédents, le paramètre ν a donc été supposé être globalement constant. Les valeurs a déterminées à l’inverse varient selon l’ordre de grandeur, de a = 0,6 an dans la région polaire sud à a = 5, 6 · 106 dans le Pacifique sud oligotrophique central. Malgré une forte hétérogénéité intra et interrégionale dans la réactivité apparente de la MO benthique, un certain nombre de schémas régionaux clairs qui correspondent largement aux observations précédentes émergent. Des réactivités apparentes élevées de l’OM sont généralement observées dans les régions dominées par des sources marines de MO et caractérisées par un naufrage efficace de l’OM et une dégradation limitée pendant le naufrage. En revanche, les réactivités MO apparentes les plus faibles sont observées pour les régions caractérisées par de faibles taux de production primaire marine, en combinaison avec une grande distance du plateau continental et de la pente, ainsi que des colonnes d’eau profonde. Pourtant, les résultats mettent également en évidence l’importance des processus de transport latéral pour la réactivité apparente de l’OM.En particulier, les sédiments des mers profondes au voisinage d’environnements de marge continentale dynamiques ou sous l’influence de forts courants océaniques peuvent recevoir des apports OM de réactivité comparable provenant d’environnements plus productifs et, ainsi, révéler des réactivités OM plus élevées que ce qui était traditionnellement prévu. Enfin, sur la base du lien fort observé entre la réactivité apparente de l’OM (c’est-à-dire le paramètre RCM a) et le taux DOU, une fonction de transfert qui prédit l’ordre de grandeur du paramètre RCM a en fonction de DOU est utilisée pour dériver, pour nos connaissances, la première carte mondiale de la réactivité apparente de l’OM. Les résultats du modèle des flux et des taux régionaux et mondiaux se situent bien dans la gamme des valeurs observées et également d’accord avec les tendances générales observées au niveau mondial. Les résultats mettent également en évidence le rôle de l’océan profond pour le cycle benthique-pélagique et indiquent une grande variabilité régionale du cycle benthique à grande profondeur. Il s’agit d’une première étape vers une estimation mondiale plus précise du cycle biogéochimique benthique qui tient compte de l’hétérogénéité mondiale du milieu marin. Cet aspect est essentiel pour améliorer notre compréhension des rétroactions benthiques sur le couplage benthique-pélagique et sur le système carbone-climat, qui peuvent ensuite être incorporées aux processus benthiques dans les modèles du système terrestre. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Due to urbanization and the population of cities producing up to 75% of emission, Smart City concepts, looking at sustainability and more efficiency within the city, with the help of IoT and ICT based technology, are seen as an opportunity to act future-oriented, today. Construction and transportation are seen as the main contributors on the way of change from energy consumption to energy production. Enhancing infrastructure to improve the quality of all sorts of public transportation is thus of utter importance to governance, interested in Smart City concepts. Looking at the literature, waterborne transportation has not received much scientific attention in the context of being implemented into Smart City initiatives. This systematic literature research draws logical conclusions from the researched literature. The research concludes with a research agenda for future research to deepen the knowledge in the explanatory field of waterborne transportation making use of Smart City technologies. The main findings of this thesis are: First, waterborne transportation poses a threat to the environment and impacts sustainability of water bodies, as well as the environment surrounding them. Second, Smart City technologies can successfully be implemented in waterborne transportation when carefully planned. Barriers for the implementation of Smart City concepts can be lack of knowledge, investment, data security and readiness of infrastructure. These can be overcome through the help of collaboration and knowledge sharing among the involved stakeholders. Third, the image of the industry can be shifted, as well as its direct impact and the indirect use of waterborne transportation can be made more sustainable and ecosystem friendly. This transition attracts further customers, who otherwise were not willing to use waterborne transportation. In order to make waterborne transportation more sustainable and part of the Smart City movement, knowledge needs to be deepened and awareness about the topic needs to be spread. Its use of Smart City technologies needs to be further investigated, looking at specific types and tailored solutions for them, as well as how beneficial such an investment can be for governments and companies regarding ecological costs and their image. This thesis mainly aims to help scholars, interested in further research to deepen the knowledge on waterborne transportation in a sustainability context, but also companies and governance, looking to make waterborne transportation more sustainable.