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18/02/2008
The seabed in 3D
Explore the bottom of the sea in the Gulf of Morbihan with Géoportail!
Take a look at Litto3D, a large-scale project to find out more about the French coast...
> Go 3D diving!
Ready to dive
Litto3D, "Coast" section, How to do it: From the Géoportail 3D view, head for the Gulf of Morbihan and click on the "Litto3D (Coast3D)" layer in the "COAST" section.
Set the altitude cursor as low as it can go, then gradually go further and further down using the left-hand altitude button... 2m, 0m, -2m... you’re below sea-level!
The Litto3D project
The data used to display the ocean depths come from the Litto3D project, which is a joint programme undertaken by the SHOM (French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service) and the IGN.
Litto3D is a coast mapping project that covers both the coastal strip and the immediately adjacent maritime equivalent. It is displayed as an accurate, uninterrupted and dense 3D model of the coastal fringe.
The coastline
At the centre of the Litto3D project is the actual coastline, which forms the border between land and sea.
On Géoportail
View the coastline on Géoportail
> 2D Display > Find out more
Download
Free coastline download for use with software such as Arcview, ArcGis, GeoConcept, Autocad, etc.
> Download the coastline (at IGN.fr)
More about Litto3D
We need to know as much as possible about coastal areas for all kinds of reasons: protection of the coast (effects of erosion on the coastline, protection of the coastal area, in particular the marine national parks, protection of flora and fauna), risk prevention (flooding, pollution, natural catastrophes), land management (ports, tourism, industry), use of living and mineral resources, research and scientific surveys.
The first phase of the Litto3D project involves the promotion and dissemination of existing data. For many years, the SHOM and the IGN have been building up highly detailed databases on the French coast, containing a wide variety of information: a common historical database, called Histolitt, is currently under construction.
The coastline (which can be viewed in 2D on Géoportail) is largely drawn from this database.
The second phase involves the construction of an altimetric model of the whole of the French coast.
The Gulf of Morbihan has been chosen for the trial version, since it combines - via a wide variety of contours and themes - most of the issues the Litto3D project is likely to encounter, particularly with respect to hydrodynamic modelling.
Data from the Gulf of Morbihan can now be viewed directly on Géoportail.
> Find out more about Litto3D (at the SHOM site)