environmentaltools: An Open-Source Tool from the Barrier Project for Environmental Analysis

We’re excited to announce that environmentaltools, a Python-based toolkit developed as part of the Barrier project, is now publicly available as a free and open-source package on PyPI, with full documentation hosted on Read the Docs.

What is environmentaltools?

environmentaltools is a comprehensive Python package for environmental data analysis and visualization. Developed within the Barrier project and by the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Group (GDFA) at the University of Granada, it brings together specialized functions for tackling problems in maritime engineering, climate studies, hydrology, and environmental data science.

Its modular architecture includes:

  • 📦 Common module: utilities for reading/writing data, statistical analysis, and model handling.
  • 🌐 Download module: access to datasets from CORDEX, Google Earth Engine, OpenStreetMap, Marine Copernicus (ERA5), and more.
  • 🚁 Drone module: tools for scan pattern generation, mission planning, and integration with other modules.
  • 📊 Graphics module: spatial visualizations, regime analysis, joint distributions, and process plots.
  • 🌊 Process module: wave analysis, load functions, file generation, and specialized calculations.
  • 🗺️ Spatial module: geospatial analysis and spatial data manipulation.
  • 📈 Spectral module: spectral and harmonic analysis (e.g., tides), prediction, and time series reconstruction.
  • 🕒 Temporal module: statistical fitting, simulations, regime analysis, classification, and copulas.
  • 🌍 Spatiotemporal module: Bayesian analysis, threshold-based indicators, multicriteria evaluation, and raster processing.

This structure allows users to perform everything from basic data handling to advanced environmental modeling, with a focus on reproducibility, flexibility, and scientific rigor. It’s built to be lightweight, extensible, and easy to integrate into scientific, technical, and educational projects.

You can install it via PyPI: pip install environmentaltools and you can find the Documentation on: https://environmentaltools.readthedocs.io

Commitment to Open Science

By releasing environmentaltools as open-source software, the Barrier project reinforces its commitment to transparency, reproducibility, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We hope this tool will serve as a bridge between researchers, educators, environmental professionals, and decision-makers.

Successful sampling campaign for the tidal flats

On May 27th and 28th, 2025, the BARRIER Project team visited the Guadalquivir River estuary to gather information about the tidal flats in the area. The visit began at the dam and hydroelectric power station in Alcalá del Río, which marks the upper limit of the estuary, and continued downstream to the bifurcation between the present and former river near the Guadalquivir Lock (Seville, image 1); the recreational boat docking pier (Trebujena); the salt marshes near the bird observatory at Salinas de Bonanza (Bonanza); and the San Salvador Bastion (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, image 2).

Image 1. Tidal flats near the bifurcation of the present (foreground) and former Guadalquivir River.

Image 2. LIDAR 3D terrestrial laser scanner (front) and Maxor GNSS Receiver (back) installed to conduct the first topographic survey of the tidal flats at the estuary’s mouth.

Project BARRIER Kick-off Meeting

Project Barrier kick-off meeting

On November 22, the kick-off meeting for the project «Building Analysis Capacity to Improve Resilience of the Guadalquivir River Estuary (BARRIER)» was held at the Andalusian Interuniversity Institute for Earth System Research of the University of Granada (UGR). The meeting was attended by national researchers Manuel Cobos (IP, UGR), Asunción Baquerizo (UGR), Manuel Díez Minguito (UGR), Andrés Payo (at British Geological Survey), and Pedro Otiñar Morillas (UGR), as well as international researchers Rodolfo Silva Casarín (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and Marcus Silva de Santana (UGR).

The discussion generated during the event was documented by the communication team from Terceto (Laniakea).