The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has announced that it has increased its ocean data mapping by an area the size of Europe.
Seabed 2030 is a collaboration between the Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) and aims to map the entire planet’s seabed by 2030. Currently, the project has mapped around 23.4% of the seabed.
The latest data was announced at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon by Nippon Foundation Executive Director Mitsuyuki Unno. Commenting on the latest achievement, Unno said:
“In just five years Seabed 2030 has led the way in ocean mapping to achieve 23.4% of the seafloor mapped to a high resolution. Despite covering over 70 percent of the planet, our knowledge of what lies beneath the blue surface has been severely limited. Without this crucial information we cannot possibly set about having a sustainable future – a complete map of the ocean floor is the missing tool that will enable us to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, including climate change and marine pollution. It will enable us to safeguard the planet’s future.”
While Jamie McMichael-Phillips, the Seabed 2030 project director, said:
“It is encouraging to see this growth in bathymetric data despite the challenges facing ocean mapping, which were undeniably exacerbated by the pandemic. As we make headway with the Ocean Decade, we look forward to accelerating our efforts to recoup time and effort lost last year. The progress we have made since 2017 is commendable, but we are mindful of the task still ahead — and eager to realize it.”
You can find out more about the Seabed 2030 project here.
