Seafloor Mapping – The Challenge of a Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

Anne-Cathrin Wölfl,David Millar,Jennifer Jencks,Boris Dorschel,Sam Amirebrahimi,Martin Visbeck,Terje Haga Pedersen,Thierry Schmitt,Kim Picard,Colin W Devey,Anja Reitz,Martin Jakobsson,Helen Snaith,Geoffroy Lamarche,Pauline Weatherall,Rochelle Wigley,Gordon Johnston,V L Ferrini ,Larry A Mayer ,Veerle Huvenne

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00283

Abstract

Detailed knowledge of the shape of the seafloor is crucial to humankind. Bathymetry data is critical for safety of navigation and is used for many other applications. In an era of ongoing environmental degradation worldwide, bathymetry data (and the knowledge derived from it) play a pivotal role in using and managing the world’s oceans in a way that is in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 - conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. However, the vast majority of our oceans is still virtually unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. Only a small fraction of the seafloor has been systematically mapped by direct measurement. The remaining bathymetry is predicted from satellite altimeter data, providing only an approximate estimation of the shape of the seafloor. Several global and regional initiatives are underway to change this situation. This paper presents a selection of these initiatives as best practice examples for bathymetry data collection, compilation and open data sharing as well as the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO (The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) Seabed 2030 Project that complements and leverages these initiatives and promotes international collaboration and partnership. Several non-traditional data collection opportunities are looked at that are currently gaining momentum as well as new and innovative technologies that can increase the efficiency of collecting bathymetric data. Finally, recommendations are given towards a possible way forward into the future of seafloor mapping and towards achieving the goal of a truly global ocean bathymetry.

Highlights

The world’s oceans cover 71% of the Earth
At the time of the search for the fuselage, single and multibeam data coverage in the area was insufficient to deploy deep-water instruments to provide a detailed inspection of the seafloor (Picard et al, 2017) and so ship-based bathymetric data had to be collected
These data reside in the international hydrographic organization (IHO) DCDB which offers access to archives of oceanic, atmospheric, geophysical, and coastal data (Jencks et al “Citizen-Science for the Future: Advisory Case Studies from Around the Globe,” this issue)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The world’s oceans cover 71% of the Earth. This is about 362 million square kilometers of the total surface area (Eakins and Sharman, 2010), but only a small fraction has been mapped by direct observation. Foremost high-resolution bathymetric data, is required to work toward the goal of protecting at least 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020 (UN Convention on Biodiversity Aichi Target 11, Sala et al, 2018) and to support the achievement of SDG 14 – Life below water – of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Under the guidance of the working group, NOAA’s national centers for environmental information (NCEI) has implemented the ability to archive, discover, display and retrieve global crowdsourced bathymetric data contributed from mariners around the world These data reside in the IHO DCDB which offers access to archives of oceanic, atmospheric, geophysical, and coastal data (Jencks et al “Citizen-Science for the Future: Advisory Case Studies from Around the Globe,” this issue)

Release of Data From National Archives

Findings

A SEAFLOOR MAPPING STRATEGY IS NEEDED