Fugro informed that it contributed over 110,000 square kilometres of high-resolution bathymetry data in the North Atlantic Ocean, in order to help improve the quality and coverage of seabed mapping in the region.
The dataset was delivered to two additional programs: the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AORA) and The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project (Seabed 2030).
As is common across the world’s oceans, much of the Atlantic lacks the modern bathymetry data needed to properly understand the seafloor, its resources, and its processes. We are proud to help close these data gaps with continued crowd sourced bathymetry data contributions to AORA and Seabed 2030
commented David Millar, Fugro’s government accounts director in the Americas.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
AORA was established under the 2013 Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation between the European Union, the US, and Canada. Aiming to support a prosperous and sustainable blue economy, AORA has identified seabed mapping as a priority area of collaboration.
Seabed 2030 is a worldwide initiative between Japan’s Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) to produce a definitive, high-resolution bathymetric map of the entire world’s ocean floor by 2030. Currently, no more than 20% of the oceans are mapped to modern survey standards.
The project will also look to gather data from research missions as well as explorers searching for sunken wrecks together with data received from ships, fishing boats and commercial companies.
Fugro’s approach to crowd sourced bathymetry involves in-transit data collection from multibeam-equipped survey vessels. The most recent datasets were acquired from the Fugro Discovery while sailing between Scotland and the US, and from the Fugro Searcher while travelling between Brazil and Canada.
Fugro’s total data contributions in the North Atlantic are now about 278,000 square kilometres, bringing its global contributions to approximately 450,000 square kilometres.
About 93% of the world’s oceans with a depth of over 200 meters (650 feet) has yet to be charted. For this reason, Satinder Bindra, director of the Seabed 2030 project, said the project can be completed until 2030, and will make give answers to a number of issues, such as tsunami wave patterns pollution, fishing movements, and shipping navigation.
