First government signs up to seabed mapping project
As The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 gathers momentum, the first national government has signed up to this ambitious global seabed mapping project.
Seabed 2030 aims to map the world’s entire ocean floor by 2030. So far, 20 per cent of it has been mapped to modern standards.
The Chief Executive of Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand, Gaye Searancke, signed the Memorandum of Agreement with The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project.
Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Seabed 2030 Director, linking in by video from the UK, signed the agreement on behalf of the Project.
Toitū Te Whenua, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA) and GNS Science are working together to jointly govern data assembly and coordination in New Zealand waters.
They champion mapping activities, assemble and compile ocean floor depth (or bathymetric) information and collaborate with existing mapping initiatives within the region.
Ms Searancke said: “New Zealand is proud to be leading the way with this work. Mapping the seabed floor is critical to our knowledge about climate and weather patterns, tides, wave action, sediment transport, tsunami wave propagation and underwater geo-hazards.”
“While good progress is being made to meet the 2030 target, the Memorandum of Agreement marks a significant step forward,” says NIWA Environmental Management Programme Leader Kevin Mackay.
Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) aimed at compiling all bathymetric data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. GEBCO is a joint project of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.
By Jake Frith
