BIMCO supports global seabed mapping initiative
Knowing the depth and shape of the seafloor (bathymetry) is fundamental for our understanding of ocean circulation, tides, sediment transport and environmental change. Currently, and despite many years of effort, less than 20 per cent of the ocean seafloor has been mapped. Therefore, BIMCO supports the Seabed 2030 initiative and encourages the industry to contribute with input into the project via an online survey.
In addition to the importance of fundamental knowledge of the seafloor, from an industry point of view, seabed mapping is equally important for infrastructure construction and maintenance, cable and pipeline routing and – of course – navigating our ships. A co-ordinated international effort is needed to bring together all existing data sets and to identify areas for future surveys – in other words, to ‘map the gaps’.