About a quarter of the ocean floor has been mapped

Seabed 2030, which aims to map 100% of the ocean floor by 2030, announced that 23.4% of the map has been completed in a recent statement. In the past year alone, the initiative has mapped the ocean about the size of the continent of Europe.

‘For a sustainable future’

Seabed 2030, which mapped 10.1 million square kilometers last year, achieved this not with new mapping efforts, but with data gathered from the archives of governments, institutions and companies. The project, which began work in 2017, is part of a wider United Nations (UN) initiative called The Ocean Decade.

Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of The Nippon Foundation, a supporter of the Seabed 2030 initiative, said: “Despite it covering more than 70% of the planet, our knowledge of what lies beneath the blue surface is severely limited. Without this important information, we have no chance of a sustainable future. “A map of the world 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. Having this knowledge will enable us to protect the future of the planet.” said.

Seabed 2030 also announced that they have formed a partnership with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With its current technologies, NOAA will help map the ocean bottom and understand the physical structure of the bottom and the life it supports.