London, 22 December 2021 –  A new partnership has been announced between The Nippon  Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project and Global Oceans. The two parties  will work together to further our understanding of ocean bathymetry and  contribute to the global effort to produce the definitive map of the  ocean floor, complementing the goals of the United Nations Decade of  Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The  Nippon Foundation and GEBCO to inspire the complete mapping of the  world's ocean by 2030, and to compile all bathymetric data into the  freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. GEBCO is a joint programme 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. Seabed 2030 is formally endorsed  as a Decade Action of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Based in the US, Global Oceans is a non-profit  organisation designed to integrate and mobilise private-sector offshore  resources through its MARV™ ship model (Modular Adaptive Research  Vessels) to dynamically expand ocean science capacity on regionally  deployed manned platforms worldwide. Global Oceans is launching new  projects that will utilize MARVs and ocean exploration technologies to  enable more intensive ocean and atmospheric investigation and greater  international scientific collaboration.

“We believe that in order to undertake meaningful  action to tackle the impact of climate change and human activity we need  to accelerate our scientific understanding of the ocean at a global  scale and so we wholly subscribe to Seabed 2030’s mission to map the  global seabed,” commented Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans.  “Accessing high-resolution bathymetric data is essential to our  projects, and we look forward to supporting Seabed 2030’s efforts by  exploring opportunities to co-finance extended mapping on Global Oceans’  projects, to make available our 6000-meter Innerspace 6000 TIA towed system to be re-built with multibeam sonar for seabed mapping at depth, and to  support new Seabed 2030-related projects on MARV vessels.”

Seabed 2030 Project Director Jamie  McMichael-Phillips said “A complete map of the seabed will enable us to  make informed decisions which can safeguard the future of our planet –  Global Oceans recognises this and the fundamental role the oceans play  in sustaining human life. We are therefore delighted to announce this  new partnership as we make headway with our goal of the definitive map  of the ocean floor by the end of this decade.”

All data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030  Project is included in the GEBCO global grid, which is free and publicly  available.

The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and GEBCO. The Seabed 2030 Project, launched at the United Nations Ocean Conference in 2017 by Chairman Sasakawa of The Nippon Foundation, coordinates and oversees the sourcing and compilation of bathymetric data from different parts of the world’s ocean through its five centres into the freely available GEBCO Grid. Four Regional Centres cover the Southern Ocean, the Arctic and North Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the South and West Pacific Ocean. These feed data products into the Global Data Centre.
Find out more about the project and how to get involved.

Global Oceans is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit operating foundation designed to deploy its MARV™ research vessel model of mobilising time-chartered Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) with modular on-deck laboratory/workspace systems and scientific instruments for short-term use as manned research platforms. Global Oceans is collaborating with scientists, institutions, agencies, and intergovernmental bodies worldwide to develop projects that are uniquely enabled by MARV capacity. More information at www.global-oceans.org.

For media inquiries contact:

Pegah Souri 
pegah@raittorr.co.uk   
+44 (0)7951 581707

Jim Costopulos
jcostopulos@global-oceans.org   
1.847.334.5028