Seabed 2030 Director Jamie McMichael-Phillips joined Dr. James Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Geoscience Australia, at a signing ceremony held at Geoscience Australia’s headquarters in Symonston, Canberra. This collaboration marks a significant step towards Seabed 2030’s goal of accelerating ocean floor mapping by the end of the decade.
Geoscience Australia will play an active role in supporting Seabed 2030’s mission by contributing vital bathymetric data to further enhance the global understanding of the seafloor. A key component of this collaboration is the AusSeabed initiative, a national seabed mapping collaboration that coordinates and publishes seabed mapping data from across the Australian region.
Through AusSeabed, Geoscience Australia will provide high-quality, accessible mapping data, bolstering Seabed 2030’s efforts to create a seamless digital map of the world’s ocean floor.
Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which seeks to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all the data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. The Project is formally endorsed as a Decade Action of the UN Ocean Decade. GEBCO is a joint program of the IHO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and is the only organization with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.
“Welcoming Geoscience Australia as a partner marks a significant step forward in the global pursuit of a fully mapped ocean floor,” commented McMichael-Phillips. “This partnership underscores the power of collaboration across national and regional boundaries, drawing on Australia’s breadth of seabed data and expertise. Together, we are moving closer to achieving a comprehensive map of the ocean and we look forward to working closely with Geoscience Australia to advance our ambitious mission.”
Dr. James Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Geoscience Australia, said: “We are thrilled to formalize our partnership with Seabed 2030 and join in the global effort to map the world’s seabed by 2030.”
Head of Oceans, Reefs, Coasts and the Antarctic Branch, Dr. Jodie Smith, explained that Geoscience Australia has committed to providing data to Seabed 2030 on behalf of the Australian seabed mapping community: “We publish seabed mapping data through the AusSeabed data portal, and this data supports decision-making across a range of marine applications, including offshore renewable energy, hazard modelling and marine park management.”
All data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030 project is included in the free and publicly available GEBCO global grid.
