Op-Ed: Using ocean data for a sustainable future

By Robert Hoddenbach, global director climate & nature, Fugro

Climate change, widespread pollutants, and unsustainable fishing practices—it’s no secret that ocean health is under threat. With 40% of the global population living within 200km of coastal areas, and the ocean serving as a very important actor for the climate ecosystem, the health of the ocean affects all of us on Earth. Developing effective strategies to respond and limit the effects of climate change will rely on the expertise of oceanographers and the data they can provide.

The need for more ocean data

Ocean observation data (OOD) can offer invaluable insights into the health and resilience of our marine ecosystems, paving the way for effective mitigation strategies—but with large parts of the ocean remaining as yet unmapped and unmonitored, there is a great deal of progress to be made in having the data available in the first place, from which to analyze and monitor.

The urgency for capturing, utilizing and sharing OOD has never been more pressing. With 12 out of the world’s 15 mega cities located along coastlines, the ocean’s proximity to dense urban populations is undeniable. The United Nations forecasts a staggering rise in the global population from 7.6 billion to 9.8 billion by the year 2050, further escalating the demands placed on the ocean for essential resources such as food, energy, commerce, recreation, and medicine.

Real-time OOD helps establish a baseline for projects, and provides support for monitoring of ecosystems to prevent their degradation. It also helps assess the efficiency of climate practices and resilience measures as they’re implemented. 

In Australia alone, a report by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) estimates that over the next 50 years governments will need to invest at least $30bn in large-scale coastal protection and adaptation projects, as climate change makes the actions of the sea worse. Knowing where and how to focus this investment is only possible with a stronger understanding of the ocean and marine ecosystems.

Improving data collection and access

There’s a glaring gap in our global knowledge of the oceans—and that data we do have, has historically been considered proprietary by the company that collected it, or the government that authorized the collection. To solve the kinds of challenges the ocean faces that affect us all, we must work collaboratively to free up this data, gain a deeper understanding and use it to help develop effective mitigation strategies.

Years of offshore energy exploration, marine infrastructure development and scientific research has seen the private sector build a huge store of oceanic information, but attention must turn to making this data available for use more widely. Fugro has contributed over 2.36 million km² of bathymetric data so far to The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, which aims to achieve a complete map of the ocean floor by 2030.

Fugro, as one of the world’s leading companies in the collection and analysis of geo-data, has significant expertise and resources to deploy to help global ocean science initiatives, This includes leading the charge on increasing the level of private sector data sharing. The company is an active member in the UN Ocean Decade project, with a close partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO).

As part of this, Fugro co-chairs and administers an Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group, a cross-section of maritime companies keen to drive ocean stewardship forward, and improve the acquisition and sharing of ocean science data. The group is working to support public access to the proprietary ocean science data these organizations hold, aligning efforts and securing agreement from national governments to unlock for the greater good.

There are several ways that OOD can help advance climate solutions. Wave height data, for example, can support decisions about wave energy site selection and maintenance—while data on wind strength and patterns is essential to decision making around wind farm site choices. Salinity and water quality data, meanwhile, is crucial to tracking and preserving blue carbon ecosystems like seagrass and mangroves.

Several governments are already grasping the importance of studying and understanding their coastlines. This includes ecosystems like seagrass, which can capture carbon up to 35 times faster than rain forest, and contribute more than 10% of total ocean carbon storage—but less than 20% has been mapped globally. Blue carbon ecosystems such as this are essential in maintaining biodiversity, as well as acting as a coastal wave barrier.

In Italy, Fugro is involved in the Marine Ecosystem Restoration Project (MER), a first-of-its-kind initiative alongside the Italian Government to understand not only where the country’s seagrass is, but how healthy it is. With around 12,600sq meters of total project scale, the project is set to be completed by June 2026 and will cover 4000km of coastline for both direct observation and ground-truthing of other datasets.

The unrealized value of marine-based climate change mitigation solutions is vast – almost as extensive as the oceans themselves. Increasing the amount, detail and accessibility of ocean observation data is essential in building an investment case for future marine conservation projects. In so doing, we can help accelerate the fight against climate change, protect growing coastal communities, and, ultimately, leave a safe and livable world for future generations.