Seafloor and habitat mapping
The NOC Seafloor and Habitat Mapping Group has developed technology, expertise and collaborative partnerships that enable us to undertake seafloor and habitat mapping in any part of the ocean, at any water depth, covering all habitats from the seafloor to the sea surface.
We also have broad capabilities in 4D mapping, i.e. spatial mapping and temporal monitoring of seafloor habitats and ecosystems. By adopting a fully multi-disciplinary approach, involving geologists, geophysicists, biologists, oceanographers and technology developers, the group is able to integrate basic mapping data with other data types to tackle big science questions.
Key topics at the moment include:
- Conservation of marine habitats and species
- Sustainable development of marine resources
- Identifying and assessing submarine geohazards.
The majority of our NERC core funding supports UK-based work that contributes to the UK Marine Environmental Mapping Programme (MAREMAP). We also undertake international mapping activities that enable the group to remain at the cutting edge of mapping-based science. Our customers and collaborators include government departments/agencies, non-governmental organisations and numerous representatives from the industrial and academic sectors.
MAREMAP
The Marine Environmental Mapping Programme (MAREMAP) is a new NERC initiative led by British Geological Survey, National Oceanography Centre and Scottish Association for Marine Science, in partnership with University of Southampton and Channel Coastal Observatory. The overall aim is very simple: to improve our understanding of the seabed environment around the UK.
One of the key drivers for this new initiative is the lack of an integrated national approach to seabed and habitat mapping in UK waters. By combining the expertise of our leading research groups we hope to increase efficiency and take a multi-disciplinary approach to improve understanding of the seabed, shallow geology, habitats and heritage. This will be an opportunity to improve the performance of UK marine science. MAREMAP will bring together the expertise and resources of NERC to deliver a co-ordinated national research programme. Seven themes are proposed:
- Coastal and shelf geological and habitat models
- Deep water geological and habitat models
- Submarine hazards
- Sediment mobility and 4D monitoring/modeling
- Technology and techniques
- Heritage and archaeology
- Data and products
MAREMAP will provide benefits to the growing marine industrial sector, e.g. marine renewables, sand and gravel extraction, oil and gas companies, cable and pipeline construction, fishing and aquaculture. Site investigation and environmental assessments are time consuming and expensive. By making data and interpretations more readily available, time and money will be saved.
Conservation and fisheries agencies, the Crown Estate, government departments (e.g. Dept Transport, DEFRA, DECC, FCO, MoD, devolved administrations) all have large or small data collection and interpretation projects. In many cases these are done for one purpose, for example the Civil Hydrography Programme has a £5M budget to collect MultiBeam Echosounder System data (MBES) for charting and safety of life at sea, and MAREMAP will use these data to help meet the requirements of other marine users.
In the last few years we have seen a revolution in the techniques and quantities of data collected for site surveys, conservation, and Safety of Life at Sea. This project will take these data, which are becoming more freely available, and integrate with existing data to meet the requirements of EU Directives, and help to maximise returns to UK industry and underpin Marine Spatial Planning for the foreseeable future.
BGS, NOC and SAMS are contributing around £1M per annum of NERC National Capability funding to underpin the programme. Several other groups (e.g. University of Southampton and Channel Coastal Observatory) have already agreed to combine resources to help deliver better value for money to support UK industries and help Government meet its environmental and development objectives. Through the work of MAREMAP, we see excellent opportunities to add value to the work of conservation and fisheries agencies, the Crown Estate, government departments and academia.
Seafloor and Habitat Mapping at NOC
The NOC Seafloor and Habitat Mapping Group has a very broad range of interests, from the coastal fringe to the deep-ocean floor, covering marine geology and ecology, archaeology and oceanography. Our work is highly interdisciplinary and focuses on the following themes:
For further details contact the MAREMAP co-ordinator at NOC, Dr Russell Wynn.
