The newly established UK Centre for Seabed Mapping is open to public organizations in the UK that are engaged in seabed mapping and have a shared interest in maximizing the UK’s national maritime assets.
The UK Centre for Seabed Mapping (UK CSM), which is run by the UKHO, was presented to the UN on June 27, 2022, at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, as a voluntary commitment by the UK government.
The UK CSM’s mandate is to better market seabed mapping as an essential part of the country’s infrastructure and to expand its coverage, quality, and accessibility.
The UK CSM has established three initial working groups that members can join and contribute to: National Data Collaboration, International Data Collaboration, and Data Collection Standards.
The UK CSM was established to lead a coordinated approach to the collection, management, and access of seabed mapping data as well as to champion a more integrated marine geospatial sector in the UK.
By establishing the conditions and developing the infrastructure to allow the diverse community of marine geospatial stakeholders to come together and deliver significant, sustained, and strategic benefits to the UK – particularly in the context of the Integrated Review and the UK’s Global Britain vision – these working groups will advance discussion and coordination of data accessibility, collection, and collaboration as well as progress work on data standards.
An encouraging response that demonstrates a strong desire to collaborate across industry and help to raise the profile and improve the outcomes of seabed mapping was provided by the participation of twenty-two government agencies in the UK CSM’s inaugural Management Group meeting and their volunteerism to participate in the working groups.
David Parker, the UKHO’s Head of Hydrographic Programs, commented on the news:
The UK Centre for Seabed Mapping is glad to welcome any UK-based organizations with a focus on seabed mapping, and we are eager for all pertinent organizations to join.
This significant and timely initiative will help meet the growing demand for a more cooperative, cohesive, empowered, and better promoted marine geospatial community. We are eager to work with organizations in the public sector to make this a reality.
It also supports the UK’s contribution and commitment to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which runs from 2021 to 2030.
Almost all marine-related activities, such as maritime trade, resource management, shipping operations, national security, and infrastructure, depend on reliable marine geospatial data.
We have a clear opportunity to create a cooperative seabed mapping community that coordinates the gathering, management, and access of publicly funded data because the UK is a global leader in seabed mapping.
Greater innovation and prosperity will be supported by better ocean governance and policy, which in turn will promote more interoperable and useable data.
Our goal is for the UK CSM to serve as the primary focal point for the seabed mapping community, a unified voice for policy support, and a vehicle for effective cross-government coordination in order to fulfill our obligation to the public.
For the collection of marine geospatial data, the UK CSM will develop specifications that support national and international standards. In accordance with the “collect once, use many times” principle, this will offer much-needed consistency and interoperability in the development of the marine geospatial ecosystem and give the private sector confidence in the direction.
In addition, the UK CSM will enhance and expand accessibility and provide unrestricted access to data while respecting IP rights, national security, and sound data governance.
A dedicated center will also make it easier for stakeholders to comprehend future data collecting plans and spot chances for collaboration, eliminating redundancy and maximizing economies of scale as well as the quality and volume of data being collected with current public financing.