The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project Partner with TCarta

The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TCarta Marine, LLC (TCarta) – a U.S.-based company dedicated to marine remote sensing and hydrospatial data services.

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 project 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.

TCarta has been a global innovator in Satellite Derived Bathymetry (SDB), marine remote sensing and space-based hydrospatial technologies since its founding in 2014. The company has extensive experience producing custom, project-specific SDB, as well as en masse through automation and cloud computation.

TCarta is currently underway in grant research, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to pursue advancements in on-platform parameterization of satellite imagery collection for improved SDB data, as well as to develop standards of SDB, next-generation assessments of data accuracy, and definitions of zones of confidence.

“With just over 20 per cent of the seafloor mapped, we are aware of the significant task ahead of us – mapping the remaining 80 percent of the seafloor in under ten years,” commented Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Project Director of Seabed 2030. “However, at Seabed 2030 we subscribe to the view that with global cooperation, producing a complete map of the entire seafloor within our timeframe is achievable. We are therefore delighted to welcome the support of TCarta in helping us realise our goal.”