That’s right today United Nations World Ocean Dayand this year’s theme is “Wonder: Maintaining what supports us.” One researcher who spent years exploring these wonders Vicki Fellinimarine geophysicist, senior research scientist and geography expert. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, This is part of the Columbia Climate School. Fellini also leads the Atlantic and Indian Ocean Centre for the Japan Foundation – Gebuko Submarine 2030 ProjectUndersea 2030), this is a global initiative to complete the map of the seabed and provide a map of the seabed that can be published by 2030.
In the Q&A below, Fellini shares her perspective on current marine studies, the importance of international collaboration, and what brings hope for the future of this global field.
How do you explain it? Current state of marine science and research?
There is a real realization that the way this work is done is through collaboration. In between 10 years of ocean We are in the middle of other initiatives like that Undersea 2030researchers acknowledge that field collaboration and data integration help to make better and more complete observations about the environment.
Most of the events I attend this month are Capitol Hill Ocean Week, Explorers Club, NYC Ocean Tech Summit and United Nations Ocean Conferenceit really focuses on this subject. Both are the long-standing partnerships that we have benefited in the US from here, and new partnerships that are growing around the world. We are really starting to pool data from ocean research and realize that data that may not be valuable to some people is valuable to others. Collecting, curating and sharing that data can have a huge impact on large scale and provide a return on your investment.
wHave you mapped the percentage of sea hats so far?
We will be releasing the latest authoritative international numbers later this month. However, as of a year ago, it was 26%. This represents the efforts of countless individuals and organizations around the world. While we continue our efforts to map global oceans, we are still trying to find the best way to bridge the data gap. We are constantly making progress, faster processing and integration, and new technologies are accelerating data collection. What’s most exciting for me is that we are not only reveiling hidden parts of the planet, but also sitting down on the potential for a massive influx of data that leads to discoveries and solutions that impact people.
I’m involved in the project you’re working on By 2030, we will utilize open source data to create public maps across the seabed. Could you talk a little about that?
Returning to Lamont’s origins and some of the very early work that took place here, we see the power to aggregate data, with the whole being greater than the sum of parts. Our individual observation footprints tend to be rather small for physics when we work in the ocean. For example, you can only image or see water over very short distances. But as you start putting together more data, you’ll gain new insights. Keeping your data open and really prioritizing accessibility gives you a broader perspective. Experts aren’t the only ones who can work in useful raw data formats. You can actually build data about people to conduct interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Just having more people at the table will start to gain new perspectives.
Nationally, a lot of effort has been made to ensure that data collected in federal grants and public resources is publicly accessible. I made some great discoveries with these data. We also developed incredible data systems and integrations for public access policies. It is a great sign of American leadership and provides an additional return on investment. Now, we are beginning to see this work grow significantly internationally and begin to integrate data from around the world. I think this is where there are many power, potential, and supportive opportunities.
You mentioned several meetings on marine research that you will be attending in the coming weeks. Why are these meetings so important?
Many of these events are about ocean exploration, mapping, and general discoveries. We are in the midst of a truly big change in how we work in the waters. There are far more players than in the past, but that’s great. More private sector engagement, more philanthropy investment, and more collaboration across the sector. Not only is the number of marine companies players, but also the number sensors and the rise in emerging technologies, it could expand in ways that were previously impossible. The computing pace is also much faster. All of these together creates a flood of potential data. Our challenge is connecting it and managing it. We are all used to working in lanes and tend not to be suitable for adjacent lanes, but cross-shiro connections have real power.
What do you want to take away from these national and international conferences?
With the exception of the general benefits of engaging with a growing community of participants, we are really trying to think about and address the issues of scale. We have been working to bring together marine mapping data through the Seabed 2030 project, and we recognize that integrating global coalitions is the only way to build this map. We still have a long way to go, but if we can understand how to expand our efforts, we not only have a more complete picture of the ocean, but we can accelerate our progress. There is also the opportunity to deal with the dynamics of the ocean.
The UN Ocean Conference will be a truly exciting week of interacting with people from all over the world who are truly motivated and passionate about understanding, protecting and managing the oceans to help us maintain our future. These types of events are truly beneficial in not only bringing people together to understand what is happening around the world, but also reminding them that there are great progress and that they will continue to advance together even when times are tough.
