The race to map the ocean floor: tackling the remaining 70%

What will it take to map the remaining 70% of our planet’s seafloor in just five years? That’s the challenge facing the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, a global initiative to deliver a complete map of the ocean floor by 2030. Director Jamie McMichael-Phillips is leading this unprecedented effort, bringing together new technologies, international partnerships and thousands of contributors worldwide. In this Q&A, he shares perspectives on recent progress, emerging innovations and the road ahead.

As of the June 2025 update, Seabed 2030 has mapped 27.3% of the ocean floor – adding around four million km² in just one year. What major logistical or technological shifts enabled this rapid progress, and do you see this pace accelerating further?

We have indeed had a successful year, thanks to the significant efforts of our many, many contributors. Increasingly, existing bathymetric data is being discovered and made available, and more organizations are recognizing the importance of ocean mapping – often integrating it into their missions at sea.

We’ve seen a steady rise in the use of uncrewed and autonomous vessels, alongside more frequent application of satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) in shallow and hard-to-reach areas. Advances in automated data processing, cloud-based workflows and, more recently, the emergence of AI are also contributing to this acceleration.

Crucially, all of this is underpinned by strengthened international collaboration in supporting Seabed 2030. Our contributor base continues to grow, with a remarkable number of organizations now supporting the effort. This is all part of our focus to inspire mapping of the ocean and to encourage open data sharing.

Recent research highlights that while shallow and bathyal zones have seen significant mapping increases, the abyssal plains – covering over 70% of the seafloor – still lag behind. How is Seabed 2030 prioritizing mapping in ultra-deep zones versus more accessible areas?

Our Seabed 2030 Regional Centers are always available to support ocean mappers in identifying priority areas and encouraging coordinated efforts to map them. Of course, we are heavily reliant on external contributors to carry out the mapping effort. By partnering with these organizations – particularly those that are experienced in deep-ocean exploration, we can work more closely with them to help focus efforts on the vast unmapped areas of our ocean. A good example of this is our recent Memorandum of Understanding with OceanQuest, which is actively advancing deep-sea discovery.

We continue to strengthen relationships with private-sector operators and organizations that have the capacity to reach and map these remote regions. By leveraging planned activities to address priority data gaps, we can make the most of every opportunity to extend global mapping coverage.

With 14 new organizations contributing – five from Africa and the Pacific – how is Seabed 2030 working to ensure equitable capacity building and data sovereignty, particularly within EEZs of developing nations?

Seabed 2030’s mission is to accelerate GEBCO’s original aim of providing the most authoritative bathymetric data and making it freely available. We do this by inspiring ocean mapping and compiling available bathymetry into the GEBCO Map.

We also recognize the importance of data sovereignty and work closely with national partners to ensure contributions are shared in ways that align with their priorities and policies. Our aim is to empower countries to map their own waters and make use of that data to support national development, marine management and scientific research. Within our limited resources, we’ve been able to deliver regional capacity-sharing workshops – working alongside regional experts and institutions to support the use of mapping tools and techniques.

We’re keen to continue encouraging national and regional mapping efforts, and it’s encouraging to see growing contributions from Africa and the Pacific. Together, these developments reflect growing global engagement and a more inclusive mapping community.

Many governments and private entities still hesitate to share detailed bathymetric data due to security, economic or strategic reasons. What concrete steps is Seabed 2030 taking to build trust and incentivize wider data sharing among these critical stakeholders?

There are many reasons why governments, institutions and private-sector stakeholders may hesitate to share detailed bathymetric data – often due to security, economic or commercial concerns. From a Seabed 2030 perspective, we are not seeking high-resolution data. At best, we’re looking for one depth measurement within a 100m-by-100m grid cell – that’s a single sounding in an area broadly the size of a European football pitch.

By working with institutions and data holders to clarify that this coarse resolution does not compromise sensitive information, we can help facilitate the release of more data for integration into the GEBCO Map. Such contributions can also be seen as acts of leadership – supporting environmental stewardship, resilience, scientific progress and a deeper understanding of the ocean that benefits us all.

Given that current estimates suggest it could take nearly a millennium of ship years to fully map all unmapped areas, are there groundbreaking technologies – such as AUV swarms, satellite bathymetry or autonomous fishing vessel sensors – that you believe could realistically allow Seabed 2030 to meet its 2030 goal?

More than 71% of our planet’s surface is covered by water, and to date we’ve mapped 27.3% of it – a significant milestone. But with nearly three quarters of the ocean still to go, achieving a fully mapped seafloor by 2030 depends not only on innovative new tools, but also on scaling up and combining technologies to add value.

SDB can help fill coastal and hard-to-access areas. Uncrewed and autonomous platforms are increasingly complementing conventional survey vessels. And crowdsourced bathymetry – particularly from commercial and research vessels already at sea – holds enormous potential.

Together, these approaches can accelerate progress toward a complete map of the ocean floor. Seabed 2030 plays a vital role in coordinating these efforts – aligning partners, technologies and opportunities to maximize their collective impact. The result is more than just a map – it’s a critical foundation for understanding our climate, protecting ecosystems and supporting the sustainable management of the ocean.