The most valuable unbuilt-map on the planet.
By: Anthony Dimare
Tags: Mapping, Technology, Maps, Oceans, Data

This defines what the substrate on the seafloor is. Is it sand, mud, wood, metal, rock, or coral? This data will tell you.

This information is critical for any engineering projects involving the ocean floor. It’s also critical to understanding the geological environment necessary for finding certain fisheries and minerals.

Seafloor classification from MBES backscatter data

4. Seafloor geomorphic feature identify & name mapping

Each area of the seafloor can be defined by a geomorphic name: (abyssal plain, shelf, seamount, etc) — think back to elementary geology class. Moreover, each discovered feature has a unique name, like the Rockies vs the Alps! Not surprisingly, there are many more yet to be discovered and still named. Find a new seamount? You can submit a name here. I mean… how often do you get to name a mountain range you found on Earth?! The only caveat, it would be underwater.

This information is critical for transatlantic subsea cables and pipeline routing, as well as the starting point for identifying areas of mineral value. It’s also ultra-critical for predicting subsea landslides (yep — they happen) which create freak tsunamis.

If we do a geospatial analysis with the extremely low-resolution (0.5–5km) satellite altimetry data we already have we get this:

We’ve already mapped the different features of Mars at cm resolution — but this is easier because we can see them all clearly from Earth’s outer orbit.

However, the ramifications of doing this in higher resolution across the whole seafloor would uncover completely new features we’ve yet to find. At the bottom of the ocean, these features would be significantly sized comparatively to land features (hills & valleys) that most of us would think of. Exposing more granular information here gives high-level clues to geological hotspots for minerals and other items of value. You’d also be able to significantly improve subsea infrastructure routing with more detailed information here — dramatically reducing the cost of the process now because you’d be starting with a better baseline of information.

5. Magnetic anomaly mapping

Things get really interesting when you can begin to map out where magnetic anomalies lie not just on the seafloor, but below it as well. This begins to paint a picture of areas of high metallurgic content, but also the total volume of a specific deposit. Sometimes things we’ve lost in the ocean can get buried underneath the sand — it happens. Magnetics can show us if there are structures hiding in the sand.

Previously this data was hard to collect, but there are new companies pioneering new, cheaper, 3D sensing magnetometers, that allow this to be done cheaply now.

Ocean Floor Geophysics Image.

6. Sub-Bottom Profiling (SBP) mapping

This is like X-Ray for the seafloor. It shows the layers of sediment and rock that lay below the seafloor. This is useful for oil and gas prospecting as well as getting another lens of data on what may lie below the surface.

7. Biomass density mapping

This is a specific type of water column mapping. It’s a rough measurement of the volume and density of sea life in a certain part of the ocean at a certain time.

This is a depiction of biomass indexing where you’re looking to get a sample of groups of sealife.

School of fish picked up in MBES data

This data can be used to build biomass density maps:

8. Gas seep mapping

Also a type of water column mapping. This is used to find oil and gas reserves, as well as understand the health of already dug wells. In an environmental context, it helps identify what chemicals could be in the local ocean area which affects the type and health of the sea life.

9. Conductivity, Temperature, and Density (CTD) mapping

A specific sensor that measures the three values in the immediate area of the sensor. By processing CTD up and down the water column, you can get salinity, density, and sound velocity of the surrounding water. This is critical for accurate sonar post-processing, as well as understanding what is going on in the local ecosystem.

10. Plastic density mapping

Also created by processing the noise in the MBES data. As we continue to use the ocean as our dumping ground — there is value in understanding just how bad we’re actually screwing things up.

Where big markets are hiding.

Everything talked about above represents single datasets.

However, it’s when you combine them that they become particularly useful to some of the largest industries in the world: mining, oil & gas, fishing & fisheries, telecom, marine archeologists (treasure hunters or treasure “preservers” as we’ve heard it called), and government/military intelligence.

Finding correlations and broadening the total dataset unlocks a whole new level of potential from the same datasets collected from only a handful of sensors.

1. Nautical Charts

Humans have viewed “ocean data” like this for quite some time. Most of the data in nautical charts were collected prior to modern sensors and dates back before the 1950’s. People are desperately trying to update this with the most accurate representation of what’s there.

While the safety of navigation at sea is important, it just scratches the surface of what can be useful within subsea data.

2. Marine Mineral Resource Mapping

While a budding industry, seafloor mining will almost inevitably be the way we sustain human existence on this planet at the population numbers we’re predicting in the next 20+ years. Subsea mining is expected to grow 37% CAGR over the next 10 years due to rising costs to extract minerals on land.

3D mineral deposit map: Magnetics + bathymetry from OFG for Nautilus Minerals showing seafloor massive sulfide deposits.

It certainly will be part of most country’s political strategies to reduce their reliance on critical foreign metals needed to sustain their populations. Surprisingly (or maybe not) the US has no clue what minerals lie just offshore of our own waters like the EU does (see below). This was exhibited by the recent presidential decree from the Trump administration.

This is the US’s marine mineral portal for comparison — notice how empty it is…

3. Oil & Gas site probability mapping

We rely on plastic — for the worst — but alas, until we truly replace this material we will need petroleum. The goal is to identify where there are natural geophysical traps and conditions that have allowed a certain chemical to have formed/collected. While there are several methods for prospecting these different chemicals, everyone is looking to identify the lithology, quality of the reservoir, and the actual chemical within. Being able to do any of these prior to sending ships out to sea is an ENORMOUS efficiency gain.

Bathymetry + Gas Seep maps showing potential well drill hole locations.

Each “blob” represents a possible well. Source

4. Habitat maps

Anyone in fisheries, aquaculture, or ocean engineering knows that to get permits to work in certain areas, you need to provide habitat maps. Beyond the commercial value in being able to generate them quickly, governments are beginning to realize we need to preserve their fisheries to continue feeding their people.

Canadian Hydrographic Service, Pacific Region

We see this as an enormous growth area. We have a burning belief that we must make sure the ocean is used responsibly. As humans inevitably do more business in the ocean, it’s essential that we monitor the effects of what we are doing and STOP if we see irreparable damage occurring. The only way to do that is by having a 3rd party habitat and environmental monitoring services.

5. Item location/hazard location mapping

Humans have intentionally put quite a lot in the ocean. But we’ve also lost a lot in the ocean. To find items of archeological or commercial importance we need to use multiple different datasets to build probability maps of where we think certain objects may be. Multiple datasets are also required to verify that an object is what you think it is.

There’s obvious value in knowing where all these assets actually are — whether intentionally or unintentionally put there.

Submarine Cable Map — (Representative — not exact position)

There are currently ~3,000,000 estimated missing shipwrecks out in the ocean.

Currently, humans have only found 1% of the world’s documented lost ships. And if you look at the currently documented shipwrecks just by the US, it’s a bit staggering:

And there’s much, much more out there.

6. Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Mapping

In WWII and many subsequent years throughout the cold war, planes could not return and land with armed bombs so, before landing their payloads are jettisoned into the ocean. Conquer a nation and the winners need to dispose of their enemy’s weapons? Throw them into the ocean! This is exactly what happened.

German shells dumped off the coast of Ireland post-defeat in WWII.

Anytime you want to do anything that involves the seafloor (dredging, drilling, laying pipes, etc.) you want to be sure you’re not going to run into any explosives. This is when UXO maps become critical. To see the process of what this is like, check this out.

7. Military object mapping/detection/monitoring (military assets — classified not for public)

There are plenty of secrets in the deep. Navies are constantly trying to figure out the ones from other countries. Persistent, reliable, low-vis monitoring and mapping is a critical component of subsea naval strategies and missions.

8. Mapping what we don’t know exists.

The unknown will almost undoubtedly show us things we don’t know yet. 60% of our PLANET (85% of the ocean) hasn’t even been looked at with modern equipment. We’re excited to see what we find. We’re excited to see what human creativity and ingenuity will create.