Yachts as Citizen Scientists: Contributing Globally While Underway

For many owners and guests, the allure of yachting is the adventure of cruising through pristine waters and voyaging to some of the most exclusive locations in the world. These unique experiences stem from a fundamental urge to explore our world and see its beauty. To be immersed in unspoiled beauty means venturing into the unknown. According to Seabed 2030 (a global initiative by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO to map the world's oceans 2030 and make it available to all), we’ve mapped less than 24% of the world's sea floor. “We know the topography of the Moon and Mars in greater detail than that of our own planet.”

The most fundamental characteristic to ensure safety when sailing the oceans is knowing how deep the water is. Mapping the seafloor’s bathymetry is a critical key in safety and in scientific endeavors to understand ocean circulation, tides, tsunami forecasting, fishing resources, sediment transport, and environmental changes. It's also important for commercial endeavors such as infrastructure construction, cable laying and pipeline routing.?

Of course, knowing what’s underwater ahead of your vessel is also paramount to safe navigation. Even in well charted areas, you might think that everything you need to know is already on your nautical charts. If so, you would be mistaken. The US has some of the best charts in the world yet according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “about half of the depth information found on NOAA charts is based on hydrographic surveys conducted before 1940” and “in too many cases, the data is more than 150 years old. Sometimes, particularly in Alaska, the depth measurements are so old that they may have originated from Captain Cook in 1778.” Take a moment to think about the reliability of the chart data when you’re navigating in the “exotic” locations your guests’ itineraries demand.

Fortunately, yachts have a wide range of navigation sensors they can use, in conjunction with their charts, to help them navigate such waters more safely. While navigating in these locations, yachts are able to be a part of the solution through a worldwide crowdsourcing initiative. They have the opportunity to contribute to the global community by recording their depth and position observations along the way... (read more)

To learn more about how the yachting community and FarSounder 's customers specifically are contributing to the Seabed 2030 mission, read the rest of my article at ONBOARD Magazine's website: