Call for papers on ocean mapping for Journal of Ocean Technology

May 12th, 2017

By Jeff Green

Call for papers on ocean mapping for Journal of Ocean Technology

Technology is the application of knowledge to the practical benefit of humanity; the bridge between “knowing” and “doing.” Developments intechnology are always motivated by human need and rely on careful design and skillful synthesis of inputs from many disciplines. In the caseof mapping the deep ocean, physics, acoustics, materials science, naval architecture, surveying, computer science, and others may all play arole in the technology solutions.

There can be little doubt about the human need for more and better data about the deep oceans to support ocean enterprise, ocean science,ocean engineering and good ocean governance. As has been pointed out in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE competition guidelinesdocument, existing ocean mapping technologies cannot scale to gather the detailed data necessary to understand our oceans, particularly interms of exploring at full ocean depths. The ability to map the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the deep ocean withincreasing autonomy and speed presents exciting challenges for technology developers. And the valuable data to be gained willimmeasurably improve our understanding of our oceans as we move increasingly and inexorably towards sustainable and profitable oceanresource development and protection of the deep ocean environment.

In the winter 2017 issue of the Journal of Ocean Technology – with guest editor Randy Gillespie – we are seeking contributions towards animproved understanding of deep ocean data requirements including data type (geophysical, geotechnical, chemical and/or biological) andspecifications (accuracy/precision, spatial and temporal resolution) to support various applications. Conversely, we invite input regarding thelatest developments in all aspects of next generation deep ocean remote sensing systems including sensors, vehicles, subsea navigation andcomms, power supply and management systems, and so on. And last, but certainly not least, we are looking for researchers in both the publicand private sectors who are breaking new ground in the area of mapping the deep to shine their light on the way forward.

The deadline is Aug. 25, 2017. 

For more information, please email dawn.roche@mi.mun.ca