For Podcast 18, August 2025, Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall brings an update from our recent attendance at SubOptic 2025, a conference and trade show of the global subsea cables industry. We were invited by Alcatel Submarine Networks, one of the big three subsea cables companies, owned by the French state and Nokia. Alcatel are enthusiastic contributers to the work of the UN Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group.

The public don't always realise that the vast majority of international internet traffic is carried on thousands of kilometres of fibre optic cable laid across the ocean floor, not bounced off satellites. As such, the industry is one of the few that conducts bathymetric measurements at global scale - albeit along narrow tracks - and so is an essential source of new, and legacy, data for Seabed 2030 & GEBCO. Indeed from the earliest days of GEBCO, bathymetry supplied by cable layers has formed an important source of data.

In this episode we also introduce our Head of External Relations, Pegah Souri - she has been associated with the project for six years and is a key person for ensuring that the outside world knows about our work.

In the second part of the podcast, Steve runs through the topics covered in his presentation to industry at SubOptic, and finishes with a preview of the imminent publication of the Seabed Mapping Special Edition of the Marine Technology Society and Society for Underwater Technology journal, Volume 59 Number 2.

Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org, contact the editor the podcast Steve Hall here, or Pegah Souri here.

Thank you for listening!

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

In this episode Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall reports on the UN Ocean Conference that was held in Nice in June 2025, with the main podcast going through a summary of what happened during the event, and then a 20 minute appendix where he reads through the Nice Ocean Action Plan.

Too much happened in the many side events to cover all aspects, so we've focused on the parts where we were present.

As well as Steve's narration, there are short recordings of Nippon Foundation Chairman Sasakawa speaking in Nice during the Global Ocean Data Sharing side event on Monday 9th June, and a clip of Seabed 2030 Director Jamie McMichael-Phillips during his panel session at the Economist World Ocean Initiative event on Tuesday 10th June.

Steve also updates listeners on the latest update to percentage of ocean floor mapped, which was announced as 27.3% on World Hydrography Day, 21st June 2025.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 16 of the Seabed 2030 Podcast, recorded in April 2025, Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall speaks to David Parker, who is Head of Hydrographic Programmes at the UK Hydrographic Office, Chair of the International Hydrographic Office Hydrographic Surveys Working Group, and one of the founding senior team for the UK Centre for Seabed Mapping.

David talks about his career, his role at UKHO, how his team work with customers from industry, government and the international community to deliver essential mapping products that ensure safety of navigation, inform marine spatial planning and seabed management, grow the Blue Economy and help deliver the UK's commitments to international programmes such as the UN Ocean Decade of Science for Sustainable Development.

He speaks in detail about the role of the new UK Centre for Seabed Mapping, and finishes with a call to industry bodies, Learned Societies and Professional Institutes to get involved.

Find out more about the UKHO https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-hydrographic-office and the UK Centre for Seabed Mapping at https://www.admiralty.co.uk/uk-centre-for-seabed-mapping

Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org and contact Steve Hall here.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

Podcast 15, March 2025 - apologies for delay with this one - we've all been busy with a series of workshops and conferences, spreading the word about why seabed mapping matters and signing up new partners. This episode focuses on one of those meetings, the Economist World Ocean Summit held in Tokyo on 12th & 13th March 2025. Seabed 2030 and GEBCO representatives were present, with the Nippon Foundation playing a key part throughout the event. Nippon Foundation Chair Mr Sasakawa opened the event, and his opening speech in English is featured from 4m44s into this podcast.

We also hosted a 'How to shape global standards for blue data, technology and capacity building?' workshop on the second day, and you can listen to Dr Vicki Ferrini, head of our Atlantic & Indian Ocean Center, Amon Kimeli of our Partner the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute; Børre Pedersen, Earth observation and satellite services specialist, Kongsberg Satellite Service and Jyotika Virmani Executive director, Schmidt Ocean Institute in the second half of the podcast.

We'll be back in April after the Ocean Business trade show in Southampton 8-10 April where you'll be able to find us in the long marquee next to the dockside, sharing a booth with our Partners of the Marine Technology Society - see you there!

Contact Steve Hall, Head of Seabed 2030 Partnerships with any questions or if you'd like to be featured in a futire episode of the Podcast.

With thanks to Emily Boddy for podcast music and intro narration.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For the first episode of 2025 Seabed 2030 Head of Partnerships Steve Hall interviews Matthew Zimmerman, CEO and co-founder of FarSounder, based in Rhode Island USA, & one of our industry partners since Year 4 of the Project.
FarSounder specialise in products such as 3D forward-looking sonars that don't only look down to map the seabed, but also scan forwards to enable users to avoid whales snoozing near the surface, or collisions with objects such as containers.
FarSounder are very active in supporting Crowdsourced Bathymetry, and in outreach about the importance of seabed mapping for public benefit.
Find out more about FarSounder at https://www.farsounder.com and you can contact Matthew via info@farsounder.com
Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org and contact podcast host & producer Steve Hall here. You can find on us Social Media as Seabed 2030.
With thanks to Matthew for the interview, and to Emily Boddy for Podcast music and voiceover.
We'll be back throughout 2025 with a range of interview, check our webpage for forthcoming events.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

Episode 13 is our longest episode to date and features interviews recorded during the 6th Pacific Ocean Mapping Meeting that took place in Fiji in November 2024. With some 90 participants from 27 nations, the meeting was a rare opportunity for mappers, marine managers, industry representatives and members of Seabed 2030's supporting organisations to meet face to face, and learn first hand from citizens of Pacific island nations about the issues and challenges they face, and why seabed mapping matters so much to them.

For this podcast, Steve Hall our Head of Partnerships conducts 4 interviews:
Apenisa Cavuilati of the Fiji Hydrographic Service
Evert Flier - Chair of the GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean) Guiding Committee
Kyle Goodrich - President and Founder of TCarta
Emma Oliver of the Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources and Environment and ENB Sea Keepers

Apenisa gives a welcome to Fiji and gives some background about the meeting; Evert expands on the value of holding the meeting in person and learning from the local community - and describes just how vast the Pacific Ocean is.
Kyle gives us an industry perspective, TCarta was one of the original Seabed 2030 industry partners and brings satellite-based observations into the field of ocean mapping, with customers including the UK Hydrographic Office.
Lastly, and with the longest interview recorded by Zoom after the Fiji meeting from her home in Papua New Guinea, Steve speaks to Emma about the particular challenges faced by her community, and why ocean mapping and growing the New Blue Economy can provide a better future for the next generation.

Please send any questions for the interviewees or feedback on this episode to Steve Hall. Find out more about Seabed 2030 see www.seabed2030.org, and listen out for our next episode early in 2025.

Have a peaceful holiday season, and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 12 of the Seabed 2030 podcast, Head of Partnerships Steve Hall interviews Denis Hains (see LinkedIn profile) Hydrospatial Global Influencer, President and CEO of H2i.
Denis is a long-standing champion for ocean mapping, having served in a series of international influential roles including as Hydrographer General of Canada & Director General of the Canadian Hydrographic Service.
He is a member of the Seabed 2030 Strategic Advisory Group, and although he retired from Canadian government service in 2018, he has remained a prolific & visible contributor to the ocean mapping community with many pro-bono professional advisory activities.
Denis was the recipient of the 2024 Sam Masry Award issued by the Canadian Hydrographic Association and is author or co-author of numerous papers and popular technical policy articles.
In this interview Denis talks about his career, about why he is passionate in his advocacy for 'Hydrospatial' as a term describing the work of this domain sector. Link here to an article explaining that 'Hydrospatial' is not about replacing 'hydrography', and here to find the LinkedIn Hydrospatial group.
Denis goes on to explain why Seabed 2030 matters as a mechanism for delivering the first global map of the ocean, and about the importance and enthusiasm of the next generation of ocean mappers in the Hydrospatial domain, and why education, experience, continuous learning - and most importantly professional networking, are vital for early career professionals to build their career.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO

For episode 11 of the Seabed 2030 podcast, head of partnerships Steve Hall interviews David Vincentelli of French manufacturer Exail - a high-tech industrial group specialising in cutting-edge robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics technologies. With a first-rate reputation for their innovative products, Exail now manufacturer a well-regarded marine autonomous survey platform, the DriX vehicle, available in a variety of sizes and specifications.
Able to survey at 8 knots and with the latest version capable of full trans-ocean range, DriX is another excellent example of how new robotic technologies are helping Seabed 2030's data acquisition partners map the global ocean.
In this interview David describes his career to date, Exail's background in intertial navigation systems, and the development and progress of the DriX range of vehicles. Exail are shortly due to sign a MoU with Seabed 2030 and several of their customers are already key suppliers of seabed data.
David also touches on other aspects of Exail's product range such as quantum gravimeters which help us to map areas that have yet to be surveyed by echo sounder systems.
Any questions for David he can be contacted here.
We'll be back in August for podcast 12. Any questions or feedback please contact Steve Hall. Find out more about Seabed 2030 at www.seabed2030.org
Addition narration and music by Emily Boddy.

Revealing Hidden Depths - the Seabed 2030 Podcast
Find out more about our project at www.seabed2030.org
Brought to you by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO