Creating a Seafloor Mapping Plan to Fill U.S. Gaps by 2030

Did you know that as of October 2018 only 43% of U.S. oceans, coasts and Great Lakes waters are even minimally mapped? As the national hydrographic office responsible for surveying U.S. waters, NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (Coast Survey) is working with its government, academic, and industry partners through its Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping Program to strategically map the bathymetric data gaps in U.S. waters by 2030. This leadership and coordination task is no small feat; it requires survey expertise across diverse geographic settings in order to target the correct resources to the task. Coast Survey has developed a model to estimate the level of effort to map these various coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes settings. This paper will explore the analysis supporting the U.S. definition of “mapped” as well as the required level of effort needed to address unmapped areas across a range of depths by 2030. Further, this paper will discuss NOAA strategies for identifying existing data to fill bathymetric coverage gaps and optimize survey planning. Lastly, strategies for mapping the gaps will be discussed.