my country’s first seamount digital spatial geographical information results released

China News Service, Xiamen, November 6 (Reporter Ruan Yulin) The "Seamount Atlas" jointly created by the China Ocean Affairs Administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Ocean Information Center was recently released to the world at the opening ceremony of the Xiamen International Ocean Week. This is my country's first seamount digital spatial geographical information achievement, marking new progress in my country's seamount spatial information construction.

It is understood that the map is not only a systematic compilation of my country's long-term deep-sea survey results, but also an important result of China's active participation in global ocean governance. There are a huge number of seamounts in the world. Existing research estimates that there may be tens to more than 100,000 seamounts. However, only a few of them have received internationally standardized names. Through continuous oceanographic scientific surveys, my country has discovered and named 54 seamounts. The names have been reviewed and approved by the International Subcommittee on Undersea Place Names (SCUFN) and included in the international undersea place directory, making China's contribution to the standardized identification of global undersea geographical entities.

On this basis, the map further focused on four typical seamounts in the Western Pacific, integrating multi-beam bathymetry, sediment sampling, underwater photography and other multi-source data obtained from long-term deep-sea surveys to form four thematic map products of topography, geomorphology, sediment and physical habitat, providing a spatial data base for the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, the selection of high seas protected areas and the assessment of marine environmental impact.

In the future, Tuzhi will integrate multi-element information such as hydrodynamics, marine chemistry, and biological communities to deepen habitat comparison and spatial pattern research between different seamounts, promote the transformation of more China's deep-sea survey results into shareable public resources of marine spatial information, and assist global ocean science cooperation and governance.