Now in its fourth year of operation, MTS member Terradepth aims to enhance humanity’s interaction with the ocean, support maritime operations across key sectors, and advance both scientific insight and the sustainable future of our planet. 

Part of a multifaceted approach to data collection and storage, Terradepth’s fleet of highly-configurable autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) provides cost-effective, detailed data capture that enables researchers and conservationists to observe previously undetectable patterns in underwater ecosystems. Increased capabilities related to safety, route, data collection, and data quality – plus the ability to respond to unforeseen circumstances and recovery location – add capacity for performing longer surveys at greater depth. 

Terradepth’s latest contribution is Absolute Ocean (AO), a cloud-based, browser-accessible ocean data management platform. AO provides an immersive interface for the visualization of vast, high-resolution geospatial datasets. The platform can be leveraged to not only manage existing customer-owned datasets, but also to access data provided by Terradepth and other third parties. Part of AO’s uniqueness lies in the variety of data types it supports: side scan sonar, synthetic aperture sonar, multibeam bathymetry, satellite-derived bathymetry, lidar, magnetometer, satellite imagery, and others. 

Once uploaded, AO datasets can be viewed independently or overlaid for analysis. Terradepth’s hope is that users, such as those from the energy and government sectors, will archive datasets after their initially-intended use, making them available to others upon approval. This streamlined approach to data sharing brings exciting potential to projects like Seabed 2030, which will combine available bathymetric data to produce an open-access, definitive map of the ocean floor by 2030. 

While the AO platform made its beta debut in the spring, its official commercial rollout will begin in October at OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads. Terradepth’s work to optimize efficiency and collaboration within data management holds infinite possibilities for the future of exploring our oceans.