The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is planning a group of projects to make use of marine geospatial data with funding from the Government’s Geospatial Commission.
It is the first body to reveal details of how it plans to spend its share of the £5 million provided by the commission for geospatial data projects.
The effort comprises exploratory projects around four issues:
- Data discoverability – assessing and improving access to current data sets.
- Linked identifiers – supporting users to bring different data together in valuable new ways.
- Licensing – working towards simple, common licensing terms to increase data use.
- Enhancing core data assets – using third party data to improve the quality of data and make its collection more efficient.
It will work with the other partners to receive support from the commission: the British Geological Survey, Coal Authority, HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey and the Valuation Office.
John Humphrey, chief executive officer at UKHO, said: “Marine geospatial data is fundamental to helping us to make better use of the marine environment and ensure its protection for years to come. It’s the foundation on which to develop tourism and trade, as well as support disaster resilience and climate change mitigation.
“As a marine geospatial agency, we are experts in sourcing and processing this location-based information, from seabed to surface. By leveraging our data handling expertise, whether in hydrography and oceanography or software development and data science, we aim to help the Geospatial Commission maximise the value of this data to the UK.”
The UKHO holds a broad range of UK marine geospatial data ranging from the seabed to the ocean’s surface. This includes high resolution bathymetry depicting the seafloor, as well as information on the water itself like density, salinity, temperature and movement.
Specialist teams also process information on maritime security, marine life, maritime limits and more. This data is vital to helping organisations make better use of the marine environment and use ocean resources in a sustainable way.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
