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lona Convention provides a critical framework for setting
standards and targets acceptable to all the Contracting
Parties, as well as for sharing necessary information.
SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME: SoMMCER
Feedback from the UNEP/MAP Coordinating Unit
indicates that the SoMMCER approach and graphics have
been very useful, not just for displaying information but
also for eliciting really constructive discussion about what
is known and not known about the Mediterranean, and
its delivery of ecosystem services. In addition, the report
has helped conservation NGOs build a case for a new and
improved management regime for marine mammals, by
assessing the current state of knowledge on the topic.
Further afield, the head of the Coastal Zone unit in
Barbados, Dr. Lorna Innis, who is a member of the
Group of Experts for the WOA, said that the SoMMCER
has influenced how she and other Group of Experts
members are shaping the WOA.
New global map of seafloor geomorphology
Through a joint initiative of Conservation International,40
GRID-Arendal and Geoscience Australia,41 a new global
map of seafloor geomorphology has been created.
Seafloor geomorphology is one of the more useful
of the physical attributes of the seabed mapped and
measured by marine scientists for ocean management.
This is because different geomorphic features (such
as submarine canyons, seamounts, spreading ridges,
escarpments, plateaus, trenches) are commonly asso-
ciated with particular suites of habitats and biological
communities. Prior to this new product, our best avail-
able global seafloor geomorphic features map was over
30 years old.
In addition to the new global seafloor map, experts from
GRID-Arendal and Geoscience Australia edited an atlas
of seafloor geomorphic features and benthic habitats.
40.
41.
Shelf - high profile
Shelf - medium profile
Shelf - low profile
Slope
Abyss - mountains
Abyss - hills
Abyss - plains
Hadal
canyon
guyot
seamount
bridge
sill
escarpment
shelf valley
rift valley
glacial trough
trough
ridge
spreading ridge
fan/apron
rise
terrace
trench
plateau
ocean boundaries
A new global seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM) has been created by GRID-Arendal. The GSFM includes 131,190 separate polygons in
29 geomorphic feature categories and shows that less than 5% of seamounts, shelf valleys, submarine canyons, mid-ocean spreading ridges and
rift valleys are managed in marine protected areas globally. The GSFM provides a foundation on which to build a global scale understanding of
the living and non-living resources of the ocean – supplemented by interpretation and other spatial data it will help improve decision making on
a range of global issues like food security, resource use and conservation.