The GEBCO Map the Gaps Symposium on ocean exploration will take place November 7 and 8 in Monaco at the Oceanographic Museum, with livestream on YouTube.

The oceans remain largely unexplored, with only about one-quarter of the seafloor known to date. In order to support activities centered on the ocean, monitor changes in the marine environment and implement effective initiatives for sustainable use, it is critical to fully map the oceans.

The GEBCO Map the Gaps Symposium 2023 will bring together experts in ocean floor discovery, expedition technology, science and policy to discuss ocean exploration, challenges, and accomplishments. Speakers include Victor Vescovo, who will share his adventures diving to the deepest point of the Mediterranean, to the “Five Deeps” and to the Titanic. Fabien Cousteau will also discuss the importance of increasing our knowledge of the ocean and will present Proteus, his efforts to create an underwater inhabited research station.

Day two of the symposium will focus on the International Hydrographic Organization-led citizen science effort to gather depth data: the crowdsourced bathymetry initiative. It will showcase new technologies to increase our knowledge of the oceans, such as cutting-edge autonomous vehicles and data-collecting instruments, and will shed light on new explorers. Participants will address the central role “ships of opportunity” can play in helping gather ocean data while carrying out their regular activities.

The GEBCO symposium is organized by Map The Gaps, a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to connecting people and ocean floor exploration, together with the International Hydrographic Organization and in partnership with the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation. The symposium is free and open to the public.

View full agenda and registration at: www.mapthegaps.org/symposium-2023.