Marine geological maps as essential seabed geodiversity information for sustainable management

Recently, international focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has led to the proposal of Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs), a framework for geological (geodiversity) information, intended to stand alongside Essential Variables (EVs) already defined for Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans (limited to ocean physics, biochemistry, biology, and ecosystems). In Norway, the Nature Diversity Act, which acknowledges geological and landscape diversity alongside biodiversity, has helped establish geology as part of an essential foundation for knowledge-based management, on land, in the coastal zone and offshore. In keeping with this, geological mapping is a core component of two ongoing national multidisciplinary seabed mapping initiatives [MAREANO, Marine Base Maps for the Coastal Zone (pilot)].

Here we examine to what extent marine geological map products from the Geological Survey of Norway generated under these mapping initiatives fit within this EGV framework and how well it is suited to information on marine geodiversity. Further, we examine opportunities for highlighting quantitative geodiversity information through the development of non-traditional marine geological map products. We present some thematic examples at different spatial scales which explore the potential for delivering seabed geodiversity and related geological information more directly. It is important that such information is available in forms that are readily accessible and understandable to a wide range of end users who are largely non-geologists, and that it complements existing information used in coastal and offshore management.