In the vast expanse of the Indonesian Seas and Surroundings (ISS), a region pivotal to global ocean circulation, a new study has cast a spotlight on the gaps and opportunities in oceanographic data collection. Led by N. P. Purba from the Department of Marine Science at Universitas Padjadjaran in Indonesia, the research, published in ‘Earth System Science Data’, delves into two centuries of oceanographic data, revealing patterns, gaps, and future challenges.
The ISS acts as a critical connector between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, regulating the exchange of water mass, heat, salinity, and biogeochemical elements. This exchange significantly influences global climate and carbon cycles. Over the past two centuries, extensive observations and surveys, particularly in-situ measurements, have been conducted in this region. Purba and his team analyzed over 461,865 oceanographic casts from multiple international repositories, with 360,409 casts remaining after rigorous quality control.
The study found that data collection was sparse and temporally limited before the early 19th century, with a marked increase beginning in the mid-20th century. Spatially, observations are heavily concentrated along major international shipping routes, including the Makassar Strait, Malacca Strait, and South China Seas. However, vast areas such as the Halmahera Sea, Timor Sea, Java Sea, and Sulawesi Sea remain poorly detected.
“Temperature and salinity are the most collected data, whereas deep-sea observations, particularly below 800 meters, are critically lacking, with limited measurements of essential ocean variables such as dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and currents,” Purba explained. Additionally, coastal regions exhibit substantial data deficiencies.
The commercial impacts of these findings are significant. The maritime sector, including shipping, fishing, and offshore energy, relies heavily on accurate oceanographic data for navigation, resource management, and environmental impact assessments. The lack of data in certain regions and depths poses challenges to these industries, potentially leading to inefficiencies and increased operational risks.
However, the study also presents opportunities. Purba proposes addressing the gaps by deploying autonomous monitoring technologies like Argo floats, gliders, and moored buoys in deep-sea and coastal regions. Expanding regional observational networks and enhancing executable data-sharing mechanisms are also recommended.
For maritime professionals, this means potential investments in new technologies and collaborations with research institutions to fill these data gaps. Improved data availability can lead to better route planning, enhanced fishing strategies, and more accurate environmental impact assessments, ultimately benefiting the maritime industry.
The raw datasets can be accessed freely from the website provided in the text, and processed datasets are preserved in data repositories with a corresponding assigned DOI. Final datasets and the computed cast per half-degree grid square with Python syntax are freely available on Mendeley repository. The data were in the TXT file format, and we used Ocean Data View Software (ODV Ver. 5.7.2), Python, and QGIS Software to process, visualize, and analyze the data.
In essence, while the study highlights the challenges in oceanographic data collection in the ISS, it also opens doors to new opportunities for the maritime sector to innovate and collaborate for a more data-rich future.