photo: MERITAITO OY
In the year 2015, Meritaito Ltd surveyed a total of 10,000 square kilometres of seafloor. For 2016 the estimated total surveying area will be
12,000 square kilometres.
T
he Mareano programme was originally
launched in 2005. As knowledge of
the seafloor and its biodiversity is limited
in many areas, a more detailed mapping of
the seafloor in Norwegian offshore waters
was called for.
The project is said to be one of the
most challenging and demanding hydro
16
seatec 2/2016
“
Among other rare seafloor
findings, the Barents Sea
region incorporates the largest
cold-water coral reefs in the world.