In common with other coastal nations across the globe, a huge part of Scotland’s Natural Capital, and our opportunities to develop nature based solutions to help meet net-zero goals and support wider biodiversity, is located within the marine environment. However decision makers both in Scotland and further afield, lack the information required to identify the optimum locations for projects to invest in. We will invest in the development of new technologies that will support decision makers in the identification of optimum locations for marine Natural Capital projects as well help estimate and monitor their impacts.

The Solution

Tritonia Scientific is a company that specialises in integrating emerging underwater technologies. Our solution is focused on a technique called ‘georeferenced photogrammetry’, a method that links image capture with mapping to produce accurate 3-D records of underwater features and environments. Incorporating the models into our bespoke geospatial data portal will provide government agencies and stakeholder groups with indisputable data on which to base more informed decision making concerning the protection, enhancement and restoration of Scotland’s marine environments.

The Opportunity

Managing the marine activity contributing to Scotland’s Blue Economy, with an estimated total annual GVA of £5 billion, requires highly resolved spatial data relating to the current and evolving status of seabed features. Our methods provide the underwater clarity needed by multiple sectors at appropriate scales or levels of coverage

Next Steps

Our portal will evolve into a robust commercial product through a series of evaluations using increased volumes of data and different seabed model formats relevant to existing or planned marine Natural Capital projects. The developments will incorporate improved efficiencies gained through machine-learning based approaches to data collection, evaluation and management

The Team

Our team works together frequently on projects combining multi-disciplinary applications to produce advanced solutions for complex challenges. They are all trained in marine or technology sciences with experience in photogrammetry, advanced programming tools, data analysis and interpretation, underwater robotics, seafloor image analysis, and the application of mapping software