Singapore Launches GeoSpace-Sea Initiative

GeoSpace-Sea, a new database on Singapore's waters, from its coastlines to the seabed, was launched yesterday (June 28) by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

GeoSpace-Sea aims to provide comprehensive geospatial data for port and coastal planning, among other things, as well as environmental management.

MPA, together with 11 other government agencies and the Tropical Marine Science Institute from National University of Singapore, will develop GeoSpace-Sea in phases.

“The marine knowledge generated through the GeoSpace-Sea initiative will serve us well in the areas of marine and coastal spatial planning, marine science R&D, marine conservation, climate change adaptation, and disaster response,” said Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health.

 The first phase is scheduled to commence from the third quarter 2019. For a start, the GeoSpace-Sea database will be populated with hydrographic data, marine environment data such as coastline details, and habitat data.

Upon completion of the first phase, user agencies will be able to access a central repository of authorized marine and coastal geospatial data in a single location including viewing the seabed in three-dimension.

The GeoSpace-Sea system will adopt open data standards to promote interoperability for users to integrate and overlay various marine, coastal and land data, so as to better co-relate, analyse and utilise the various geospatial data types. This would support the development of a wide range of applications, and allow more holistic planning of a sustainable marine space for Singapore.

In future phases, the initiative will be extended to institutes of higher learning and marine science institutes for marine science research. Applications would also be developed for 3D and near real-time coastal and seabed visualization, and marine models and simulations.

The 11 agencies participating in the GeoSpace-Sea initiative are the Building and Construction Authority; Centre for Liveable Cities; Housing & Development Board; JTC Corporation; National Environment Agency; National Parks Board; National Research Foundation; PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency; Singapore Food Agency; Singapore Land Authority; Urban Redevelopment Authority.