Abu Dhabi's G42 partners with OceanX, G-Tech and Indonesia to develop ocean research

G42 will deploy its cloud technologies to conduct advanced analysis of the coastal and oceanic environments

A researcher deploys a hydrophone, which helps to record underwater soundscape, in the sea of Spermonde archipelago in Indonesia. Reuters

Group 42, the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, has partnered with New York-headquartered non-profit company OceanX, Jakarta’s G-Tech Digital Asia and the Indonesian government to boost ocean research.

The entities signed a letter of intent to work on an initiative that intends to do detailed mapping of marine resources through advanced technologies to protect the ocean environment and the livelihoods of the communities that rely on it.

G42 said it aims to deploy its cloud infrastructure and services, remote sensing drone systems by Bayanat — a publicly listed company in which G42 owns a majority stake, and marine genomics applications by G42 Healthcare to conduct an advanced analysis of the coastal and oceanic environments.

“Better data is vital to developing a more holistic view of our oceans’ condition … we are looking to support the development of new, tailored solutions and technologies that will help local authorities to protect the marine environment for the benefit of present and future generations,” Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, said.

The oceans are responsible for producing at least 50 per cent of the planet’s oxygen and absorbing about 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide that people produce.

However, the world’s coastal waters and oceans are deteriorating due to increasing coastal development, marine litter, excess nutrients, untreated wastewater and other pollution threats.

The 80 per cent of marine litter stemming from land-based sources is largely a result of insufficient solid waste management, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The new partnership will support the Indonesian government, led by its Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (CMMAI), to improve the management of marine resources, including biodiversity and conservation of ecosystems, using new technology, the entities said in a joint statement on Monday.

It will also accelerate the OceanX’s mission to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world through educational media.

“Oceans are highly complex environments, and monitoring and research can present many challenges to researchers and scientists working in this field,” Prashanth Marpu, director of the geospatial centre of excellence and climate action Programme at Bayanat, said.

“Bayanat is applying its expertise in real-time geospatial services and solutions and handling large-scale data to develop the tools that will allow the research community to leverage big data analysis of the maritime environment.”