Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 hrs ago
Free oceandatr software brings scattered ocean data together
Marine scientists have released oceandatr, free software that gathers ocean datasets from different sources.
Finding and preparing information such as seafloor depth, coral habitat and fishing activity can take substantial time because it is stored in different formats and places.
The tool combines those datasets on a shared grid for a chosen area, using the R programming language.
In a test in the western Pacific, it mapped 8,142 squares, each 10 kilometers across, with data including depth, seamounts, coral habitat and fishing activity in 2022.
The data-gathering step took 2 minutes and 16 seconds on an ordinary desktop computer.
The researchers then used the results in a conservation planning tool that aimed to protect 20% of each habitat type while keeping costs to fishing low.
The package could help researchers spend less time preparing data for marine science and conservation work.
Free software called oceandatr brings scattered ocean datasets together for marine research and conservation planning.
The tool, developed by a team led by Jason Flower, fetches and organizes spatial data in R.
In a test covering a western Pacific high-seas planning region, it assembled data for 8,142 grid squares in 2 minutes and 16 seconds.
The data included ocean depth, seafloor landforms, coral habitat and fishing activity during 2022.
The team used the results in a conservation planning tool with a target of protecting 20% of each habitat type.
- Who
- A research team led by Jason Flower, a project scientist at the Environmental Markets Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- What
- The team developed oceandatr, free software that brings ocean datasets together for marine research.
- When
- The article was published on November 14, 2026. The year of fishing data in the western Pacific test was 2022.
- Where
- The test covered a high-seas planning region in the western Pacific.
- Why
- To help marine scientists find, combine and organize spatial data, a workflow that can otherwise require repeated coding.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Flower and colleagues repeatedly wrote code to find and organize ocean datasets.
Oceandatr gathered data for 8,142 grid squares in 2 minutes and 16 seconds.
The team fed the results into a conservation planning tool targeting protection of 20% of each habitat type.
- Software
- oceandatr
- Programming language
- R
- Western Pacific test area
- 8,142 squares, each 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) across
- Assembly time
- 2 minutes and 16 seconds on an ordinary desktop PC
- Fishing data year
- 2022
- Conservation target
- Protect 20% of each habitat type
What people are saying
This paper is unique, in that we weren’t trying to answer a specific research question
The package could be used in any marine science project that requires spatial data