Celebrating 10 years of the Marine Data Exchange (October 2023)
October 2023
This Marine Data Exchange (MDE) newsletter showcases the breadth of offshore survey data, research and evidence being collected by our customers and partners on the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We invest in world-class data and evidence, such as the MDE, to fill in evidence gaps which inform decision making, de-risk investment, and unlock barriers facing developments now and in the future.
Evidence Project update
Metocean Wind and Climate Change Project – Call for input
Our latest marine evidence project is investigating what wind, metocean and climate change data is needed to help reduce cost, de-risk and accelerate marine energy development and explore the role that we as an organisation could play in delivering these datasets.
We are looking for stakeholders to join our strategic level Advisory Group which will ramp up during this year and flow into the data creation phase of the project. If you’re interested in the project and would like to input from your sector, please get in touch with Sarah Wren (sarah.wren@thecrownestate.co.uk)
Celebrating the MDE 10th Anniversary Event
On 27th September we were delighted to host a fantastic diversity of marine stakeholders at our offices in central London, in celebration of the Marine Data Exchange’s 10th anniversary.
The introduction of the Marine Data Exchange ten years ago leveraged the strong relationships that we have with our customers and our ability to bring together a range of stakeholders, to provide a platform for industry to not only share survey data, but to make it freely available to benefit the marine community.
The event was kicked off by talks from members of the Marine & Digital Team at The Crown Estate, including Senior Data and Evidence Manager Chelsea Bradbury, Head of Marine Planning – Olivia Thomas and Senior Product Owner of the MDE - Tazz Shaw, who discussed the evolution of the MDE to date, the MDE community's role in the future of offshore development and the challenges and opportunities in data sharing and collection to support the UK’s net zero and biodiversity targets.
We were delighted to hear from Harry Cale, Environmental and Consents Specialist at Ørsted, Matthew Barnott, Engineer at Floating Energy and Kieth Cooper - Marine Ecologist at Cefas, on how they use the MDE and its value and impact - past, present, and for the future sustainable development of the seabed.
Mark McKean – Head of Assets (Energy and Infrastructure) at Crown Estate Scotland, delivered the very exciting announcement that The Crown Estate and The Crown Estate Scotland have entered an agreement to share data covering Scottish waters on the Marine Data Exchange, creating a UK wide picture of the industry data collected by our customers and partners.
The MDE community are excited at the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues across the UK, strengthening our community and our collective evidence base for future decision-making.
We were also joined by colleagues who hosted a range of engaging and informative exhibition stands, including beautiful marine inspired artistry by Below and Beyond Art, to Vattenfall’s virtual reality experience, MEDIN, OWEKH and Social Super Market.
A huge thank you to those that attended the event and the MDE Community, who share our belief in the power of high-quality data and evidence to make a real difference. By coming together to share, discuss and use the wealth of data available through the MDE, we are all helping unlock the potential of the seabed to contribute to net zero ambitions and to support nature recovery. Thank you for your continued support.
Take a look at some of the photos below!
New Content
To celebrate the MDE’s 10th birthday, we prepared some new and exciting content to help tell the story of the MDE and its value and impact to date. Check out our new MDE video and Impact Report below:
Latest Series
Events:
University of Liverpool Careers Fair (18th October 2023) - This month we visited the University of Liverpool Careers Fair, where colleagues from the MDE Team hosted an exhibition stand and shared information on the internships and roles we offshore in the Marine space. We’ll also be joining a panel talk in a few weeks time, so feel free to come and ask us some questions about what it means to work in The Crown Estate Marine Team.
Bangor Careers Fair (25th October 2023) - We also visited Bangor Careers Fair, where we hosted an exhibition stand on roles in the offshore industry and the value of the Marine Data Exchange in helping to educate the next generation of ocean experts. Harriet Baldwin and Jessica Campbell from our Marine Planning and Technical Team also delivered a talk on Diversity and Sustainability and the skills gap in the offshore sector. Their talk has been recorded and will be available to Bangor University students to watch at a later date!
Upcoming Events:
Coastal Futures (24th and 25th January 2023) - One of the highlights of the year, the MDE Team will be visiting Coastal Futures again in 2024, with exciting new content, insights and tools. We look forward to seeing you there!