Project to revolutionise deep sea understanding using AI awarded pioneering grant from Bezos Earth Fund

Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) is proud to announce it has been selected as one of the inaugural grantees in the Bezos Earth Fund’s groundbreaking AI Grand Challenge for Climate and Nature.

Selected organisations are being awarded a $50,000 Phase I grant to “advance pioneering work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and environmental sustainability”.

The AI Grand Challenge has been launched with a commitment of up to $100 million in funding. The Bezos Earth Fund intends this to support “bold, AI-powered ideas to combat climate change, halt biodiversity loss, and protect our planet’s future” with projects chosen for their “innovative potential and real-world impact”.

Each Phase I grant recipient is now eligible to participate in Phase II of the challenge, where up to 15 projects will be selected to receive implementation grants of $2 million to scale their solutions over the next two years.

Led by Professor Kerry Howell, the goal of the Deep Vision Project – which is being delivered jointly with the University of Plymouth – is to revolutionise understanding and management of deep-sea ecosystems. The project will pioneer advanced, non-invasive seabed mapping techniques that vastly extend coverage beyond the limited areas currently observable.

“The deep ocean remains one of Earth’s last great unexplored frontiers, yet it plays a crucial role in maintaining our planet’s health and biodiversity,” said Professor Howell.

“There is a transformative opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence in accelerating our understanding of these critical ecosystems. By combining cutting-edge AI with marine science, we won’t just be mapping the seabed – we’ll create the knowledge foundation necessary for more sustainable ocean stewardship at a time when it’s never been more urgent. We anticipate this work will open new horizons in marine conservation that simply aren’t possible with conventional approaches.”

The Deep Vision project is being designed to support improved protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems such as cold-water coral reefs, delivering enhanced knowledge of deep-sea biodiversity distribution, identification of ecological hotspots, and the potential discovery of previously unknown deep-sea species and genetic resources.

In turn, the project team intends to significantly improve decision-making for effective and sustainable seabed management and inform important policy development in areas such as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty and fisheries management.

About The Bezos Earth Fund

The Bezos Earth Fund is helping transform the fight against climate change with the largest ever philanthropic commitment to climate and nature protection. Jeff Bezos has committed $10 billion to protect nature and address climate change. By providing funding and expertise, we partner with organizations to accelerate innovation, break down barriers to success and create a more equitable and sustainable world.

To learn more about the Bezos Earth Fund, visit: bezosearthfund.org