Governing Emerging Ocean Technologies for Climate Action: Marine Policy and International Regulation in the Age of AI and Spatial Computing
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Governing Emerging Ocean Technologies for Climate Action: Marine Policy and International Regulation in the Age of AI and Spatial Computing
Journal: Marine Policy
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission Deadline: 30 October 2026
Introduction
Emerging ocean technologies — including AI, satellite remote sensing, digital twins, and spatial computing — are reshaping how we monitor, model, and manage the ocean-climate nexus. This Special Issue probes governance gaps and solutions — testing how international law and marine policy can keep pace across levels of governance.
The Special Issue welcomes analyses of space-based data governance, operator licensing and supervision, and open versus commercial data arrangements. It also seeks work on privacy in coastal monitoring and equitable access for developing and small island states. Applied studies are encouraged on blue-carbon MRV and carbon sequestration, fisheries monitoring and compliance, microplastics tracking and control, and sea-level-rise planning with coastal digital twins.
Scope & Significance
This Special Issue focuses on the governance and legal implications of emerging ocean technologies and data-intensive approaches in ocean and climate policy. It brings together contributions examining how these tools support monitoring, decision-making, regulation, and international cooperation — and how governance and legal frameworks are adapting across scales.
Interdisciplinary contributions that integrate policy, governance, social science, law, and technology are particularly encouraged.
Note: Purely technical or engineering studies without policy analysis, ocean science papers lacking governance relevance, and legal theory not grounded in an applied ocean context will not be considered.
Six Core Thematic Areas
Theme 1 — AI and Earth Observation Use of AI-enabled and Earth-observation data in marine governance — including detection and forecasting of marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, carbon fluxes, habitat change, and sea-level-rise exposure — alongside blue-carbon MRV, fishing effort monitoring, and marine microplastics detection.
Theme 2 — Spatial Computing and Digital Twins Spatial computing and digital twins for marine spatial planning, coastal resilience, and nature-based solutions — including governance of model validation, transparency, and accountability. Applications include coastal adaptation, blue-carbon site selection, and dynamic fisheries management.
Theme 3 — Space-Based Data Governance Governance arrangements for space-based ocean data — operator licensing and supervision, spectrum and orbital coordination, open versus commercial data provision, metadata standards, privacy in coastal monitoring, and equitable access for developing countries and small island developing states.
Theme 4 — International Legal Frameworks How UNCLOS, the BBNJ Agreement, regional seas arrangements, and national law are responding to increased use of AI-enabled and remote monitoring tools — including blue-carbon rights and tenure, registry integrity, and RFMO compliance supported by data-driven approaches.
Theme 5 — UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement Implications of emerging ocean data and analytical tools for the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement — including the enhanced transparency framework, the global stocktake, Article 6 MRV, lawful use of AI and Earth-observation-derived ocean data, and blue-carbon accounting.
Theme 6 — Autonomous and Data-Intensive Systems Governance challenges related to autonomous and data-intensive maritime systems — safety, liability, and technical standards for vessels, platforms, and sensors — as well as electronic fisheries monitoring and platforms for marine microplastics surveillance.
List of Topic Areas
Manuscripts are invited on themes including, but not limited to:
AI-enabled ocean monitoring — marine heatwaves, acidification, and carbon flux detection
Earth observation and satellite remote sensing in marine governance
Digital twins for coastal resilience, marine spatial planning, and nature-based solutions
Blue-carbon MRV — measurement, reporting, and verification frameworks
Fisheries monitoring, compliance, and stock distribution under AI-enabled governance
Marine microplastics tracking, source apportionment, and policy responses
Space-based data governance — licensing, spectrum coordination, and data access
Equitable access to ocean data and analytical capacity for developing countries and SIDS
Privacy and data rights in coastal and ocean monitoring systems
UNCLOS, BBNJ Agreement, and regional seas responses to AI-enabled monitoring
UNFCCC transparency framework and ocean-based climate data
Paris Agreement Article 6 MRV and blue-carbon accounting
Autonomous maritime systems — safety, liability, and technical governance
Cross-border coordination and compliance in AI-enabled fisheries management
Ocean governance and the global stocktake — emerging data and policy linkages
Guest Editors
Prof. Dahai Liu (Contact for Inquiries) Renmin University of China, Beijing, China Email: dahai@ruc.edu.cn
Dr. Yuting Hou First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, China
Dr. Shuhai Zhang Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
Dr. Yuqing Chen Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Key Deadlines
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 30 October 2026
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should clearly identify the policy problem, relevant stakeholders, and jurisdictional scale — and provide actionable, evidence-based policy recommendations. Authors are encouraged to include one or two sentences in the abstract stating the policy implications and key takeaways.
Submit via the Marine Policy online submission system and select Article Type:
"VSI: AI, Oceans & Climate"
All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review and must follow the journal's author guidelines.
All submissions must be original and must not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission.
About the Journal
Marine Policy, published by Elsevier, is a leading international peer-reviewed journal with a CiteScore of 8.1 and Impact Factor of 3.7. It supports open access publishing and is dedicated to advancing research that improves understanding and practice in ocean policy and governance — providing a global platform for interdisciplinary scholarship exploring marine law, fisheries, coastal management, ocean conservation, and the governance of marine resources and technologies worldwide.
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