OSM26 and Oi26: Where Ocean Science Meets Coastal Urgency
- Admin
- Mar 12
- 3 min read
Mazarine recently participated in 2 events in the UK, both aligned with our growing portfolio of companies bringing to market technologies that help their customers address risks facing coastal infrastructure.
A Changing Hydrological Reality at the Water's Edge
Climate change is fundamentally disrupting the hydrological systems that govern coastal stability. Rising seas, intensifying storm surges, accelerating erosion, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems are no longer future projections — they are present-day operational realities. Research presented at AGU's Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow (OSM26) documented the compounding nature of these risks: marine heatwaves and melting ice are reinforcing each other in feedback loops, with heat stress leaving some western Australian reefs up to 80% dead or bleached — ecosystems that also serve as natural storm buffers for low-lying coastal communities. The disruption of the hydrological cycle — more intense rainfall, flashier runoff, shifting sediment budgets, and unpredictable tidal patterns — is placing coastal infrastructure under chronic and growing stress.
Ports, Harbors, and Coastal Assets in the Crosshairs
For ports, harbors, marinas, and the broader built coastal environment, these hydrological shifts translate into concrete operational and financial risk. Storm surge events are reaching infrastructure design thresholds more frequently. Coastal erosion is undermining the ground beneath quay walls, breakwaters, and access roads. Saltwater intrusion is compromising freshwater supplies that industrial port facilities depend on. Ports, harbors, and coastal assets must adapt to rising sea levels and increasing storm intensity by leveraging technology that helps them see and understand patterns and probability — a framing that reflects a growing consensus that passive adaptation is no longer sufficient. At Oceanology International in London (Oi26), the launch of the new COAST track gave dedicated exhibition space to these challenges for the first time, spotlighting advancements in coastal protection, sediment transport, shoreline stabilization, climate adaptation, and ecosystem restoration as direct responses to the threats bearing down on coastal operators.
Technology Rising to the Challenge
Both events showcased the expanding toolkit available to coastal risk managers. Fugro — mapping, modelling, and monitoring the oceans for 70 years — used Oi26 to spotlight satellite-derived bathymetry, RAMMS Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry, and the debut of its Blue Prism uncrewed surface vessel AGU, tools increasingly critical for monitoring the shallow, dynamic coastal zones most exposed to climate risk. Kongsberg Discovery unveiled breakthroughs in sonar and inertial navigation, while AI-powered predictive modelling and digital twin platforms were recurring themes across both conference programs. At OSM26, the CoastPredict Programme — endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade — convened sessions specifically on data assimilation and early warning systems for coastal zones, bridging scientific advances directly into decision-support tools for port authorities, coastal planners, and infrastructure managers.
Large Corporates Signal Market Maturity — and Exit Opportunity
Particularly significant for early-stage investors is the strong presence of large, acquisition-minded corporates at both events. Fugro, Teledyne Marine, Saab Seaeye, Kongsberg Discovery, and General Oceans anchored the Oi26 exhibition floor each with active mandates to expand their climate adaptation and coastal intelligence capabilities — through organic development and strategic acquisition alike. These are precisely the players who represent credible exit opportunities for Mazarine Climate's portfolio.
Mazarine Climate's focus on ports, harbors, and critical coastal assets affected by rising sea levels, as well as the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors increasingly vulnerable to water-related financial losses, maps directly onto the strategic gaps these large corporates are racing to fill. As the regulatory and insurance environment tightens around coastal risk disclosure, demand for the kind of data-driven, scalable coastal risk solutions that Mazarine's portfolio companies are developing will only accelerate — making these conference floors an increasingly important venue for commercial validation and partnership development.
Bluesonde at Oi26
Mazarine Climate portfolio company, Bluesonde, brought its real-time water intelligence platform to Oi26 in London, showcasing a technology that sits squarely at the intersection of the event's core themes. Bluesonde's compact, solar-powered monitoring buoy — just 12 inches in diameter — delivers continuous, precise data on marine and freshwater ecosystems, measuring parameters including temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and chlorophyll, with connectivity via LTE, satellite, and Bluetooth.
Designed for rapid deployment and built to withstand harsh marine environments, the platform is purpose-built for the kind of persistent, scalable coastal monitoring that port operators, harbor authorities, and coastal managers increasingly need as water quality and hydrological conditions grow more volatile. Bluesonde's solutions target ports and infrastructure operators directly, helping them maintain operations, navigate hazards, and strengthen resilience in the face of changing water conditions — making Oi26's COAST zone a natural home for the company's debut on the international stage.
For Mazarine Climate, Bluesonde represents the kind of early-stage, commercially-focused sensing company whose technology addresses an urgent and growing market need, and whose Oi26 participation signals an important step toward broader industry adoption and commercial partnership development.
