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Abstract

The sprawl of marine construction is one of the most extreme human modifications to global seascapes. Nevertheless, its global extent remains largely unquantified compared to that on land. We synthesized disparate information from a diversity of sources to provide a global assessment of the extent of existing and projected marine construction and its effects on the seascape. Here we estimated that the physical footprint of built structures was at least 32,000 km2 worldwide as of 2018, and is expected to cover 39,400 km2 by 2028. The area of seascape modified around structures was 1.0–3.4 × 106 km2 in 2018 and was projected to increase by 50–70% for power and aquaculture infrastructure, cables and tunnels by 2028. In 2018, marine construction affected 1.5% (0.7–2.4%) of global Exclusive Economic Zones, comparable to the global extent of urban land estimated at 0.02–1.7%. This study provides a critical baseline for tracking future marine human development.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Bugnot, AB and Mayer-Pinto, M and Airoldi, L and Heery, EC and Johnston, EL and Critchley, LP and Strain, EMA and Morris, RL and Loke, LHL and Bishop, MJ and Sheehan, EV and Coleman, RA and Dafforn, KA
Keywords:	artificial structures, spatial planning, urban sprawl
Journal or Publication Title:	Nature Sustainability
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:	2398-9629
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00595-1
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2020 Nature Publishing Group
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