The global race towards net-zero emissions has placed a significant spotlight on nature-based solutions. While terrestrial forests have long been the face of carbon sequestration, a more potent ally resides along our coastlines: Blue Carbon. Blue carbon refers to the carbon captured and stored by coastal and marine ecosystems, specifically mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes. Despite their relatively small geographic footprint, these ecosystems sequester carbon at rates up to ten times greater than pristine tropical forests.
However, the primary barrier to scaling blue carbon projects has been the difficulty of measurement. Monitoring a remote mangrove swamp or a submerged seagrass meadow is logistically challenging, expensive, and often inaccurate. This is where Digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) and specialized “Blue Carbon Satellites” enter the frame. By transitioning from manual, ground-based surveys to high-resolution, satellite-driven digital frameworks, the world can finally unlock the true economic and environmental value of the oceans.
The Convergence of dMRV and Marine Ecosystems
Traditional Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) processes are notoriously slow. In a standard carbon project, scientists must physically travel to a site, measure tree diameters, take soil core samples, and manually calculate biomass. This data is then audited by third-party verifiers in a process that can take years. For blue carbon, the “wet” nature of the environment makes this even harder; high tides, murky water, and impenetrable mud make manual auditing a nightmare.
dMRV represents a paradigm shift. It replaces intermittent manual checks with continuous digital oversight. By integrating satellite imagery, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), dMRV provides a “near real-time” view of an ecosystem’s health. In the context of blue carbon, dMRV allows project developers to track sequestration levels with unprecedented frequency. This transparency is vital for the integrity of carbon markets, ensuring that every carbon credit sold represents a verified, additional, and permanent ton of carbon removed from the atmosphere.
A New Era: The Geespace and TelePIX Breakthroughs
The year 2025 has marked a historic turning point for orbital marine science. While general-purpose satellites have been used for decades, they often lack the resolution or the specific spectral bands required to peer through coastal waters. To bridge this gap, dedicated “Blue Carbon Satellites” have finally reached orbit.
A primary leader in this space is Geespace, a subsidiary of the Geely Holding Group. In August 2025, Geespace successfully completed a significant expansion of its Geely Future Mobility Constellation (GEESATCOM), launching its fourth orbital plane of 11 satellites. Among these is the world’s first high-precision satellite specifically optimized for blue carbon remote sensing. This mission is revolutionary because it integrates high-resolution imaging with the company’s massive IoT network, allowing for a two-way data flow between submerged sensors (measuring ocean acidity or soil carbon) and the satellite overhead.
Simultaneously, the South Korean company TelePIX launched BlueBon in early 2025. Branded as the first satellite dedicated purely to blue carbon monitoring, BlueBon is equipped with a specialized multispectral camera and the “TetraPLEX” AI processor. These missions represent a shift away from multi-purpose observation toward “application-specific” satellites that treat the ocean floor and coastal mangroves as a distinct, measurable balance sheet for the planet.
Enhancing Monitoring and Real-Time Oversight
A dedicated blue carbon satellite constellation improves monitoring of coastal ecosystems affected by tides, storms and human activity. Frequent satellite coverage enables rapid detection of degradation or illegal clearing, triggering near real-time alerts for faster response. It also builds accurate historical baselines using advanced imaging and precise positioning, helping researchers track changes, assess carbon storage potential and prioritise restoration areas.
Precision in Biomass Estimation and Carbon Stocks
Verification has long been the most expensive component of the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) process, making it difficult for many small coastal communities to participate in carbon markets. Digital MRV (dMRV) is helping to overcome this challenge by automating much of the verification work through advanced satellite technology.
Satellites operated by companies such as Geespace and TelePIX are equipped with onboard artificial intelligence capable of analysing environmental data directly in orbit. Instead of transmitting large volumes of raw imagery, these systems can provide processed and verified information more efficiently and at lower cost.
The result is a more transparent and reliable verification process that reduces the risk of inaccurate reporting and greenwashing. Greater confidence in the integrity of blue carbon credits can encourage increased participation from investors and businesses, helping channel more funding into mangrove restoration, coastal protection and other nature-based climate solutions.
Streamlining Verification and Building Trust
Verification is often the costliest part of the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) process, limiting participation by small coastal communities. Digital MRV (dMRV), supported by satellites from Geespace and TelePIX, automates verification using onboard AI to process data in orbit. This improves transparency, reduces greenwashing risks and strengthens investor confidence in blue carbon projects, helping attract more funding for coastal conservation.
The Socio-Economic Benefits for Coastal Communities
The marriage of dMRV and satellite technology isn’t just about data; it’s about equity. Most of the world’s blue carbon ecosystems are located in the Global South, often managed by indigenous communities.
By lowering the cost of monitoring and verification, blue carbon satellites allow more of the carbon revenue to flow directly to the communities. When a dMRV system replaces an expensive international consultant, the “overhead” of the project drops significantly. Geespace’s low-cost satellite IoT services costing as little as 1% of traditional satellite communications ensure that even small-scale restoration projects in Southeast Asia or Africa can afford to be part of the global carbon market.
Challenges and the Path Forward
At the same time, South Korean space company TelePIX launched BlueBon in early 2025, marking a significant step forward in ocean and coastal ecosystem monitoring. Described as the world’s first satellite dedicated exclusively to blue carbon observation, BlueBon is designed to track and measure carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal wetlands. These environments play a crucial role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, making them increasingly important in global climate mitigation efforts.
The satellite is equipped with a specialised multispectral imaging camera capable of capturing detailed environmental data across different wavelengths. It also features TelePIX’s advanced “TetraPLEX” artificial intelligence processor, which enables rapid onboard analysis of collected information and improves the efficiency of monitoring large coastal areas.
BlueBon reflects a broader shift in the satellite industry from general-purpose Earth observation missions to highly specialised, application-focused systems. Rather than serving multiple monitoring functions, such satellites are designed to address specific environmental and economic needs. In the case of BlueBon, the focus is on treating coastal ecosystems and ocean-based carbon reserves as measurable natural assets, helping governments, researchers and policymakers better assess their environmental value and contribution to climate goals.
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The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached khanwaseem@upm.edu.my.
