Coastal sea areas and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) provide abundant marine ecosystem products and resources. However, they are affected by the cumulative effects of human activities. Thus, there is a need to assess the contribution of coastal marine ecosystems to the human society. Li et al. proposed a standardized system for evaluating the gross ecosystem product (GEP) of a sea area, which included principles for selecting evaluation indices and methods. They found that marine GEP can serve as a comprehensive indicator of the sustainability of marine ecosystems. Furthermore, Song et al. proposed a policy perspective for regulating exploration activities and protecting the marine biological diversity of ABNJ. They reported the fragmentation of existing strategic environmental assessment (SEA) rules and indicated the importance of developing SEA-related technical standards to improve marine environment assessment systems.

To assess marine environmental impacts, biological observations must be performed to measure species abundance and further conserve marine biodiversity. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have been employed in image-based underwater observations, such as automated image analysis. Zhou et al. proposed that standardizing AI-based tools could improve reproducibility across experiments and enhance comparability in the assessment of environmental impacts. Physical oceanographic observation also plays a key role in marine protection and sustainable resource management, and ocean profiling observation (OPO) systems contribute to real-time global oceanic observation. Jiang et al. proposed the design and implementation of an OPO system for a wave-powered vertical profiler in accordance with ISO standards. Compared to traditional ocean profiling methods, standardized data formats and transmission protocols can improve information-sharing efficiency, making such methods more modular and systematic.

The exploration of submarine minerals (e.g. polymetallic nodules, sulfide deposits, ferromanganese crusts) and marine renewable energies (e.g. wave, wind and solar, hydrogen) requires not only investigations to map seabed structures and new resources but also marine engineering projects to utilize clean energy. Assessing the environmental impact of such activities is challenging because of the harsh nature of marine environments. Ma et al. employed a recently published ISO standard for active source exploration using ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs), which may enable obtaining higher-quality data, lower loss rate of an OBS, and more reliable data-processing results during seabed geophysical investigations relative to nonstandardized operation. Wu et al. studied the technological feasibility of extending the application scope of floating photovoltaic systems from land freshwater areas to the ocean and minimizing their potential effects on the marine environment during their life cycles (from manufacturing to disposal).

The studies reported herein provide a full perspective on marine technology standards, including the coordination among marine observation, exploration, and engineering, focusing on the assessment of marine environmental impacts. This topic is expected to serve as a useful reference for future research on establishing international standards for the practical assessment of the environmental impacts of marine investigation, exploration, and engineering and to provide technical support to international organizations during policymaking.