Nicki Riber Andreasen 

Denmark

Nicki Riber Andreasen is from Aalborg, Denmark. He received his B.Sc. degree in Geography from Aalborg University, and his M.Sc. degree in Geoinformatics from University of Copenhagen. After completing his master’s degree, he joined the Danish Hydrographic Office, where he is working with bathymetric data management and data collection. Being a novice within the field of ocean mapping, Nicki is optimistic that by attaining the GEBCO Scholar Program he will gain a strong foundation within most aspects of ocean mapping, in order to contribute to mapping the oceans of the world.

Nicki spends his spare time together with his wife, Michelle and son, Vilfred.

Sara Cardigos

Azores

Sara Cardigos Sara Cardigos is from the Azores Islands, in Portugal. In 2018 she got a bachelor's degree in Meteorology, Oceanography, and Geophysics, and in 2021 a master’s degree in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences both from Aveiro University. In 2021, Sara started working as an intern in the Azorean Maritime Affairs Direction (governmental).

Currently, Sara is a GEBCO scholar, studying Ocean Mapping which is fundamental for her to become part of the new generation of scientists in this field. Her favorite hobbies are hiking and swimming.

Elaina O'Brien 

Ireland/Iceland

Elaina graduated with a Bachelor's in Communications from the National University of Ireland Galway, and a Master's in Coastal and Marine Management from The University of Akureyri, Iceland. Her background is in environmental assessments of Arctic marine regions, habitat mapping and underwater archeology. Her interest in mapping the Arctic was piqued when she participated in a habitat mapping project with the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, while conducting a contamination assessment on marine sediments and also mapping the Godthåbsfjord at large. Her studies in the Arctic lead her to join ocean mapping projects in Greenland and Iceland. Before coming to UNH as a GEBCO scholar, Elaina worked with the University of Iceland in a maritime archeology project, mapping remote fjords cataloging various known and unknown shipwrecks. Elaina is pursuing a postgraduate certificate in Ocean Mapping to gain a deeper understanding in hydrographic surveying so she can continue to work with underwater archeological sites in Iceland and mapping projects in the Arctic.

She is also the editorial coordinator for The Arctic Youth Network, as well as a freedive instructor and enjoys hosting swimming and environmental awareness classes for children when she has the time.

Chiaki Okada 

Japan

Chiaki Okada is a Japanese Hydrographer. Since she received her Bachelor of Science in Geology and Seismology from the University of Tsukuba in 2015, she has been working at the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard (JHOD). She has participated in several offshore hydrographic survey cruises around Japan for survey operation and data analysis, mainly using JHOD survey vessels. She was in charge of seafloor mineral resources exploration at JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) for two years between 2018 and 2020, where they tried to find the expected site of seafloor massive sulphide deposits using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter intensity and water column anomaly data. This experience drove her to be more interested in seafloor mapping. Chiaki would like to understand the theory of hydrographic survey techniques and will continue to engage in hydrographic survey at JHOD after completing the Nippon Foundation / GEBCO training program.

Dulap Ratnayake 

Sri Lanka

Dulap Ratnayake graduated with a bachelor's degree in Surveying Sciences, specializing in Surveying & Geodesy, from the Faculty of Geomatics and has a master’s degree in Surveying Sciences from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. He has been a Hydrographic Surveyor with the National Hydrographic Office at the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency. He has also had some deep-water experience aboard the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the R/V Sonne, and the R/V Samuddrika. Dulap enjoys reading and hiking in his free time.