Mapping the Evolution and Intellectual Structure of Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI): A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

The proliferation of marine data is an opportunity for ocean governance and contributes to fragmentation in the disciplines, institutions, and sectors. Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) stands out as the major framework in integrating marine information; however, its intellectual framework and development are not well synthesised. The research applies the two-step systematic review and bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed literature (2000-2024) to trace the trends in publications, collaboration patterns, thematic cohesion, and time-related changes in MSDI research. Results suggest that the MSDI scholarship is growing faster,, with most of the products being European-made,, with policy frameworks like INSPIRE and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive leading the pack. It is divided into four pillars of themes, namely technical implementation, governance and policy, data management, and stakeholder applications. This development of MSDI can be characterised by five consecutive stages: fundamental technical standardisation, the implementation of the model of governance, semantic interoperability improvement, the integration of the policy, and the sophisticated application of the principles of FAIR/CARE and AI. The paper concludes that MSDI is moving to a more socio-technical approach that requires consideration of a technical-focused tool in the present-day ocean governance. In the future, combining semantic AI, decentralised architectures, polycentric governance models, and impact assessment frameworks to align the MSDI development with the objectives of equity, inclusion, and sustainability should be considered.