International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)

Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer, Bernard Coakley, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Steve Forbes, Boris Fridman, Hanne Hodnesdal, Riko Noormets, Richard Pedersen, Michele Rebesco, Hans Werner Schenke, Yulia Zarayskaya, Daniela Accettella, Andrew Armstrong, Robert M. Anderson, Paul Bienhoff, Angelo Camerlenghi, Ian Church, Margo Edwards, James V. Gardner, John K. Hall, Benjamin Hell, Ole Hestvik, Yngve Kristoffersen, Christian Marcussen, Rezwan Mohammad, David Mosher, Son V. Nghiem, Maria Teresa Pedrosa, Paola G. Travaglini, Pauline Weatherall

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) is a bathymetry map detailing the seafloor depth in the Arctic ocean at a resolution of 500 × 500 metres.

Bathymetry is significant for a multitude of marine scientific studies. Since 1997, the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) has been the authoritative source of bathymetry for the Arctic Ocean.

The bathymetry map covers the Arctic Ocean. The source data used to compile the map is collected over many decades, spanning from at least the 1950s to the 2020s and is acquired using several measuring methods, e.g. multi- and single-beam echo sounders. The direct measurements are sparse, hence also indirect measurements have been used such as contours and soundings digitised from depth charts.

Citation

Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer, Bernard Coakley, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Steve Forbes, Boris Fridman, Hanne Hodnesdal, Riko Noormets, Richard Pedersen, Michele Rebesco, Hans Werner Schenke, Yulia Zarayskaya, Daniela Accettella, Andrew Armstrong, Robert M. Anderson, Paul Bienhoff, Angelo Camerlenghi, Ian Church, Margo Edwards, James V. Gardner, John K. Hall, Benjamin Hell, Ole Hestvik, Yngve Kristoffersen, Christian Marcussen, Rezwan Mohammad, David Mosher, Son V. Nghiem, Maria Teresa Pedrosa, Paola G. Travaglini, Pauline Weatherall (2012) The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3. GEBCO - The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans. Hosted by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). https://www.gebco.net/about_us/committees_and_groups/scrum/ibcao/ibcao_v3.html

References

Jakobsson M, Mayer L, Coakley B, Dowdeswell JA, Forbes S, Fridman B, Hodnesdal H, Noormets R, Pedersen R, Rebesco M, Schenke HW, Zarayskaya Y, Accettella D, Armstrong A, Anderson RM, Bienhoff P, Camerlenghi A, Church I, Edwards M, Gardner JV, Hall JK, Hell B, Hestvik O, Kristoffersen Y, Marcussen C, Mohammad R, Mosher D, Nghiem SV, Pedrosa MT, Travaglini PG, Weatherall P (2012) The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0. Geophysical Research Letters 39. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012gl052219

Data description

The IBCAO 3.0 dataset covers the Arctic Ocean and is provided in GeoTIFF raster files.

• The coordinate system of the raster files is Polar Stereographic projection co-ordinates (meters), EPSG 3996, with true scale set at 75°N.

• The grids are provided in two resolutions at grid-cell sizes of

  • 500 x 500 meters and
  • 30 x 30 arc seconds.

• The depth grids have the following, datum, unit and variants.

  • The horizontal datum for the data set is WGS84 and the vertical datum can be assumed to be Mean Sea Level (however, note there may be datum issues for older data, which can be to chart datum).
  • Elevation values are in meters (floating point).

• One supplementary grid is provided:

  • Source Identifier Grid which is an identification number that reveals the source of the data in each grid-cell.

Comments

The dataset IBCAO Version 3.0 is maintained by GEBCO - The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans as a part of the Seabed 2030 project. Please, cite the article that describes the dataset when using the data and follow all conditions for data use provided at the original data repository.

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated 1997 and has since been the authoritative source of bathymetry for the Arctic Ocean. The aim of the IBCAO is to develop a digital grid based on all available bathymetric data north of 64° North, for use by mapmakers, researchers, institutions, and others whose work requires a detailed and accurate knowledge of the depth and the shape of the Arctic seabed. The IBCAO grid is used for the Arctic region in the global GEBCO grid. As a part of GEBCO, the work of the IBCAO is endorsed by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).