International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)

Martin Jakobsson, Larry A. Mayer, Caroline Bringensparr, Carlos F. Castro, Rezwan Mohammad, Paul Johnson, Tomer Ketter, Daniela Accettella, David Amblas, Lu An, Jan Erik Arndt, Miquel Canals, José Luis Casamor, Nolwenn Chauché, Bernard Coakley, Seth Danielson, Maurizio Demarte, Mary-Lynn Dickson, Boris Dorschel, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Simon Dreutter, Alice C. Fremand, Dana Gallant, John K. Hall, Laura Hehemann, Hanne Hodnesdal, Jongkuk Hong, Roberta Ivaldi, Emily Kane, Ingo Klaucke, Diana W. Krawczyk, Yngve Kristoffersen, Boele R. Kuipers, Romain Millan, Giuseppe Masetti, Mathieu Morlighem, Riko Noormets, Megan M. Prescott, Michele Rebesco, Eric Rignot, Igor Semiletov, Alex J. Tate, Paola Travaglini, Isabella Velicogna, Pauline Weatherall, Wilhelm Weinrebe, Joshua K. Willis, Michael Wood, Yulia Zarayskaya, Tao Zhang, Mark Zimmermann, Karl B. Zinglersen

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 200 × 200 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. A broad range of Arctic climate and environmental research, including questions on the declining cryosphere, the pathways of ocean currents and, thus, the distribution of heat, sea-ice decline, the effect of inflowing warm waters on tidewater glaciers, the stability of marine-based ice streams and outlet glaciers grounded on the seabed, and the geological history of the Arctic Basin, require knowledge of the depth and shape of the seafloor.

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

IBCAO Version 4.0 Compilation Group (2020) The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 4.0. British Oceanographic Data Centre, National Oceanography Centre, NERC, UK. https://doi.org/10.5285/a01d292f-b4a0-1ef7-e053-6c86abc0a4b2

References

Jakobsson M, Mayer LA, Bringensparr C, Castro CF, Mohammad R, Johnson P, Ketter T, Accettella D, Amblas D, An L, Arndt JE, Canals M, Casamor JL, Chauché N, Coakley B, Danielson S, Demarte M, Dickson M-L, Dorschel B, Dowdeswell JA, Dreutter S, Fremand AC, Gallant D, Hall JK, Hehemann L, Hodnesdal H, Hong J, Ivaldi R, Kane E, Klaucke I, Krawczyk DW, Kristoffersen Y, Kuipers BR, Millan R, Masetti G, Morlighem M, Noormets R, Prescott MM, Rebesco M, Rignot E, Semiletov I, Tate AJ, Travaglini P, Velicogna I, Weatherall P, Weinrebe W, Willis JK, Wood M, Zarayskaya Y, Zhang T, Zimmermann M, Zinglersen KB (2020) The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0. Scientific Data 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0520-9

Data description

The IBCAO 4.0 dataset covers the Arctic Ocean and is provided in GeoTIFF and netCDF 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

  • 200 x 200 meters and
  • 400 x 400 meters.

• 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).

  • Two variants are provided for the Greenland ice sheet:

    • above-ice heights and
    • below-ice depths.

• Two supplementary grids are provided:

  • Data Type Identifier Grid which detail the mapping method of each grid-cell according to the GEBCO standard Type Identifier, and
  • Source Identifier Grid which is an identification number that reveals the source of the data in each grid-cell.

Comments

This data should not be used for navigation or for any other purpose involving safety at sea.

Updated to the latest release of IBCAO, Version 4.0, published as Jakobsson et al. (2020). The dataset is available for download from GEBCO in various different resolutions and formats. The dataset is a gridded bathymetry map of the Arctic Ocean with data from a large number of sources and methods, including multibeam sonar, single-beam sonar, compilations, interpolations, and digitized chart contours. Many contributors and organizations have provided data for use in the grid, and a table of datasets and contributing sources is available in the Nature article. The purpose of the grid is for scientific interest in the ocean floor topography of the Arctic Ocean, and the grid is not to be used for navigation or any other purpose involving safety at sea. The IBCAO compilation work forms a part of the Nippon-Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 project, which is funded by the Nippon Foundation of Japan. We are truly grateful for all data contributors who agreed to contribute to IBCAO 4.0. These consist of a broad range of agencies and institutions. Open access funding was provided by Stockholm University.

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. In 2017, IBCAO merged its efforts with the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 Project, with the goal of mapping the global seafloor by 2030. 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. Version 4.0 of the data set is available download. 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).

Version history

Version 4.0

Significant increases of seafloor data in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Fram Strait, Iceland Sea, Greenland Sea, the central Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, and coastal Greenland waters. Resolution increased from 500 meters to 200 meters.

Version 3.0

Large increase of seafloor data particularly in the Fram Strait, South Greenland, and Beaufort Sea. Resolution increased from 2000 meters to 500 meters.