Global and regional bathymetric models
As of today, little more that 25% of the world’s ocean seabed is mapped. For the remaining 75% the depth of the seabed is mainly estimated indirectly from satellite-derived data (altimetry, gravimetry). Mapped in this context refers to shipborne echsounders collecting depth information as direct measurements (soundings). Depending on the water depth and type of echosounder, the resolution of these measurements can varies from metres in shallow waters (<1000m water depths) to hundreds of meters in deep waters (>1000m water depth). This is in contrast to bathymetry derived from satellite data with resolutions of one to several kilometres. Unmapped seabed is therefore often also referred to as “Gaps-in-the-Maps”. These gaps can be up to several thousands of square kilometres.
To decrease these gaps, we collect bathymetric data to the highest possible standards, wherever and whenever possible, and provide them to international mapping initiatives including the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) ,the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO), and the Southwest Indian Ocean Bathymetric Compilation (swIOBC). The latter two are chaired by the AWI bathymetry working group.
The AWI bathymetry working group is also involved in the Nippon Foundation – GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project (Seabed 2030), a project with the ambitious goal to map the world’s oceans by 2030, and hosts the Seabed 2030 Southern Ocean Regional Center (SORC). SORC’s and IBCSO’ s responsibility is to produce the best possible authoritative map of the Southern Ocean, the South Atlantic, South Pacific, and South Indian Ocean south of 50°S.
The maps we produce are all publicly available in PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Sciences under a public copyright license such as CC-BY or other outlets.
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