General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)
Project overview
The GEBCO project produces global ocean floor bathymetry data sets. It operates under the joint auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It is directed by a Guiding Committee and supported by sub-committees on digital bathymetry and undersea features names plus ad hoc working groups.
GEBCO is a non-profit making organisation which relies largely on the voluntary contribution of an enthusiastic team of geoscientists and hydrographers.
The Nippon Foundation of Japan has provided funding for GEBCO to train a new generation of scientists and hydrographers in ocean bathymetry. The 12-month course, leading to a Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry (PCOB), has been held at the University of New Hampshire, USA since 2004.
Origins of the GEBCO chart series
The GEBCO chart series was initiated in 1903 by Prince Albert I of Monaco. Five separate editions of bathymetric contour paper charts covering the whole world have been produced. The GEBCO Fifth Edition is still displayed in many scientific laboratories around the world. GEBCO is now maintained at BODC in the form of a digital atlas — the GEBCO Digital Atlas.
Information on the history and development of the GEBCO chart series and the GEBCO project can be found in a book entitled 'The History of GEBCO, 1903-2003'.
Development of the GEBCO Digital Atlas
In order to establish a digital base for the future updating of GEBCO and to provide a more flexible product for users, GEBCO's governing body decided in 1983 that the printed sheets of the GEBCO 5th Edition should be digitised. The bathymetric contours, coastlines and ship trackline data digitised from these paper charts were used to initialise the GEBCO Digital Atlas (GDA). The GDA was first published by BODC in 1994. An updated version was released in 1997.
The latest release, the Centenary Edition of the GEBCO Digital Atlas, was published by BODC on CDROM in April 2003 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the initiation of the GEBCO Chart series. This release includes new bathymetric compilations for the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the northeast and central-eastern Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the Weddell Sea and the waters around New Zealand. The Centenary Edition GDA includes the first release of the GEBCO One Minute Grid, providing bathymetry data on a one minute interval global grid.
The GDA has been updated to include both the GEBCO_08 Grid and the GEBCO One Minute Grid. The GDA is now available on DVD.
As with previous releases of the GDA, the Centenary Edition includes a global set of digital bathymetric contours, coastlines and trackline control information and a copy of the IHO/IOC Gazetteer of Geographic Names of Undersea Features. The GDA CDROM includes a Microsoft Windows software interface, which allows users to view the GEBCO bathymetry data in a variety of forms and projections and to select and download contour vectors and gridded data for use in their own applications.
Visit our GEBCO Digital Atlas web pages to find out more about the GDA and how to order the GDA disc set.
GEBCO's gridded bathymetric data sets
GEBCO makes available the following gridded bathymetric data sets
- The GEBCO One Minute Grid — a global one arc-minute grid
Released: 2003, updated: 2008 — largely based on the most recent set of bathymetric contours contained within the GEBCO Digital Atlas.
- The GEBCO_08 Grid — a global 30 arc-second grid
Released: January 2009, updated November 2009 — generated by combining quality-controlled ship depth soundings with interpolation between sounding points guided by satellite-derived gravity data. A ‘source identifier’, SID, grid is also available to download to accompany the GEBCO_08 Grid. This shows which grid cells have been constrained by bathymetry data during the gridding process.
GEBCO's gridded bathymetric data sets are available to download from the web and are included on the GDA DVD.
Related GEBCO project pages at BODC
| GEBCO at BODC | GEBCO Grid display software | |
| GEBCO Digital Atlas | Software Interface updates | |
| Order the GEBCO Digital Atlas | GEBCO One Minute Grid | |
| GEBCO world map | GEBCO_08 Grid | |
| Download data — GEBCO's gridded bathymetric data sets | Data set errata |
Related external links
| Official GEBCO web site | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) | |
| Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Project | 'The History of GEBCO, 1903-2003' | |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry (PCOB) | International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) | |
| University of New Hampshire, Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) |
