General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)

Gridded bathymetric data sets

Bathymetry data from the GEBCO_2014 Grid
Bathymetry data from the GEBCO_2014 Grid ©

GEBCO’s gridded bathymetric data sets are global terrain models for ocean and land. They are maintained and distributed by BODC on behalf of GEBCO. The data sets include the

The GEBCO_2014 Grid is available to download for user-defined areas in netCDF; Esri ASCII raster or INT16 GeoTiff formats. The GEBCO One Minute Grid is available in netCDF format only.

In netCDF format the grids are available as either two-dimensional (2D) or one-dimensional (1D) array grid files. The 2D array grids use the Climate and Forecast (CF) metadata conventions. You can download data for a user-defined area or the complete global grid. The 1D array grids are for use with GEBCO's Grid Display Software and GEBCO Digital Atlas (GDA) and so are only available as a global grid.

Find out more about the file formats and software packages that can be used to view and access the data sets.

Select your data set

From the table and map below, select your grid and the area of interest. Add your selection to the basket and repeat the process as required. Once you are happy with your selection(s) view the basket and checkout your request to start file preparation.

Use the '+' button in the top right-hand corner of the map to select to display the GEBCO Source Identifier (SID) Grid. It shows those grid cells for which the data in the GEBCO Grid are based on bathymetric sounding or grid values. It is best viewed at a zoomed in level to appreciate the detail in the data set.


Define your search box coordinates - input order is most westerly, southerly, easterly, northerly. Alternatively use keyboard Shift+mouse Left Click and Drag a box to define your area of interest on the above map
Coordinates should be decimal degrees (maximum - 5 decimal places) where West and South are entered as negatives and East and North as positives. For example 20 W, 5 S, 10 W, 2 N = -20.0,-5.0,-10.0,2.0

GEBCO_2014 Grid (30 arc-second interval)

The GEBCO_2014 Grid is a continuous terrain model for ocean and land with a spatial resolution of 30 arc-seconds. It was generated by combining quality-controlled ship depth soundings with interpolation between sounding points guided by satellite-derived gravity data. Where they improve on the existing grid, data sets developed by other methods are included. Further information can be found in the data set documentation. The complete global grid file in compressed form is 1.1 Gbytes. More information.

Available data options Available formats Select
User-defined area* or global grid 2D netCDF
Global grid 1D netCDF
User-defined area* INT16 GeoTIFF (data)
User-defined area* ESRI ASCII

*maximum area allowed is 10800 grid cells by 10800 grid cells, this is equal to an area of 90 degrees by 90 degrees

GEBCO_2014 Source Identifier (SID) Grid (30 arc-second interval)

The GEBCO_2014 Source Identifier (SID) grid accompanies the GEBCO_2014 bathymetric grid. This data set identifies which grid cells in the GEBCO_2014 grid are based on bathymetric soundings or bathymetric depth values from grids, and which cells contain predicted depth values. The SID grid is a global grid file at 30 arc-second intervals. Further information can be found in the data set documentation. The complete global grid file in compressed form is 32 Mbytes. More information.

Available data options Available formats Select
User-defined area* or global grid 2D netCDF
Global grid 1D netCDF
User-defined area* INT16 GeoTIFF (data)
User-defined area* ESRI ASCII

*maximum area allowed is 10800 grid cells by 10800 grid cells, this is equal to an area of 90 degrees by 90 degrees

GEBCO One Minute Grid (1 arc-minute interval)

The GEBCO One Minute Grid is a continuous terrain model for ocean and land with a spatial resolution of one arc-minute.The grid is largely based on the bathymetric contours contained in the GEBCO Digital Atlas. Further information can be found in the data set documentation. The complete global grid file in compressed form is 270 Mbytes. More information.

Available data options Available formats Select
User-defined area* or global grid 2D netCDF
Global grid 1D netCDF

*maximum area allowed is 10800 grid cells by 10800 grid cells, this is equal to an area of 90 degrees by 90 degrees

Depending on the size of your area selection, or during busy periods, data preparation may take a while. Our file generator service will email you when the data are ready for collection.

Dataset errata

Although every care is taken during the development of the GEBCO bathymetric grids, errors are occasionally reported. Reported issues can be viewed on the errata pages.

Related GEBCO pages at BODC

GEBCO at BODC Data set errata

Related external links
Official GEBCO web site network Common Data Form (netCDF)
Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) Climate and Forecast (CF) metadata
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Esri Ascii raster format
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) GeoTiff