REVIEW

published: 05 June 2019

doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00283

Seafloor Mapping – The Challenge of

a Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry
Anne-Cathrin Wölfl 1* , Helen Snaith 2 , Sam Amirebrahimi 3 , Colin W. Devey 1 ,
Boris Dorschel 4 , Vicki Ferrini 5 , Veerle A. I. Huvenne 6 , Martin Jakobsson 7 ,
Jennifer Jencks 8 , Gordon Johnston 9 , Geoffroy Lamarche 10,11 , Larry Mayer 12 ,
David Millar 13 , Terje Haga Pedersen 14 , Kim Picard 15 , Anja Reitz 1 , Thierry Schmitt 16 ,
Martin Visbeck 1 , Pauline Weatherall 17 and Rochelle Wigley 12
1
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany, 2 British Oceanographic Data Centre, National
Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom, 3 FrontierSI, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 4 Alfred Wegener Institute,
Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, 5 Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia
University, Palisades, NY, United States, 6 National Oceanography Centre, Marine Geoscience, Southampton,
United Kingdom, 7 Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, 8 National Centers
for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, United States, 9 Venture
Edited by:
Geomatics Limited, Sutton, United Kingdom, 10 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Wellington,
Tong Lee,
New Zealand, 11 School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 12 Center for Coastal
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and Ocean Mapping, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States, 13 Fugro USA Marine, Inc., Frederick, MD,
(JPL), United States
United States, 14 Kongsberg Maritime AS, Subsea Division, Horten, Norway, 15 Geoscience Australia, Symonston, ACT,
Reviewed by: Australia, 16 Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine, Brest, France, 17 British Oceanographic Data Centre,
David Sandwell, National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, United Kingdom
University of California, San Diego,
United States
Meredith Westington, Detailed knowledge of the shape of the seafloor is crucial to humankind. Bathymetry
Office of Coast Survey NOAA, data is critical for safety of navigation and is used for many other applications. In
United States
an era of ongoing environmental degradation worldwide, bathymetry data (and the
*Correspondence:
Anne-Cathrin Wölfl knowledge derived from it) play a pivotal role in using and managing the world’s
[email protected] oceans in a way that is in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goal 14 – conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to sustainable development. However, the vast majority of our oceans is still virtually
Ocean Observation, unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. Only a small fraction of the seafloor has been
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Marine Science
systematically mapped by direct measurement. The remaining bathymetry is predicted
Received: 01 November 2018
from satellite altimeter data, providing only an approximate estimation of the shape
Accepted: 15 May 2019 of the seafloor. Several global and regional initiatives are underway to change this
Published: 05 June 2019 situation. This paper presents a selection of these initiatives as best practice examples
Citation: for bathymetry data collection, compilation and open data sharing as well as the Nippon
Wölfl A-C, Snaith H,
Amirebrahimi S, Devey CW, Foundation-GEBCO (The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) Seabed 2030
Dorschel B, Ferrini V, Huvenne VAI, Project that complements and leverages these initiatives and promotes international
Jakobsson M, Jencks J, Johnston G,
Lamarche G, Mayer L, Millar D,
collaboration and partnership. Several non-traditional data collection opportunities
Pedersen TH, Picard K, Reitz A, are looked at that are currently gaining momentum as well as new and innovative
Schmitt T, Visbeck M, Weatherall P technologies that can increase the efficiency of collecting bathymetric data. Finally,
and Wigley R (2019) Seafloor
Mapping – The Challenge of a Truly recommendations are given toward a possible way forward into the future of seafloor
Global Ocean Bathymetry. mapping and toward achieving the goal of a truly global ocean bathymetry.
Front. Mar. Sci. 6:283.
doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00283 Keywords: bathymetry, seafloor, mapping, GEBCO, seabed 2030, SDG14

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

INTRODUCTION An overview of the current state of seafloor mapping is presented

with a main focus on large-scale ocean mapping solutions.
The world’s oceans cover 71% of the Earth. This is about 362 Starting with an outline of the history of seafloor mapping
million square kilometers of the total surface area (Eakins and leading up to recent developments including data compilation
Sharman, 2010), but only a small fraction has been mapped by efforts, it highlights the importance of bathymetric data and gives
direct observation. The last few years have seen a resurgence in examples of their use for societal and environmental benefits.
the recognition of the importance of seafloor mapping and many Then a selection of repositories and syntheses is presented
national and international initiatives are currently underway. as best practice examples for bathymetry data compilation,
Recent tragedies such as the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines archiving of source data, data discoverability and availability.
flight MH370 as well as natural disasters, habitat loss and the All these initiatives require a strategy that can combine the
increasing demand for offshore energy and marine resources efforts to accomplish the task of mapping the world’s oceans.
have highlighted the need for better knowledge of the seafloor The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project aspires to
(e.g., Smith et al., 2017). In 2015, the sustainable development facilitate this through global coordination and capacity building,
of our oceans was targeted in the sustainable development and is briefly introduced in this context. The challenge of
goals (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) that aim to achieve a mapping the gaps will be discussed and the seafloor community
better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. Goal 14 – network with its main linkages illustrated. Finally, an outlook
Life below water – aims to conserve and sustainably use the is given toward the future of seafloor mapping, including
oceans, seas and marine resources through enhanced scientific key recommendations.
knowledge and research capacity amongst other things (United
Nations, 2015). In 2017, the UN proclaimed the Decade of
Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) to THE HISTORY OF SEAFLOOR MAPPING
promote sustainable ocean management highlighting the need
for ocean observation and ocean research. At the same time, How Do We Map?
the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project issued Bathymetry deals with the topography of the seafloor. The history
the challenge to survey the ocean floor across the globe by of this branch of hydrography goes back more than 3,000 years,
2030. In addition, inter-governmental agreements, including the with the first evidence of water depth measurements in historical
Galway Statement (2013) for the North Atlantic and the Belém records from ancient Egypt (Theberge, 1989). The first measuring
Statement (2017) for the whole Atlantic, seek to encourage devices were sounding poles and lines with weights attached
collaborative ocean research with bathymetric mapping at their to them. The first large-scale scientific application using lead
core. All of these initiatives have provided a strong push to weights occurred during the HMS Challenger oceanographic
better understand our oceans and have also increased awareness expedition around the globe in the 1870s. Such “plumb-line”
of the advantages of data sharing, by both research and measurements were the standard practice until the beginning of
commercial sectors, to reduce duplication of effort and mitigate the 20th century.
environmental impacts. The foundation for replacing plumb-lines with acoustic
Despite collecting data for centuries and, in recent decades, techniques was laid at the end of the 15th century, when Leonardo
the introduction of new and improved sounding techniques, the da Vinci discovered that ship noise could be heard under water
depth of the ocean has been determined over less than 18% from afar, thereby discovering that sound travels under water
of the seafloor using echo-sounders at a resolution of about (Urick, 1983). Nowadays, a large proportion of the information
1 km (Mayer et al., 2018). The current rate of progress is not we receive from ocean environments is brought to us by sound
sufficient to complete the task of mapping the world’s oceans in waves, similar to the information carried by electromagnetic
the near future without international collaboration, appropriate waves above water. The trigger for further development of
strategies and significant technological developments. Large parts underwater acoustic techniques in the beginning of the 20th
of the area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, where century was the need to detect underwater objects, exemplified by
the international seabed authority (ISA) organizes and controls the search for the Titanic that sank in 1912, as well as submarine
resource-related activities on the seabed and subsoil (United warfare during World War I (Lurton, 2002). This time marks the
Nations, 1982), are still unmapped. Exceptions are areas of start of the echo sounding era.
interest for the marine industry and exploration areas that
are allocated to contractors by the ISA for exploring deep-sea Single Beam Echo-Sounders (SBES)
mineral resources. Seafloor exploration is also well-advanced The development of SBESs constituted a significant improvement
in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of coastal states that have in terms of accuracy and efficiency over earlier equipment.
the capabilities and facilities to conduct mapping surveys. SBESs are configured with piezoelectric crystal- or ceramic-based
For a better understanding of the marine environment and transducers that can generate and receive acoustic signals. The
the development of sustainable ocean management regimes, depth of the seafloor is determined by measuring the two-way
a comprehensive and systematic survey of the world’s ocean travel time of a sound wave that is sent toward the seafloor and
floor is essential. back. This technique combined with accurate measurements of
This paper reviews the efforts made so far to produce a truly acoustic wave travel time laid the foundation for this success story
global ocean bathymetry map derived from direct observation. (Mayer, 2006).

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

Multibeam Echo-Sounders (MBES) inherently under-determined. They can, however, reveal large
Multibeam echo-sounder systems became publically available geomorphological features of the ocean floor. Resolution of
in the 1970s (e.g., Glenn, 1970; Renard and Allenou, 1979), features with horizontal scales as small as 6–9 km can be achieved
coincident with the development of the satellite-based navigation under ideal conditions in the deep ocean (Sandwell et al., 2006).
system global positioning system (GPS), enabling high spatial Smith and Sandwell (1997) published a topographic map of
accuracy for environmental measurements globally. Multibeam the world’s oceans with a resolution between 1 and 12 km,
systems radiate a fan of sound and listen to the returning echoes by combining depth soundings from ships and marine gravity
of the emitted signals in narrow sectors perpendicular to that fan, data from satellite altimetry. The gravity models on which the
resulting in the mapping of a swath of seafloor instead of just topographic maps are based have been updated several times
a line. They have the advantage of collecting higher-resolution since (Sandwell et al., 2014).
bathymetric data and of making mapping efforts much more
efficient, by mapping an area in a much shorter time compared to Current Developments and Future Plans
SBESs. Modern systems can have many hundreds of beams and In order to convert depth soundings into a bathymetric
can achieve swath angles between 120 and 150 degrees. surface, several steps need to be taken. There is a trend
The area on the seafloor that an acoustic beam ensonifies is toward the development of effective automation routines that
mainly dependent on beam widths of the transmit and receive include data acquisition, vessel-to-shore data transmission and
beams, the opening angle chosen by the surveyor and the water data processing. The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE challenge
depth. Small angles and shallow water depths generally result in (2015–2019) – Discovering the Mysteries of the Deep Sea –
smaller “acoustic footprints” and therefore higher-resolution data designed to accelerate innovation for the rapid and unmanned
than large angles and deeper water depths, due to the expansion exploration of the seafloor, is one example that addresses a
of the beam as it travels through the water column (Lurton, 2002). need for new technologies in order to meet the goals of various
This means that very high-resolution data can be obtained using ocean initiatives.
ships in shallow water, but that the resolution decreases with
increasing water depth. In deep water, vehicles operated near the Autonomous Systems
seafloor can address this challenge. Modern multibeam echo-sounders have a size and power
consumption that makes them suitable for autonomous
Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) operations. The use of autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) and
Two other seafloor mapping techniques are used in coastal autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) equipped with such
environments. Collecting bathymetric data with ship-based echosounders can release ships from dedicated mapping activities
systems in shallow water is substantially more time-consuming (Figure 1). The time and human resources (and therefore costs)
and hazardous than collecting deep-water data. SDB from associated with the ship-based acquisition of bathymetric data
multispectral satellite imagery, developed in the 1970s, can be can be considerable. Industry-leading companies are developing
used to map shallow areas where water clarity permits. Satellite vessel-to-shore communication systems to reduce the number
platforms collect data in multiple spectral bands, spanning of people needed on board and at the same time enable full
the visible through infrared portions of the electromagnetic survey operability (e.g., Haugen, 2018). Improved vessel-to-shore
spectrum. Water depth estimations are based on the attenuation communication not only provide means to remotely control
of radiance as a function of depth and wavelength in the water survey operations, but can also ensure rapid and autonomous
column (Pe’eri et al., 2014; IHO and IOC, 2018). delivery of newly acquired multibeam data to research institutes,

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)

Another option to map shallow areas is the use of bathymetric
LIDAR, a technique that transmits laser pulses from an airborne
platform and measures their return. The water depth is calculated
from the time difference between the reflection from the water
surface and the reflection from the seafloor (Irish and White,
1998). However, the use of such optical solutions is limited to
shallow areas with optimal water clarity.

Satellite Altimetry
The first altimetric satellites were launched in the 1970s.
Altimeters do not directly measure ocean depth, but the height
of the ocean’s surface, which is affected, among other things, by
the gravitational effects of topographic features on the seafloor.
When the first satellite-altimetry derived digital terrain model
(DTM) was first released it revolutionized the study of plate
FIGURE 1 | Artistic impression of an AUV performing a deep-sea multibeam
tectonics. Altimetry data have far lower horizontal resolution survey (courtesy of Tom Kwasnitschka/Nico Augustin, GEOMAR).
than ship’s bathymetry and provide depth estimates which are

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

survey companies and ideally data repositories. Communication Furthermore, in order to ensure fit-for-purpose bathymetric
may still be limited by bandwidth and high costs restricting the data, a quality assurance (QA) process is needed. It usually
transfer of the large volumes of data. An alternative strategy is encompasses manual effort and working with a number of
to process data automatically on the vessel and create products different tools to verify and validate acquired data against a
that are small enough to be easily transferred over the available range of issues like file corruption, accuracy and consistency,
connection (e.g., Hamilton, 2018). coverage holes or artifacts in the data. The IHO has already
Making data acquisition autonomous can also reduce safety developed Standards for Hydrographic Surveys (International
risks by allowing operators to stay away from hazardous Hydrographic Bureau, 2008) that provide minimum standards to
situations and still access traditionally inaccessible regions, e.g., help improve the safety of navigation. However, in comparison
under ice or navigationally complex areas, such as shallow waters, with other technologies, seabed mapping has less standardization
steep slopes or volcanic areas (e.g., Lucieer et al., 2016; Carlon, across the community. Hence, a QA process can contribute to
2018). Furthermore, in deep water AUVs and remotely operated building best practices of data acquisition and processing and
vehicles (ROV) can obtain multibeam data with a much higher facilitates the compilation of collected data.
resolution than ship-based systems, since they are not limited to
the sea surface (Wynn et al., 2014; Kelley et al., 2016; Lucieer
and Forrest, 2016) with the most advanced vehicles reaching WHY DO WE NEED BATHYMETRIC
water depths of almost 11,000 m (e.g., Bowen et al., 2007). While DATA?
ROVs are remotely piloted and powered from a ship, AUVs
operate independently, with their range only limited by their Knowledge of bathymetry is important for a wide variety of
onboard power supply (Huvenne et al., 2018). The deployment uses starting with the fundamental understanding of geological
of these near-bottom mapping systems is currently still inefficient and oceanographic processes affecting our planet. Early echo-
for the mapping of large areas, partly because of their slow sounding profiles across the Atlantic Ocean for instance enabled
speeds compared to ships. However, in the case of AUVs this Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp to understand the relationship
can be compensated for by multiple vehicles working in tandem. between mid-ocean ridges and earthquake seismicity and played
Furthermore, the positioning accuracy for AUVs is still limited, an important part in the recognition of one of the most significant
and at present, they are not able to make ship-based surveys paradigm shifts in science – the development of the hypothesis of
obsolete, since it is still essential to roughly understand the seafloor spreading and plate tectonics (Hess, 1962).
bathymetry of an area before a submersible can be sent down A seabed mapping user survey conducted in 2018 by
toward the seafloor. Geoscience Australia and FrontierSI captured information from
national and international stakeholders across all sectors. It
Automated Data Processing and Quality Assurance revealed that habitat mapping and hydrographic charting were
The processing of raw multibeam data into a high-quality data the most common applications for the use of high-resolution
product, often a gridded DTM at the best possible resolution, bathymetric data (Amirebrahimi et al., in press).
can take a considerable amount of time and resources for data Seafloor bathymetry is essential for safety of navigation and
cleaning, integration of auxiliary data and gridding (Lamarche for establishing the limits of the extended continental shelf
et al., 2016). Multiple efforts are underway to accelerate this (ECS) under the United Nations Convention on Law of the
process, especially with regard to ever-increasing data volumes. Sea (UNCLOS) (Jakobsson et al., 2003). This exemplifies that a
With adequate data density achieved by overlapping survey detailed knowledge of a nation’s coastal bathymetry is also vital
lines, statistical filters can be used for automated data cleaning for political and commercial purposes. A few other examples for
to identify and exclude spikes or outliers, but with marginal the use of bathymetric data are looked at in more detail below.
time benefit. Modern bathymetry processing software all offer
some level of filters and automation, but careful human review MH370
of the product is still needed. In an effort to further improve The recent loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has
efficiency of data cleaning and processing, the CUBE (Combined highlighted the lack of detailed bathymetry in large areas of
Uncertainty Bathymetry Estimate) model was developed (Calder the world’s oceans. The existing data in the search area were
and Mayer, 2003). As part of this procedure, the TPU (Total based on a bathymetric model derived from marine gravity
Propagated Uncertainty) is calculated for each sounding, which information estimated from satellite-altimetry combined with
combines information about positional accuracy, environmental sonar soundings (Smith and Sandwell, 1997). At the time of
conditions and system performance into one value. The TPU is the search for the fuselage, single and multibeam data coverage
used to weight the contributions of each sounding to the estimate in the area was insufficient to deploy deep-water instruments
of depth at a defined position (grid node). Apart from this, to provide a detailed inspection of the seafloor (Picard et al.,
other automatic methods for reliably reducing the volume of the 2017) and so ship-based bathymetric data had to be collected.
bathymetric data have been proposed (e.g., Rezvani et al., 2015). By comparing this newly acquired high-resolution data with
Generally speaking, the automated processing of multibeam the modeled data (Figure 2), it was found that 38% of the
datasets, while potentially offering ways to minimize processing grid cells differed vertically from the high-resolution data by
and other resources associated with acquisition, may in some more than 100 m with maximum differences of 1900 m
cases result in loss of information and propagation of errors. (Picard et al., 2018).

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

FIGURE 2 | Plan view of the Diamantina trench seafloor area in the Southeast Indian Ocean. The curtain image shows from top to bottom the data resolution
increase between altimetry derived bathymetry data, sourced from the SRTM15_PLUS model (Olson et al., 2016), and multibeam bathymetry, gridded at 110 m
horizontal resolution, that was acquired to assist the search for Malaysia Airline flight MH370. Image modified from the MH370 storymap (Australian Government,
2017).

Hazard Studies Seafloor Installations

Marine geohazards are not only of concern to coastal Marine infrastructure development, such as cable laying, pipeline
communities, but also to industries dealing with marine and platform installation, rig anchoring, or deployment
infrastructure. Geohazard assessments in the marine realm are of machines requires high-resolution bathymetric data.
mainly based on bathymetric data. Although only a snapshot Environmental assessments, a requirement prior to any industrial
in time, bathymetric data deepens the understanding of the activity affecting the seafloor, starts with a geomorphometric
seafloor fabric and helps to identify potential risks linked to analysis of the region. The need for high-resolution bathymetric
hazardous processes, such as slope failures or turbidity currents, data for monitoring of seabed activities will increase in the
and with repeat surveys, can be used to monitor seafloor future (Clark et al., 2017; Ellis et al., 2017). Identification and
changes over time (Chiocci et al., 2011). Clearly, bathymetric characterization of areas suitable for seafloor mining also rely
resolution appropriate to the target features is required. The on precise bathymetric information (e.g., Hein et al., 2009). For
morphology of the seafloor is also linked to the formation instance, areas of seafloor mineralization from hydrothermal vent
and propagation of tsunamis and is of vital importance in the systems can be predicted using high-resolution bathymetric data.
context of tsunami forecasting. Generally, bathymetric data
represent a fundamental dataset for addressing the growing Marine Conservation
challenges associated with climate change (Stocker et al., 2013; Precise seafloor information, foremost high-resolution
Fenty et al., 2016). bathymetric data, is required to work toward the goal of
protecting at least 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020 (UN
Ocean Circulation Models Convention on Biodiversity Aichi Target 11, Sala et al., 2018)
Bathymetric data are also fundamental to our ability to model and to support the achievement of SDG 14 – Life below water –
ocean circulation, with the predicted location of key circulation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Marine
features, such as the separation point of the Gulf Stream from protected areas (MPA) are designated for the protection of the
the United States’ coast, being critically dependent on accurate marine environment, but in most cases their initial designation
topography representation in the model in question (Thompson and the development of management plans is hampered by a
and Sallée, 2012; Gula et al., 2015). Similarly, accurate ocean lack of accurate knowledge about the distribution of marine
models can have a major impact on the ability of climate models species and habitats. The direct visual observation of every part
to simulate global phenomena such as El Niño events (e.g., of the seafloor for this purpose is an unrealistic expectation,
Santoso et al., 2011). The resolution requirements of bathymetry hence environmental parameters are increasingly used for
data for the models are limited by the resolution that the ocean habitat predictions (Howell et al., 2011 Rengstorf et al., 2014).
models themselves are able to achieve. As this resolution is Particularly for benthic species, bathymetry has turned out to
increasing all the time, there is a growing need for better-resolved be one of the main driving factors behind species distribution.
seafloor bathymetry. In addition to depth information, associated variables such

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

as slope, aspect, curvature and terrain variability have been or between different study areas. Often these routes lead
demonstrated to act as significant predictors in benthic species them through international waters, where data recording is
distribution models (Wilson et al., 2007). Particularly in areas unrestricted. Several nations have procedures in place to collect
where biological information is absent, the availability of reliable such data and make them publicly available.
bathymetric data provides environmental managers with the In the United States, the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R)
chance to create a basic habitat map to guide the development of Program was initiated in 2009 to ensure that all underway
management plans. data acquired aboard the United States Academic Research
Fleet is documented and archived in public repositories. Data
from each cruise are routinely submitted by the vessel operator
BATHYMETRIC DATA SOURCES to R2R which ensures delivery to the appropriate national
repository. This project has resulted in a significant increase of
One large source, by area, of high-quality bathymetric data is multibeam data made available at the International Hydrographic
from research cruises, undertaken by a range of research and Organization Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (IHO DCDB).
government institutions across the globe. Data are traditionally In 2011, the Multibeam Advisory Committee, was formed to
held by the host institutions and used for specific research help coordinate fleet-wide multibeam calibrations and system
purposes. Exceptions are individual agreements with, for monitoring for the United States Academic Research Fleet and
example, funding agencies that oblige institutions to make their to develop and make publicly available tools and best practices
data publicly available after a certain amount of time. With more for operational procedures that promote the acquisition of high-
widely accepted data sharing policies, institutions are encouraged quality multibeam data. These projects share the common goal of
to archive their data on central open-access repositories and promoting high-quality publicly available data and encourage the
portals, where data can be easily discovered and freely accessed acquisition of transit data.
for wider purposes. This way data are collected once and can In 2015, three German research vessels (RV Maria S. Merian,
be used many times. Sharing these data for re-use ensures that RV Meteor, and RV Sonne) started to collect multibeam data
new data acquisition efforts can focus on unmapped regions and on their transit routes, mapping approximately 200,000 km2
maximizes return on public investment. every year. Recently, RV Polarstern, a fourth German research
Within a country’s EEZ, national hydrographic offices are vessel and the Dutch RV Pelagia have announced an intention
usually responsible for the mapping efforts. For many parts of to join this approach. The transit data are sent to GEOMAR
the world, these are closely linked to military organizations, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany, where
reflecting the key importance of bathymetry for naval and defense the data are processed and several data products created. The
operations. Hydrographic offices are legally responsible for the data are integrated into the international Pangaea Data Publisher
safety of navigation under the International Convention for the for Earth and Environmental Science as well as into the IHO
safety of life at sea (SOLAS) 1974. Given the physical constraints DCDB. Data collection is actively supported by the ship’s crew
on gathering large areas of bathymetry in shallow water described and usually by the chief scientists. Of key importance for getting
above, these data are often expensive to acquire in terms of ship- this support has been the commitment to make the data freely
time. Some national hydrographic offices are joining a growing available for all.
trend of granting access to their holdings. However, the sensitivity Another supporting example that transit matters is the search
related to national security of some of these data is limiting access for flight MH370. Seabed mapping contractors were asked and
to bathymetric information. agreed very early on to acquire data (at no cost) during transit
Another source of significant amounts of bathymetric data is between the search area and the port-of-call, and where possible,
commercial survey companies. As commercial exploration and to build on the coverage. After over 3 years of operation, transit
exploitation of the marine environment becomes more extensive, data accounted for ∼432,000 km2 , the equivalent of 1.5 time the
commercial survey companies operate to provide high-resolution search area (238,000 km2 ). This data was of similar resolution to
survey data to their commercial customers. Whilst the extent of the search area, however, it is of lesser quality and density due to
these data may be limited to areas with potential for economic the nature of transit acquisition. Overall, the data collected for the
development, they are often of very high resolution and high search of the flight MH370 was made freely available, but still only
quality. Since the customers are usually the data owners, it has accounts for 1% of the Indian Ocean seafloor (Picard et al., 2017).
been uncommon on the past for these data to be made available
in the public domain. Some survey companies, however, are Crowdsourced Bathymetry
spearheading an effort to communicate the wider significance The IHO has a history of encouraging both innovative ways
and societal benefit of these data to their customers, opening to gather data and data maximizing initiatives to gain a better
up the possibility of significantly increased public access to these understanding of the bathymetry of the seas, oceans and coastal
data in the future. waters. In 2014, the IHO, at its Fifth Extraordinary International
Hydrographic Conference, recognized that traditional survey
Transit Data – Making the Most of Every vessels alone could not be relied upon to solve our data deficiency
Nautical Mile issues and agreed there was a need to encourage and support
Research vessels that operate internationally usually have long all mariners in an effort to “map the gaps.” One outcome of
transit routes, whether transiting from port to study area the conference was an initiative to support and enable mariners

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

and professionally manned vessels to collect crowdsourced provision and data transfer, has been successfully established for
bathymetry (CSB) to be used as a powerful source of information future data transfer.
to supplement the more rigorous and scientific bathymetric
coverage generated by hydrographic offices, industry, and Release of Private and Commercial Data
researchers around the world. A source of bathymetric data that has, until recently, been poorly
An IHO CSB Working Group, comprising international exploited, is the wealth of data being collected by commercial
scientific, governmental and commercial hydrographic experts, surveying companies. For the most part, these data are owned
was tasked by the IHO to draft a guidance document meant by the customers of the survey companies that collect them. As
to empower as many mariners as possible to map the gaps in a result, the primary survey data cannot be placed in the public
the bathymetric coverage of the world’s ocean. The document, domain or contributed to mapping projects without the express
which will become an adopted IHO publication in 2019, describes permission of those customers.
what constitutes CSB, the installation and use of data loggers, Based on their user survey, Amirebrahimi et al. (in press)
preferred data formats, and instructions for submitting data to highlighted that most participating organizations are willing
the IHO DCDB. The document also provides information about to contribute to national or international mapping initiatives.
data uncertainty to help data collectors and data users better However, this is usually done on a case-by-case basis. The
understand quality and accuracy issues with CSB. The working unwillingness of private companies or their clients to have their
group is now focusing on developing an outreach plan covering data contributed to public domain was directly linked to the
the “why, what, where, and how” to encourage all vessels at sea to financial side of data capture and establishing appropriate license
collect bathymetric data as part of a mariner’s routine operations. for use of the data. By covering the cost of data acquisition,
Under the guidance of the working group, NOAA’s national organizations often consider the data their intellectual property
centers for environmental information (NCEI) has implemented and accordingly, are not willing to easily share them with others.
the ability to archive, discover, display and retrieve global Additional barriers for releasing data may include but are not
crowdsourced bathymetric data contributed from mariners limited to security considerations and confidentiality of data.
around the world. These data reside in the IHO DCDB which The perceived sensitivity of the data is sometimes so high that
offers access to archives of oceanic, atmospheric, geophysical, organizations are not even willing to publish the coverage or the
and coastal data (Jencks et al. “Citizen-Science for the Future: metadata of the survey data.
Advisory Case Studies from Around the Globe,” this issue). GEBCO is working to build relationships with survey
companies and their customers to release the data they hold
Release of Data From National Archives or own. The first agreement was made in early 2018 with
Many countries hold large amounts of bathymetric data, but it Fugro, a large offshore company providing geotechnical and
is often difficult to get access to this data. Countries providing survey services, who acquire vast quantities of bathymetric data
unrestricted access to their data holdings are still an exception. with a global fleet of ocean-going survey vessels. As they move
A country’s bathymetric data might ideally be archived in a vessels from project to project, they also have the opportunity
national data repository, but in reality is often distributed over to collect data during transits as a form of CSB contribution.
several data archives and institutional repositories throughout Since commencing the program, over 167,000 km2 of multibeam
the country. Few of these archives have open access policies, bathymetric data have been contributed to the IHO DCDB.
accordingly, the data are not freely available for others. Data that In addition, Fugro has begun to make their customers aware
are freely available are often not directly downloadable, they are of this approach and has begun to explore if there are any terms
only available upon request. Another challenge is that national under which they might consider donations of data. In many
data archives are often only known in the respective country but cases, as mentioned above, these datasets may contain market-
not abroad, which makes it difficult to find data. sensitive information and when this is the case, it is determined
The availability of bathymetric data is regulated by each if a reduction in resolution and/or a delay in release may mitigate
country’s national legislation. If a country decides to make any data sensitivity concerns. In the first instance, provision
its data available, the question remains of how to make the of simple metadata to allow identification of the area of data
data discoverable and accessible to the interested user. Several coverage and data characteristics is a step forward in identifying
bathymetric syntheses, some of which are described below, are the areas of seafloor that have already been surveyed, even if the
addressing this question. Another collaborative approach has data cannot yet be released.
been started by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation Following the success of the Fugro initiative, further
project AtlantOS Optimizing and Enhancing the Integrated collaborations are now being developed with other commercial
Atlantic Ocean Observing System. The project covers various partners. The best-practice being developed, promoting public
disciplines, including seafloor mapping, with the objective of access to the transit data through IHO DCDB combined with
enhancing ship-based observing networks. Within this approach, potentially limited release of commercially sensitive data, is
several European data centers are working together to trace now being encouraged across the marine survey industry. It is
deep-sea bathymetric data and integrate them to the IHO expected that this approach will not eliminate the need for marine
DCDB in order to make them accessible and usable for the site characterization services, but rather increase its demand.
specialist and non-specialist user. A standard workflow regarding Only through a comprehensive mapping of the ocean will areas of
data integration into the IHO DCDB, including metadata interest become known. The expectation is that within those areas

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

of interest, high-resolution mapping services will still be required Hydrographic Service, EMODnet Bathymetry, MAREANO)
to support marine projects and activities. through the ingestion of their web services. Global seafloor
mapping campaigns, such as The Galway Initiative and Seabed
2030, can use this viewer as a tool for identifying where data
BATHYMETRIC DATA REPOSITORIES already exist to reduce costly, duplicative surveying efforts.
AND SYNTHESES In addition to encouraging countries, organizations, academia,
industry, and individuals to contribute their data, the DCDB also
Data centers act as central repositories for the secure archiving of strongly encourages other repositories to make their web services
source data and ideally provide resources for data discoverability available so that their data holdings can be more broadly shared.
and access. There are many international, regional and national
repositories, including some national hydrographic offices, EMODnet Bathymetry
that serve this function. While we recognize the efforts An example for a regional bathymetric synthesis for Europe is
of some nations in building and managing national data the European marine observation and data network (EMODnet).
centers [e.g., Australia with the Geoscience Australia’s Marine This initiative aims at assembling and granting access to
Data Portal, Japan with DARWIN from the Japan Agency European marine data, data products and metadata from diverse
for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), or sources originating from organizations in countries around
France with data.shom.fr from the French Hydrographic and European seas (Miguez et al. “EMODnet: Roles and Visions,”
Oceanographic Service], we have deliberately chosen to focus this issue). The EMODnet Bathymetry Project is an example of
on one international data repository and several bathymetric a regional approach that develops and provides a bathymetric
syntheses providing bathymetric data products. In this section, DTM for the European seas. The DTM is made publicly
we will introduce some examples and examine their wider available for downloading, whereas access to the source data
international linkages regarding data sharing as demonstrations might be restricted. User access to source data, generally at
of best practices. The examples presented here are not intended higher resolution than the DTM, might be granted by the data
as an exhaustive list. provider directly upon request, depending on the national and/or
distribution policy of the hosting organization. With this respect,
The IHO DCDB licenses detailing simple acknowledgment of the source data
The International Hydrographic Organization Data Centre for (more than often through DOI identification) tend to generalize.
Digital Bathymetry (IHO DCDB) was established in 1990 to The grid resolution of the model has increased since the early
steward the worldwide collection of bathymetric data. The intent stages of the project from ∼500 m in 2010, ∼250 m in 2015 to
was for the center to archive and share, freely and without ∼115 m in 2018. Each grid cell has a reference to the source
restrictions, raw unedited single- and multibeam bathymetric data – bathymetric survey via Common Data Index, composite
data acquired by hydrographic, oceanographic and other vessels. DTM via the Sextant catalog, and GEBCO in case of gaps – used
In the original proposal, the former NOAA national geophysical for determining the water depth. The model is produced from
data center (NGDC), now the NCEI, agreed to “operate a aggregated surveys, collated by a network of contributors from
worldwide digital data bank of oceanic bathymetry on behalf of marine research institutes, hydrographic services, government
the Member States of the IHO.” agencies and private companies. In 2018, over 27,000 survey
Almost 30 years later, NCEI and the DCDB remain committed data sets from 42 providers and 140 composite DTMs from 28
to providing easy, open access to the wealth of data from a variety providers were included.
of sectors (e.g., industry, government, academia, crowdsource The overall EMODnet DTM is generated from the
efforts) for long-term archive, stewardship, and public use. compilation of the data sources available through a commonly
Enabling users to locate and access the data they need is adopted methodology (Emodnet Bathymetry, 2009). Data
critical in maximizing the re-use of data. NCEI accomplishes providers provide metadata and make sure their data are
this with quality standard metadata registered in catalogs to processed for erratic soundings and remaining bias. They sample
support search and discovery, map services that can be used and pre-grid their datasets with a common software tool into
by anyone as building blocks in custom web applications, and data files which are handed over to so-called basin coordinators.
by developing and hosting web map applications that provide The task of the coordinators consists of selecting and then
an intuitive interface to display, select, and download many merging selected datasets for their basin, and building the most
different types of data. realistic and accurate regional basin DTM by ensuring a coherent
The public can discover bathymetric data from the IHO and smooth transition between data sources. Finally, basin
DCDB Digital Bathymetry viewer (Figure 3). There is also the coordinators provide their regional DTM to an integrator for
option to display a multibeam bathymetry mosaic of NCEI’s composing the full DTM (Figure 4).
bathymetry holdings with elevation values and color shaded relief
visualizations as well as the single-beam sounding density. The GMRT
data sets are freely accessible and the majority can be directly The Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT, Ryan et al.,
downloaded. Along with displaying the DCDB’s bathymetric 2009) Synthesis is a global, multi-resolutional Digital Elevation
data holdings, the viewer also shows the locations of data Model (DEM) that includes edited ship-based multibeam data
accessible from other repositories (e.g., AusSeabed, Canadian at full spatial resolution (∼100 m in the deep sea). It began as

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

FIGURE 3 | The IHO DCDB Bathymetry viewer which displays bathymetric data holdings (including multibeam bathymetry, shown here) from NOAA NCEI, along with
data from other repositories, in order to support ongoing international seafloor mapping efforts.

FIGURE 4 | EMODnet Bathymetry grid (version 2018) around the European waters (www.emodnet-bathymetry.eu) and schematic representation of the tasks and
roles of each of the contributors of the EMODnet Bathymetry distributed infrastructure.

the Ridge Multibeam Synthesis in 1992 at Columbia University’s synthesizing available bathymetric data into composite grids and
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and is funded primarily images. In 2003, the focus of the compilation was extended to
by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF). Its include the Southern Ocean, and GMRT was initiated with a
initial purpose was to support research at mid-ocean ridges by multi-resolutional architecture maintained in three projections.

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

Since 2005, GMRT has provided free public access to curated near the equator is about half a kilometer. This is the first
gridded ocean bathymetric and terrestrial elevation data in GEBCO grid produced under the framework of the Nippon
support of global scientific investigations. Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. The GEBCO_2019
A core principle in the design of GMRT is to make elevation Grid uses Version 1 of the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography
data products accessible to specialist and non-specialist users Mission)15_PLUS data set (Olson et al., 2014) as its base. This
alike while providing full attribution to data sources, and access data set is a fusion of land topography with measured and
to source data for advanced users. Access to GMRT is provided estimated seafloor topography. The data set is augmented with
through a web application called GMRT MapTool, several web bathymetric data sets developed by the four Seabed 2030 Regional
services, and the java-based GeoMapApp desktop application. Centers and the international seafloor mapping community.
All of these tools and applications allow access to gridded GEBCO makes available a range of bathymetric products and
elevation data in the form of grids, points, and profiles, as well services, including:
as images and metadata information. Data can be extracted
– GEBCO_2019 grid. A global terrain model at 15 arc-
and downloaded from GMRT at user-defined resolutions in a
second intervals.
variety of formats.
– Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names. A digital data set
Terrestrial and bathymetric elevation components combined
giving the name, generic feature type and geographic
into GMRT are managed independently, which enables updating
location of names of features on the seafloor.
content on different schedules. New versions of GMRT are
– GEBCO world map. The map shows the bathymetry of the
released twice each year and typically ∼2 million km2 of new
world’s ocean floor in the form of a shaded relief color map.
multibeam data coverage is added annually. Most curatorial
It is based on the GEBCO_08 Grid and can be accessed
effort for GMRT is focused on preparing and integrating
as an image file.
multibeam data that are publicly available through the IHO
– GEBCO web map service (WMS). The GEBCO grid is
DCDB. Multibeam data processing and curation efforts are
available as a WMS, a means of accessing geo-referenced
focused on the needs of the United States Research Community,
map images over the internet.
with an emphasis on data collected by the United States Academic
– IHO-IOC GEBCO Cook Book. The Cook Book is a
Research Fleet both during transits and surveys.
technical reference manual containing information on the
Data curation efforts include ping editing, sound velocity
development of bathymetric grids and related topics.
corrections, adjustments of attitude sensor offsets, the review and
assessment of the data in the context of the high-resolution global The current generation of GEBCO gridded data products is
compilation, and other adjustments necessary to create high- reliant on a range of regional and global mapping projects. GMRT
quality grids of multibeam data at 100 m resolution or better. routinely contributes to GEBCO data products. EMODnet
Source sonar files that were gridded into the compilation are Bathymetry is another contributor, together with international
also available for download. GMRT v.3.6, which was released bathymetric chart of the arctic ocean (IBCAO) and international
in December 2018, includes edited multibeam data from 1,046 bathymetric chart of the southern ocean (IBCSO). Regional grids
research cruises, conducted between 1980 – 2018 aboard 29 were also provided for the Caspian, Black, Baltic and Weddell
different vessels operated by 26 different institutions (Figure 5). Seas, and for the parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans
This includes more than 225,000 swath data files with more than by a variety of national agencies and international projects
31 billion input soundings, which together cover an estimated (Weatherall et al., 2015). This collaboration within GEBCO,
area of > 31 Million km2 (8.6%) of the global ocean. taking advantage of regional mapping expertise, is fundamental
to the production of a global high-quality gridded bathymetry.
GEBCO
The general bathymetric chart of the oceans (GEBCO) makes
available a range of bathymetric data sets and data products. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN
It operates under the joint auspices of the international GLOBAL MAPPING
hydrographic organization (IHO) and the intergovernmental
oceanographic commission (IOC) of UNESCO (United Nations From the descriptions of the example initiatives above, synergies
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). between regional and worldwide bathymetric synthesis efforts
The GEBCO chart series has its origins at the beginning of is self-evident. Figure 7 shows the general flow of data from
the 20th Century with the initiation of the first chart series by data sources into publicly accessible repositories and bathymetric
Prince Albert I of Monaco in 1903. Through the 20th Century, syntheses, and how various synthesis efforts relate to one another.
five paper editions of the GEBCO chart series were produced The IHO DCDB serves as the long-term repository for global
(Figure 6). In response to the need for digital products, the bathymetric data, that can receive, archive and make available
first edition of the GEBCO Digital Atlas was published on CD- existing data that is not yet shared as well as newly acquired
ROM in 1994. In 2003 the Centenary Edition of the GEBCO data. Data sources including CSB as well as bathymetric data
Digital Atlas was produced and included GEBCO’s first gridded from the science and the private sector have been described in
bathymetric product, the GEBCO One Minute Grid. detail above. In turn, regional and global bathymetric synthesis
Published in April 2019, GEBCO’s latest grid, GEBCO_2019, projects and initiatives provide quality controlled data products,
is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals, which such as GMRT and EMODnet, are important building blocks

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

FIGURE 5 | Global extent of curated multibeam sonar data included in GMRT v3.6. Data have been reviewed, processed and gridded at 100 m. Combined with
gridded data sets at a variety of resolutions and complemented by the GEBCO basemap, GMRT provides seamless access to global multi-resolutional bathymetric
and elevation data.

FIGURE 6 | The Mid-Atlantic Ridge as Portrayed in GEBCO charts since 1903 (courtesy of Anthony Pharaoh, IHO).

that contribute to Seabed 2030 and the GEBCO global map. All regional data products that feed into GEBCO global products.
data products are delivered directly to the public, shared among Coordination between and among these efforts is important to
syntheses, and are ultimately assembled at Seabed 2030 into new avoid duplication of effort, to bring all data sources together

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

FIGURE 7 | Schematic showing overall flow of data from academic, public and industry sources into public repositories and bathymetric synthesis efforts. This
diagram highlights some of the efforts that are underway globally, but is not an exhaustive list of all projects and scales of coordination.

efficiently, and to acknowledge the work and contributions of all by the GEBCO Guiding Committee. The Regional Centers
efforts and projects. are responsible for championing mapping activities; assembling
and compiling bathymetric information and collaborating with
existing mapping initiatives in their regions. The Global
A SEAFLOOR MAPPING STRATEGY IS Center is responsible for producing and delivering centralized
NEEDED GEBCO/Seabed 2030 products, such as global bathymetric grids.
The most recent GEBCO grid, GEBCO_2019, is the first product
Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 of the Seabed 2030 Project.
Project To define the scope of work to populate the map with
Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between the Nippon direct measurement, the project has established a variable-
Foundation of Japan and GEBCO. It aims to bring together resolution and depth-dependent data scheme to be used for
all available bathymetric data to produce the definitive map determining “mapped” status (Table 1), based on the varying
of the world ocean floor by 2030 and make it available to all resolution of modern hull-mounted swath bathymetry systems as
(Jakobsson et al., 2017). The project was launched at the UN a function of water depth.
Ocean Conference in June 2017 and is aligned with the SDG 14 – Using this scheme, an analysis of the source data for the
Life below water. GEBCO_2014 grid, i.e., those data included in GEBCO before the
The project has established four Regional Centers and a start of the Seabed 2030 Project, showed that actual bathymetric
Global Center, is managed by a project director, and is overseen data were available for approximately 6.2% of the global ocean

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

TABLE 1 | Seabed 2030 resolution targets at different depth ranges has highlighted that transfer of large acoustic seabed data
(Mayer et al., 2018).
over the internet is difficult for many organizations and can
Depth Grid-cell size be barrier to accessing these data for producing consistent,
consolidated products. In addition, QA of the data prior to
0–1,500 m 100 × 100 m submission is necessary to ensure the data can be easily integrated
1,500–3,000 m 200 × 200 m with other existing data. Manual work for preparing and
3,000–5,750 m 400 × 400 m integrating the data and making them available on these end-
5,750–11,000 m 800 × 800 m point portals is another challenge that can become complicated
by the variety of proprietary and open formats commonly used
in the community.
grid cells, 6% of those in international waters, and 5.7% in The Seabed 2030 Project also has, as part of its mission,
EEZ. More than two thirds of the data contribution is for a requirement to work with the wider bathymetry community
grid cells in the 3000–5750 m depth range (Figure 8). Using to develop strategies for effective mapping. Working through
the same scheme, the recently released GEBCO_2019 product existing partnerships, such as IBCAO and IBCSO, exploration
has almost 15% of the depth-dependent resolution grid cells efforts are already being concentrated on those areas with no
based on actual data. swath bathymetry coverage (Jakobsson et al., 2012; Arndt et al.,
Early priorities of the project include identification of existing 2013). The Regional Mapping Committees being developed in
data that are not yet included in GEBCO products, using support for the project Regional Centers will aim to expand these
sources outlined earlier. Seabed 2030 is working on building efforts to global international waters.
relationships with the survey companies and their customers
to release the data they hold or own for use in generating
the next generation of GEBCO products. Furthermore, it is Mapping the Gaps
critical that a concerted effort is made to identify other available At present, the chances are still high that any particular
sources and how they can be accessed. Achieving this aim, multibeam survey will cover unmapped terrain, especially in
however, is challenging, especially where the data require to be the deep sea remote from much frequented shipping lanes.
transferred either via internet or in physical storage devices. In the long term a more strategic approach from the seafloor
First-hand experience in the AusSeabed initiative in Australia mapping community is needed, especially in international waters,

FIGURE 8 | Percentage of the Seabed 2030 target depth-dependent resolution global grid that would be considered “mapped” using the GEBCO_2014 source
data, split by contribution from each depth range: calculated as percentage of grid cells in the global ocean, in international waters and in exclusive economic zones
(EEZ; all data in Antarctic waters are considered to be outside countries’ EEZs).

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

in order to avoid duplication of effort, efficiently utilize sea-going solutions for data transfer and data processing will be necessary
assets, and to mitigate environmental impacts associated with to keep pace with increasing data volumes.
at-sea operations, such as ocean noise. But how do we choose In sum, an increase in data gathering activities combined
where to map? An initial attempt has been made by Wölfl with effective targeting of future mapping programs and latest
et al. (2017) by identifying target areas for future mapping technology developments, as well as efficient data processing
initiatives in the North Atlantic based on multibeam data chains and mapping expertise will be needed if we are ever to
density and carefully chosen and publicly available marine deliver knowledge of the seafloor comparable to our knowledge
environmental parameters. of the land surface.
Furthermore, there are regions within the ocean that are of Based on this paper, the following recommendations
special interest for different kinds of stakeholder groups and regarding the future of seafloor mapping are given:
it seems reasonable to prioritize those regions. However, it is
• Promotion of collaboration and transparency
also important to focus on those regions that are of interest
among all sectors.
for coastal states that have neither the capabilities nor the
• Further development of open access data policies
facilities to perform large mapping surveys with the systems used
for all sectors.
by large research institutions and industry. The focus of new
• Provision of bathymetric data sets to publicly accessible
technological developments is mainly on automation processes,
online repositories, or lower resolution products or
higher-resolution and enhanced data quality at acquisition.
metadata information in case of sensitive data.
Making the technology affordable for a wider range of user groups
• Further strategy development regarding new bathymetric
currently seems to be of secondary importance but should be
data collection to effectively fill the gaps, leaving a low
tackled as a priority as well.
environmental impact.
• Explore and use opportunities for “underway” data
collection, such as transit data and CSB data acquisition.
OUTLOOK AND RECOMMENDATIONS • Promote standards and establish a QA process for
bathymetric data in the community.
Understanding the seafloor and associated processes is closely • Continuous incorporation of updated bathymetric
linked to its bathymetry. Mapping the gaps in the world’s information into ocean management plans.
oceans will better our knowledge of the seafloor and the • Promote technology developments, regarding enhanced
oceans in general. This knowledge is a significant contribution data quality, but also address the needs of low budget user
to the development of sustainable ocean management plans groups by developing low budget solutions.
and allows us to respond appropriately to modern challenges,
such as environmental degradation in the marine realm,
climate change, geohazards and a growing ocean industry. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
This paper shows the importance of bathymetric data for a
variety of applications, and describes the importance of many Structure and basic content of the manuscript came from A-CW
initiatives and projects that focus on compiling bathymetric and HS. The section ‘Bathymetric data repositories and syntheses’
data into publicly available archives and syntheses. Although was compiled by JJ, TS, VF, and PW. All authors wrote or edited
these initiatives have slightly different approaches and goals, different text sections, reviewed the manuscript and contributed
they all have in common a commitment to data sharing, and to to the responses to the reviewer’s comments.
making data and metadata discoverable and publicly available
for all. It is clear that mapping the world’s ocean is not a task
that can be tackled by one sector or project alone, and that FUNDING
collaboration and coordination across sectors and at a variety
A-CW has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon
of scales is needed. Seabed 2030 is a project borne of this
2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement
recognition, as presented at the Forum for Future Ocean Floor
no. 633211 (AtlantOS). VH was supported by the CLASS
Mapping, held in Monaco in June 2016. Significant international
programme (NERC Grant No. NE/R015953/1). GL’s contribution
collaborative efforts already in place within GEBCO, and the
was funded by the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030
bathymetric syntheses described are important components of
Project and by the New Zealand Strategic Science Investment
global mapping initiatives.
Funded (SSIF) programme Marine Geological Resources of
The success of future mapping efforts will be reliant on the
NIWA. This manuscript is published with the permission of the
continuation of these existing efforts and appropriate mapping
CEO, Geoscience Australia.
strategies to provide ever-increasing volumes of high quality
data from throughout the global oceans. Increasing the flow of
existing, and new, high-quality data through the IHO DCDB and ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
other recognized data centers from across the marine community
including the international research community, the commercial The authors would like to thank two reviewers for their
sector and via crowdsourcing programs, will provide a huge constructive comments that significantly helped to improve
boost to the data availability. The development of more efficient this manuscript.

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Wölfl et al. A Truly Global Ocean Bathymetry

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