Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Knowledge about seafloor depth, or bathymetry, is crucial for various marine activities, including scientific research, offshore industry, safety of navigation, and ocean exploration. Mapping the central Arctic Ocean is challenging due to the presence of perennial sea ice, which limits data collection to icebreakers, submarines, and drifting ice stations. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated in 1997 with the goal of updating the Arctic Ocean bathymetric portrayal. The project team has since released four versions, each improving resolution and accuracy. Here, we present IBCAO Version 5.0, which offers a resolution four times as high as Version 4.0, with 100 × 100 m grid cells compared to 200 × 200 m. Over 25% of the Arctic Ocean is now mapped with individual depth soundings, based on a criterion that considers water depth. Version 5.0 also represents significant advancements in data compilation and computing techniques. Despite these improvements, challenges such as sea-ice cover and political dynamics still hinder comprehensive mapping.
Publication Date
12-21-2024
Journal Title
Scientific Data
Publisher
Springer Nature
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Jakobsson, M., Mohammad, R., Karlsson, M. et al. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0. Sci Data 11, 1420 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04278-w
Comments
This is an open access article published by Springer Nature in Scientific Data in 2024, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04278-w