International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)
The Web site for the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean
(IBCAO) has been updated with the posting of Version 1.0 of the IBCAO
Grid and Map. These products represent improvements over the original
Grid and Map that were released in 2000, as new data sets have been
incorporated and known errors have been corrected.
In addition to its original cartesian form where grid coordinates are
expressed in metres, the Grid is now available in a geographic form
where grid coordinates are expressed in units of latitude and longitude.
This will facilitate the use of existing software packages for
visualizing and manipulating georeferenced information. The new Grid has
also been used to derive a series of isobaths throughout the map area,
which can be downloaded and plotted for applications where bathymetry
needs to be portrayed in the form of depth contours.
In addition to the Grid and Contours, the Web site contains downloadable
versions of the Map in two forms: as a JPEG or PDF image of the whole
map, suitable for letter format plotting; as individual JPEG images of
the Map's four quadrants, suitable for large format plotting.
Finally, the Web site contains new documentation: (a) proceedings of a
Meeting of the IBCAO Editorial Board that was held at the University of
New Hampshire in May 2001 to review Version 1.0 improvements; and (b)
posters that were presented at recent meetings to describe procedures
employed for analyzing and correcting errors in the Grid and Map.
We invite you to visit the Web site at:
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/bathymetry/arctic/arctic.html
As always, we welcome your comments and feedback.
We acknowledge the unstinting support that Carla Moore of NGDC has
provided in operating and maintaining this Web site.
Martin Jakobsson, University of New Hampshire
martin.jakobsson [at] unh.edu
Ron Macnab, Geological Survey of Canada (Retired)
ron.macnab [at] ns.sympatico.ca