IBCSO V2.0: Progress to a new bathymetry off Antarctica

• Main Authors: Arndt, Jan Erik, Dorschel, Boris, Hehemann, Laura, IBCSO, Regional Mapping Committee
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Antarctic; Campbell Plateau; Drake Passage; Kerguelen; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctica; SCAR; Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/48729/; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.f2f01cc7-2894-44f6-941d-c37cc7d20f94

The aim of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) project is to create high-resolution bathymetric compilations for the waters off Antarctica. Detailed knowledge of seafloor morphology is fundamental to almost all marine and maritime scientific activities. The size, remoteness and harsh ice conditions around Antarctica necessitates strong international collaboration to map the Southern Ocean. This is facilitated via connections to international bodies such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) project, which operates under the joint auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the International Hydrographic Office (IHO). In 2013, the first version of IBCSO was published, covering the area south of 60° S with a resolution of 500 x 500 m. Over 30 institutions from 15 countries contributed data and shared their expertise to generate the, so far, largest database of bathymetric data for the Southern Ocean. Since 2017, IBCSO is part of the new Nippon Foundation - GEBCO - Seabed2030 project and work on a second version has begun. The new version will include numerous new data sets of high-resolution swath bathymetry surveys, which will substantially improve previously unmapped areas. IBCSO V2.0 will also cover a larger area extending up to 50° S. With this extension, the new bathymetric model will now also include important features like the Drake Passage, the South Sandwich Arc, and the southern parts of the Kerguelen Plateau and Campbell Plateau. We will present the current status of the project, including the areas that will be most notably improved as compared to the previous version.