International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated 1997 and has since been the authoritative source of bathymetry for the Arctic Ocean. In 2017, IBCAO merged its efforts with the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 Project, with the goal of mapping the global seafloor by 2030.

The aim of the IBCAO is to develop a digital grid based on all available bathymetric data north of 64° North, for use by mapmakers, researchers, institutions, and others whose work requires a detailed and accurate knowledge of the depth and the shape of the Arctic seabed. Version 5.0 of the data set is available download.

The IBCAO grid is used for the Arctic region in the global GEBCO grid. As a part of GEBCO, the work of the IBCAO is endorsed by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

Find out more

Download the latest IBCAO grid
Access historical IBCAO data sets
Regional Mapping Committee
Meeting reports
Release publications

Historical IBCAO grids, imagery and data sets

Bathymetric grids and imagery for previous versions of the IBCAO data set are avaialable either by request or by direct download.

The following historical data sets are available:

Historical posters

There following are posters presented about the IBCAO

AGU Fall 2011 IBCAO Poster (4.2 MB)
IBCAO Poster RP-2, 2004 10 Mbytes
January 2001 Poster
Available on request from the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Global Center
themfusion1225.jpg (1225 x 1225 pixels, 4 x 4 inches at 300dpi)
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ICAM III Poster Oct 1998, Celle, Germany
Poster presented at the Third International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM III) October 12-15, 1998 in Celle, Germany. The poster outlines some of the known data sets that will be incorporated in the new data base, and proposing a geographical basis for partitioning project tasks among the various national participants.
Poster available from the GDACC as a zipped set of 8 .gif files

Regional Mapping Committee

During the First Arctic, Antarctic and North Pacific Mapping Meeting, in 2018, a Regional Mapping Committee was established, within the framework of the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 project. This replaces the IBCAO Editorial Board.

This Regional Mapping Committee is comprised of the following members (2020-06-14):

Bernard Coakley (USA), University of Alaska Fairbanks
Boris Dorschel (Germany), Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
David Amblas (Spain), University of Barcelona
Hanne Hodnesdal (Norway), Norwegian Mapping Authority, Hydrographic Service
Joanna Gerlings (Denmark), Danish Geodata Agency
Jongkuk Hong (Korea), KOPRI
Julian A. Dowdeswell (UK), Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
Larry Mayer (co-chair) (USA), University of New Hampshire
Mark Zimmermann (USA), NOAA Fisheries
Martin Jakobsson (co-chair) (Sweden) Stockholm University
Mathieu Morligheim (USA), University of California,
Irvine Maurizio Demarte (Italy), Italian Hydrographic Institute
Michele Rebesco (Italy), Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS)
Paola Travaglini (Canada), Canadian Hydrographic Service
Riko Noormets (Norway/Svalbard/Estonia), UNIS, University Center of Svalbard
Roberta Ivaldi (Italy), Italian Hydrographic Institute
Seth Danielson (USA), College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Alaska
Tao Zhang (China) Second Institute of Oceanography, SOA, China
Yulia Zarayskaya (Russian Federation), Geological Institute of Russian Aaedmy of Science

Meeting reports

Access information about IBCAO and related polar mapping meetings:

March 2022 - Fourth Seabed 2030 Arctic – Antarctic – North Pacific Mapping Meeting, Hybrid: Virtual and Stockholm University, Sweden (information on the Seabed 2030 Project web site)
December 2020 - Third Seabed 2030 Arctic – Antarctic – North Pacific Mapping Meeting, Virtual meeting (information on the Seabed 2030 Project web site)
November 2019 - Second Seabed 2030 Arctic, Antarctic & North Pacific Mapping Meeting, University of New Hampshire
October 2018 - First Seabed 2030 Arctic, Antarctic & North Pacific Mapping Meeting, Stockholm University
May 2011 - Arctic-Antarctic Seafloor Mapping Meeting, Stockholm University (715 KB)
October 2002 - Workshop Report, University of Hawaii (4.2 MB)
May 2001 - GEBCO Editorial Board Meeting, University of New Hampshire (3.3 MB)
June 1999 - GEBCO Special Arctic Session, Halifax ( 137 KB)
Oct 1998 - Editorial Board Meeting, Copenhagen (1 MB)
Sept 1997 - Arctic Bathymetry Workshop, St. Petersburg (286 KB)

Release Publications

IBCAO Version 5.0

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.

IBCAO Version 4.0

Jakobsson, M., Mayer, L.A., Bringensparr, C. et al. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0. Sci Data 7, 176 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0520-9

IBCAO Version 3.0

Jakobsson, M., L. A. Mayer, B. Coakley, J. A. Dowdeswell, S. Forbes, B. Fridman, H. Hodnesdal, R. Noormets, R. Pedersen, M. Rebesco, H.-W. Schenke, Y. Zarayskaya A, D. Accettella, A. Armstrong, R. M. Anderson, P. Bienhoff, A. Camerlenghi, I. Church, M. Edwards, J. V. Gardner, J. K. Hall, B. Hell, O. B. Hestvik, Y. Kristoffersen, C. Marcussen, R. Mohammad, D. Mosher, S. V. Nghiem, M. T. Pedrosa, P. G. Travaglini, and P. Weatherall (2012), The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0, Geophysical Research Letters, 39(12), L12609, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012gl052219.

IBCAO Version 2.0

Jakobsson, M., R. Macnab, L. A. Mayer, R. Anderson, M. Edwards, J. Hatzky, H. W. Schenke, and P. Johnson (2008), An improved bathymetric portrayal of the Arctic Ocean: Implications for ocean modeling and geological, geophysical and oceanographic analyses, Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L07602, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2008gl033520.

IBCAO Version 1.0

Jakobsson, M., N. Cherkis, J. Woodward, R. Macnab, and B. Coakley (2000), New grid of Arctic bathymetry aids scientists and mapmakers, EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 81, 89, 93, 96, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/00EO00059.