Image: © GEBCO
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.
Here we provide information on Version 2.23 of the IBCAO published in 2008. Please note that this is a historical IBCAO data set has been superceded by the latest release.
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 4 of the data set is now 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).
Bathymetric grids and imagery from IBCAO V2.23 are available either by request or for direct download. If you would like a copy of the data sets please email the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Global Center at and specify the data set(s) and format(s) that you would like.
IBCAO v2.23 auxilary material 
1 Mbyte
Please acknowledge the following citation when using the IBCAO grids and maps:
Jakobsson, M., R. Macnab, L. 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, DOI: 10.1029/2008GL033520.
Bathymetric grids for the IBCAO V2.23 are available on requests in netCDF or Esri ASCII raster format and geographic or polar projection co-ordinates. If you would like a copy of the data sets please email the Seabed 2030 Global Center at and specify the data set(s) and format(s) that you would like.
IBCAO v2.23 auxilary material 1 Mbyte
The following versions of the grid are available on request:
Geographic co-ordinates
Polar stereographic projection
Access map imagery for V2.23 of the IBCAO in PDF format
3 Mbytes 3.7 MbytesAccess an image showing the coverage of the data sets included in version 2.23 of the IBCAO colour-coded for source contribution. 1.2 Mbytes
Images of IBCAO Version 2.23 have been prepared as .kmz files for Google Earth. They are available on request from the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project Global Center:
The IBCAO area has been split into 4 sections and imagery is available with and without land (tl).