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GEBCO's work is directed by a Guiding Committee and supported by sub-committees on digital bathymetry; regional mapping and undersea feature names. Find out about previous and upcoming meetings and events.
Upcoming and recent meetings and events
Minutes and documents from GEBCO's meetings
Events
| Committee(s)/Event | Date | Venue | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37th SCUFN Meeting | 24 - 28 June 2024 | Jeju, Republic of Korea | Documents for the meetings are available from the IHO's web site. |
| 41st GEBCO Guiding Committee meeting | 6-8 November 2024 | Nadi, Fiji | Documents for the meeting are available from the IHO's web site. |
| 36th SCUFN Meeting | 6 - 10 November 2023 | Wollongong, Australia | Documents for the meetings are available from the IHO's web site. |
| GEBCO's Sub-Committees | 6 November 2023 | Monaco | Further information will be made available from the IHO's web site. |
| 2023 GEBCO Map the Gaps Annual Symposium | 7 - 8 November 2023 | Monaco | Further information and registration information is available from the Maps the Gaps web site. |
| 40th GEBCO Guiding Committee meeting | 9 - 10 November 2023 | Monaco | Documents for the meeting are available from the IHO's web site. |
| Organisation(s) | Remarks |
|---|---|
| Regional Hydrographic Commissions (RHC) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO | Meetings calendar GEBCO presentations to RHC meetings |
| IHO Inter-regional Coordination Committee (IRCC) | Upcoming meetings are listed on the IHO's web site. GEBCO presentations to previous IRCC meetings |
The Joint IOC-IHO Guiding Committee for GEBCO is GEBCO's governing body. It is made up of representatives from each of GEBCO's parent organisations, i.e. the IHO and IOC. Since 2003 the GEBCO Guiding Committee has met annually.
Prior to this, the committee met every other year, alternating with a meeting of the 'GEBCO Officers', a smaller group of representatives of the full GEBCO Guiding Committee.
Minutes from meetings of both the GEBCO Guiding Committee and the GEBCO Officers are available below.
| Number | Date | Venue | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| GGC40 | 9th-10th November 2023 | IHO Secretariat, Monaco | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Access documents |
| GGC39 | 30th October - 1st November 2022 | National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Southampton, UK | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Access documents |
| GGC38 | 20th - 22nd April 2022 | Hybrid meeting - Held via VTC and locally at the IHO, Monaco | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Access documents |
| Intersessional meeting | 26th - 27th May 2021 | Held as virtual meeting | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Access documents |
| Intersessional meeting | 29th March 2021 | Held as virtual meeting | Notes from the meeting are held in PDF format on the IHO web site |
| GGC37 | 18th to 20th January 2021 | Held as virtual meeting | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Access documents |
| GGC36 | 7th and 8th November 2019 | Hosted by the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) and the Joint Hydrographic Center (JHC), University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Portsmouth, NH, USA | Documents and presentations hosted on the IHO's web site Meeting report |
| GGC35 | 15th and 16th November 2018 | Hosted by Geoscience Australia, Canberra, Australia | |
| GGC34 | 16th and 17th November 2017 | Hosted by the Hydrographic Society of Korea, supported by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency, held in Busan, Republic of Korea | Meeting report Access documents and presentations from the meeting, hosted on the IHO's web site |
| XXXIII | 13th and 14th October 2016 | Hosted by The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA), Valparaiso, Chile | Meeting report Access documents and presentations from the meeting, hosted on the IHO's web site |
| XXXII | 8th and 9th October 2015 | Hosted by the National Hydrographic Centre of the Royal Malaysian Navy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Meeting report Access documents and presentations from the meeting |
| XXXI | 13th and 15th June 2014 | Hosted by the International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco | Meeting report Access documents and presentations from the meeting |
| XXX | 11 October 2013 | Hosted by the Institute of Marine Sciences - National Research Council (ISMAR-CNR), Venice, Italy |
Meeting report Access presentations given at the meeting |
| XXIX | 5 October 2012 | Offices of the International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco |
Meeting report Access presentations given at the meeting |
| XXVIII | 7 October 2011 | Scripps Institution of Oceanography | Meeting report Access reports and presentations given at the meeting |
| XXVII | 18 September 2010 | Navy Club, Lima, Peru | Report Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXVI | 1-2 October 2009 | Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Brest, France | Report  (1646 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXV | 29-30 May 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Report (1102 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXIV | 7-8 November 2007 | Paris, France | Combined Report with SCDB (736 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXIII | 19-20 June 2006 | Bremerhaven, Germany | Report (307 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXII | 3 December 2005 | Durham, New Hampshire, U.S.A. | Report (86 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXI | 7-12 July 2005 | Aguascalientes, Mexico | Report (1924 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XX | 1-6 April 2004 | Porto Venere, Italy | Report (1450 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XIX | 16-17 April 2003 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (561 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XVIII | 23-25 April 2001 | Kobe, Japan | Combined report with SCDB XVIII (738 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XVII | 23-30 June 1999 | Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), Dartmouth, Canada | Combined report with SCDB XVI (1830 KB) |
| XVI | 23-25 June 1997 | Southampton, UK | Report (1920 KB) Permanent Secretary: Brian Harper (UK) |
| XV | 15-17 May 1995 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (951 KB) |
| XIV | 4-6 May 1993 | La Jolla, California, USA | Report (583 KB) |
| XIII | 10-12 June 1991 | Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography (HDNO), Leningrad, Russia | Report (1377 KB) |
| XII | 16-17 May 1989 | Boulder, Colorado, USA | |
| XI | 28-30 April 1987 | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, (UNESCO), Paris, France | Chairman: Dr A S Laughton (SCOR & UK) |
| X | 23-25 April 1985 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| IX | 4-6 May 1983 | Wormley, UK | Chairman: Gerald N Ewing (Canada) |
| VIII | 8-10 March 1982 | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, (UNESCO), Paris, France | |
| VII | 6-8 October 1980 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| VI | 21-23 May 1979 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| V | 24-26 April 1978 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | Report (1776 KB) |
| IV | 2-3 May 1977 | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, (UNESCO), Paris, France | |
| III | 23-24 April 1976 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| II | 28-30 April 1975 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| I | 25-26 April 1974 | Paris, France | Chairman: Dr Eric S W Simpson (CMG and RSA) Permanent Secretary: Desmond P D Scott (IOC) |
| Number | Date | Venue | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| XIII | 20-21 May 2002 | New Hampshire, USA | Report Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XII | 8 May 2000 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Combined report with the XVII SCDB meeting (1464 KB) |
| XI | 16-17 March 1998 | Wellington, New Zealand | Combined report with the XV SCDB meeting (2034 KB) |
| X | 3 May 1996 | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. | Report (9529 KB) Permanent Secretary: Brian Harper (UK) |
| IX | 30 May- 1 June 1994 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| VIII | 13-15 April 1992 | Bidston, UK | |
| VII | 30 May- 1 June 1990 | Bremerhaven, Germany | |
| VI | 14-15 April 1988 | Wormley, UK | |
| V | 19-20 March 1986 | Service Hydrographique et Oceanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Paris, France | Chairman: Dr A S Laughton (SCOR & UK) |
| IV | 17-18 April 1984 | Bay St. Louis, USA | |
| III | 9 August 1982 | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | Chairman: Gerald N Ewing (Canada) |
| II | 13-15 April 1981 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| I | 8-10 April 1980 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | Chairman: Dr Eric S W Simpson (CMG and RSA) Permanent Secretary: Desmond P D Scott (IOC) |
The Technical Sub-committee on Ocean Mapping (TSCOM) addresses technical issues concerning ocean-floor mapping. Before 2008, TSCOM was known as the GEBCO Sub-Committee on Digital Bathymetry (SCDB).
The Sub-Committee on Regional Undersea Mapping (SCRUM) aims to facilitate a closer collaboration with regional mapping efforts and coordinate, as well as encourage, the incorporation of their compilations into GEBCO.
The aim of the Sub-Committee on Communications, Outreach and Public Engagement (SCOPE) is to coordinate the communications, outreach and external relations strategy and activities conducted to support and raise awareness of the GEBCO Project and to complement the focused outreach activities of the Seabed 2030 initiative.
SCRUM, TSCOM and SCOPE now hold joint annual meetings. The reports from all of their meetings are available in the table below.
| Number | Date | Venue | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Techncial Sub-Committee On Ocean Mapping (TSCOM) - TSCOM40 | 6 November 2023 | IHO, Monaco | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee on Regional Undersea Mapping (SCRUM) - SCRUM11 | 6 November 2023 | IHO, Monaco | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee On Communications, Outreach and Public Engagement (SCOPE) - SCOPE5 | 6 November 2023 | IHO, Monaco | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Techncial Sub-Committee On Ocean Mapping (TSCOM) - TSCOM39 | 26 October 2022 | National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee on Regional Undersea Mapping (SCRUM) - SCRUM10 | 26 October 2022 | National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee on Regional Undersea Mapping (SCRUM) - SCOPE4 | 26 October 2022 | National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee on Regional Undersea Mapping (SCRUM) - SCRUM9 | Remote meeting held over two sessions: 2 Nov 2021; 12:00 - 13:00 UTC and 11 Nov 2021; 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Virtual meeting | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Sub-Committee On Communications, Outreach and Public Engagement (SCOPE) - SCOPE3 | Remote meeting held over two sessions: 4 Nov 2021; 22:00 - 23:00 UTC and 16 Nov 2021; 23:00 - 00:00 UTC | Virtual meeting | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| Techncial Sub-Committee On Ocean Mapping (TSCOM) - TSCOM38 | Remote meeting held over two sessions: 9 Nov 2021; 20:00 - 21:00 UTC and 18 Nov 2021; 23:00 - 00:00 UTC | Virtual meeting | Further information is available from the IHO's web site |
| 11 - 15 January 2021 | Virtual Meeting | Recordings of presentations from the meeting can be accessed from the Map the Gaps web site. | |
| 2 September 2020 | Virtual Intercessional SCRUM Meeting | Meeting presentation and agenda (9 Mbytes)
|
|
| 4 - 5 November 2019 | Hosted by the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) and the Joint Hydrographic Center (JHC), University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Portsmouth, NH, USA | ||
| 12 - 13 November 2018 | Hosted by Geoscience Australia, Canberra, Australia | Access presentations and reports given at the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
|
| 13 - 17 November 2017 | Hosted by the Hydrographic Society of Korea (HSK), supported by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA) | Access presentations and reports given at the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
|
| 10 - 11 October 2016 | Hosted by The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA), Valparaiso, Chile | Access presentations and reports given at the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
|
| 5 - 9 October 2015 | Hosted by the National Hydrographic Centre of the Royal Malaysian Navy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Access presentations given at the meeting Access the report from the meeting |
|
| 11 - 13 December 2014 | Hosted by Google at their headquarters in Mountain View, California, USA | Combined meeting of TSCOM and SCRUM Meeting minutes Access presentations given at the meeting |
|
| 7 - 9 October 2013 | Hosted by the Institute of Marine Sciences - National Research Council (ISMAR-CNR), Venice, Italy | Combined meeting of TSCOM and SCRUM Access presentations given at the meeting |
|
| 1 and 4 October 2012 | International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco | Combined meeting of TSCOM and SCRUM Access presentations given at the meeting |
|
| 3 and 5 October 2011 | Scripps Institution of Oceanography | Combined meeting of TSCOM and SCRUM Access presentations given at the meetings |
|
| XXVI | 13-17 September 2010 | Navy Club, Lima, Peru | Report This is a combined report of the technical discussions of the TSCOM and SCRUM groups |
| XXV | 28-30 September 2009 | Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Brest, France | Report (1499 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh |
| XXIV | 26-27 May 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Report (1236 KB) Permanent Secretary Prof. Bob Whitmarsh |
| XXIII | 11-13 September 2007 | Palisades, New York, USA | see Guiding Committee XXIV for minutes of the meeting (736 KB) |
| XXII | 14-16 June 2006 | Bremerhaven, Germany | Report Permanent Secretary, Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XXI | 7-12 July 2005 | Aguascalientes, Mexico | Report (2716 KB), (Annex 20 (73 KB)) Permanent Secretary, Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XX | 12 April 2003 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (192 KB) Permanent Secretary, Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XIX | 16-17 May 2002 | New Hampshire, USA | Report (594 KB) Permanent Secretary, Prof. Bob Whitmarsh (UK) |
| XVIII | 18-20 April 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | Combined report with GEBCO Guiding Committee XVIII |
| XVII | 3-5 May 2000 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Combined report with XII GEBCO Officers meeting (1464 KB) |
| XVI | 23-25 June 1999 | Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Combined report with GEBCO Guiding Committee XVII (1830 KB) |
| XV | 12-15 March 1998 | Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (IGNS) and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Wellington New Zealand | Combined report with XI GEBCO Officers meeting (2034 KB) |
| XIV | 17-20 June 1997 | UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Taunton, UK | (no report) |
| XIII | 30 April- 2 May 1996 | East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA | (no report) |
| XII | 9-12 May 1995 | SACLANT URC, La Spezia, Italy | Report (5966 KB) |
| XI | 25-27 May 1994 | University of New Brunswick (UNB), Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | Report (4327 KB) |
| X | 29 April- 3 May 1993 | National Geophyscial Data Center (NGDC), Boulder, Colorado & SIO, La Jolla, California, USA | (no report) |
| IX | 8-10 April 1992 | British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), Bidston, UK | Report (2545 KB) |
| VIII | 5-7 June 1991 | Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography (HDNO), Leningrad, Russia | (no report) |
| VII | 28-30 May 1990 | Alfred Wegener Institut fur Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany | Report (1639 KB) |
| VI | 10-12 May 1989 | National Geophyscial Data Center (NGDC), Boulder, Colorado, USA | |
| V | 12-13 April 1988 | Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Deacon Laboratory (IOSDL), Wormley, UK | |
| IV | 18-20 March 1987 | National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), Boulder, Colorado, USA | |
| III | 17-18 March 1986 | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, (UNESCO), Paris, France | |
| II | 22 April 1985 | Bureau Gravimetrique International (BGI), Toulouse, France | |
| I | 16-17 April 1984 | US Naval Oceanographic Office (USNOO), Bay St Louis, USA | Chairman: / Secretary: Dr Meirion T Jones (UK) |
| - | 25 September 1980 | Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada | Chairman: Dr Bosko D Loncarevic (Canada) Followed by: Mr Gerald N Ewing (Canada) |
The role of SCUFN is to define the nomenclature used for undersea features and to consider and decide on names which have been submitted to the Sub-Committee.
SCUFN maintains and makes available a data set of undersea feature names.
| Number | Date | Venue | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 6 - 10 November 2023 | Wollongong, Australia | Access documents from the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
| 35 | 28 November - 2 December 2022 | IHO Secretariat, Monaco | Access documents from the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
| 34 | 16 and 17 November 2021 | Held as a virtual meeting | Access documents from the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
| XXXIII | 9-10 November 2020 | Held as a virtual meeting | Access documents from the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
| XXXII | 5-9 August 2019 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Access documents from the meeting from the IHO's web site. |
| XXXI | 23-27 October 2018 | Wellington, New Zealand | Access the report from the meeting as a PDF document from the IHO's web site. |
| XXX | 2-6 october 2017 | Geona, Italy | Report
|
| XXIX | 19-23 September 2016 | Boulder, Colorado, USA | Report
|
| XXVIII | 12-16 October 2015 | Niteroi, Brazil | Report
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| XXVII | 16-20 June 2014 | Monaco | Report
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| XXVI | 23-27 September 2013 | Tokyo, Japan | Report
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| XXV | 23-27 October 2012 | Wellington, New Zealand | Report
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| XXIV | 12-16 September 2011 | Beijing, China | Report (1.6 Mbytes) |
| XXIII | 11-14 September 2010 | Navy Club, Lima, Peru | Report (979 KB) |
| XXII | 22-26 September 2009 | Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Brest, France | Report
|
| XXI | 19-22 May 2008 | Jeju Island, Republic of Korea | Report (727 KB) |
| XX | 9-13 July 2007 | Monaco | Report (662 KB) — Please note that a revised version of the original report is available here, containing a correction for the co-ordinates of the Peru Trench. |
| XIX | 21-23 June 2006 | Bremerhaven, Germany | Report (380 KB) |
| XVIII | 3-6 October 2005 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (283 KB) |
| XVII | 8-11 June 2004 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Chairman:
Dr. Hans Werner Schenke (Germany), report (278 KB) |
| XVI | 10-12 April 2003 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (355 KB) |
| XV | 7-10 October 2002 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | Report (1659 KB) |
| XIV | 17-20 April 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | Report (492 KB) |
| XIII | 22-25 June 1999 | Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada | Report (698 KB) |
| XII | 17-20 June 1997 | Taunton, UK | |
| XI | 11-13 May 1995 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| X | 29 April-3 May 1993 | La Jolla, California, USA | |
| IX | 5-7 June 1991 | Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography (HDNO), Leningrad, Russia | |
| VIII | 10-12 May 1989 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| VII | 25-27 April 1987 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| VI | 22-24 April 1985 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| V | 13 April 1981 | Canadian Hydrographic Service, (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| IV | 3 October 1980 | International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco | |
| III | 21 April 1978 | Patricia Bay, Canada | |
| II | 3-5 February 1976 | Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ottawa, Canada | |
| I | 13-14 March 1975 | Dartmouth NS, Canada |
The GEBCO Symposium is held every year during GEBCO's meetings. It consists of oral presentations and poster displays and attendance is open to all. We welcome contributions on topics relating to ocean-floor mapping and its applications.
Historically called the GEBCO Science Day, the name was changed in 2017 to reflect the growing desire to incorporate industry, map makers and emerging innovators pursuing change for ocean mapping.
The 2019 GEBCO Symposium was held on 6th November in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA.
The Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping was held in June 2016 and brought together over 150 senior representatives, scientists and scholars from major ocean-related and international organisations to discuss the importance of understanding the shape of the ocean floor. It will culminate in the development of a Roadmap for Future Ocean Floor Mapping.