GEBCO overview

GEBCO's aim is to provide the most authoritative publicly-available bathymetry of the world's oceans. It operates under the joint auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) (of UNESCO) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

Organisational structure

We are a non-profit making organisation which relies largely on the voluntary contributions of an enthusiastic international team of geoscientists and hydrographers. GEBCO's work is directed by a Guiding Committee and supported by sub-committees on ocean mapping and undersea feature names plus ad hoc working groups.

These committees meet on a regular basis. Find out more about the people involved in GEBCO and upcoming and previous meetings. More information about the structure of GEBCO can be found in the GEBCO Guidelines.

GEBCO has its origins at the beginning of the 20th century. Find out more about GEBCO's history from the initiation of the chart series in 1903 to the present day.

Outputs from our work

We produce a range of bathymetric data sets and products. This includes global gridded bathymetric data sets: the GEBCO_08 Grid (at 30 arc-second intervals) and GEBCO One Minute Grid (at one arc-minute intervals); a global set of digital bathymetric contours; the GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names; the GEBCO Digital Atlas and the GEBCO world map.

Submitting data

If you would like to contribute data to GEBCO then please contact Colin Jacobs, the GEBCO Bathymetric Editor.

Training a new generation of scientists

The Nippon Foundation of Japan has provided funding for GEBCO to train a new generation of scientists and hydrographers in ocean bathymetry. The 12-month course, leading to a Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry (PCOB), has been held at the University of New Hampshire, USA since 2004.

Find out more

To find out more about our work and to get involved in GEBCO please contact us.