Image: © GEBCO
While every effort is made to make GEBCO's gridded products as error free as possible, some artifacts created during the gridding process may still occur. A list of reported bugs and known issues is included on this page.
If you find any bugs in the data set that are not reported here then please contact the Seabed 2030 Global Data Center.
The GEBCO_2023 Grid is GEBCO's latest bathymetric grid. It was published in April 2023 and is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals. Reported bugs and known issues in the grid are listed below.
| North Atlantic Ocean | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comments |
| Mediterranean Sea region | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Central Mediterranean Sea region | The Type Identifier (TID) grid is wrongly labelled as '41' in some regions - indicating that the depth value is based on interpolation by computer algorithm. The correct label should be '17', i.e. the area is based on a combination of direct measurements. View imagery to illustrate this issue  (255 KB). | |
| North Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea region | There are problems with the coding of the Type Identifier (TID) Grid in this region. These issues are being investigated (September 2023) and further information will be provided as soon as possible. | |
| South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| South Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| South and West Pacific region - including waters around New Zealand | Please note that some data sets included in the GEBCO_2022 Grid in the South and West Pacific region have not been included in the GEBCO_2023 grid. The region particularly affected are the waters around New Zealand. This omission will be corrected in a future release of the GEBCO grid. To view the full coverage of the types of source data sets available to generate the GEBCO grid in this region, it is suggested to overlay/combine the GEBCO_2023 Type Identifier (TID) grid with the GEBCO_2022 TID. Access GEBCO's grids. View imagery to illustrate this issue (484 KB). | |
| Indian Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
GEBCO has made available a number of gridded bathymetric data sets since the publication of the GEBCO One Minute Grid in 2003. Access errata information for these data sets.
The GEBCO_2022 Grid was published in June 2022 and is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals.
| North Atlantic Ocean | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comments |
| The Great Lakes of North America (93W-75W; 40N-49N) | The Type Identifier (TID) grid is wrongly labelled as '0' - indicating land for parts of the Great Lakes in this region. The correct label should be '70', i.e. the area is based on data from a pre-generated grid. | |
| Mediterranean Sea region | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| North Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Off Bering Island (166E, 55N) | Anamalous deep areas shown in the GEBCO_2022 Grid for the area around Bering Island View imagery that illustrates this issue (196 KB).
| |
| South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| South Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southwest Pacific Ocean (180W, 38S and 179E, 39S ) | There are lines of discontinuity shown in the GEBCO grid. View imagery that illustrates this issue (153 KB) | |
| Indian Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
The GEBCO_2021 Grid was published in July 2021 and is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals.
| North Atlantic Ocean | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comments |
| Baltic/North Sea (0°E-30°E, 52°N-62°N) | Within the TID grid for the Baltic/North Sea area grid cells have been wrongly labelled with TID code '44' (Bathymetric sounding - depth value at this location is constrained by bathymetric sounding(s) within a gridded data set where interpolation between sounding points is guided by satellite-derived gravity data). These grid cells should be coded with TID value '41' (Interpolated based on a computer algorithm - depth value is an interpolated value based on a computer algorithm). View imagery that illustrates this issue (120 KB) |
|
| Mediterranean Sea region | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| North Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Malacca Strait (98° 22'E, 8° 6'N) | Anomalous areas of 'land' - i.e. positive elevation values reported between the island of Phuket and mainland Thailand. |
|
| South Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Torres Strait (142°'E, 9°S) - Southwest Pacific Ocean | Anomalous 'trench feature' reported in shallower water region. View imagery to illustrate this artifact (400 KB) |
|
| Indian Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
The GEBCO_2020 Grid was published in April 2020 and is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals.
| North Atlantic Ocean | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comments |
| Off the Cape Verde Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean (24° 30'W, 16° 30'N) | Two areas of anomalously shallow depth values have been reported in the area off the Cape Islands. View imagery to illustrate this artifact (130 KB) |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Off the coast of Massachusetts/Rhode Island, USA in the North Atlantic Ocean (71° 30'W, 41° 30'N) | In the coastal region off Massachusetts, USA, the GEBCO grid shows erroneous areas of bathymetry data that should be represented as land. (141 KB) |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| La Guajira region, Colombia, Caribbean Sea (72°W, 12° 30'N) | An area of land is erroneously coded as bathymetric depths. (279 KB) |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| North American Great Lakes region (82°'W, 43°N) | Anomalously deep bathymetric values have been reported in the GEBCO_2020 Grid in some parts of Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. (138 KB) |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Rocket Seamount (36° 9'W 15° 50') | The feature erroneously appears above sea level. | Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Northern Europe (6.5°E, 50.6°N) | Erroneous 'depth' values in land areas. (119 KB) - this issue is being investigated further |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Mediterranean Sea region | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| In the Gulf of Gabès region, Mediterranean Sea (11°E, 34° 20'N) | An area of anomalously deep bathymetric values have been reported in the GEBCO_2020 Grid in this region. (395 KB) |
|
| Adriatic Sea (16° 20'E, 43° 30'N) | An area of anomalously deep bathymetric values have been reported in the GEBCO_2020 Grid in this region. (390 KB) |
Improved in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| North Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| East China Sea region (124°E; 30°N) | Lines of discontinuity reported in the GEBCO_2020 Grid.
View imagery to illustrate this issue (319 KB) |
Corrected in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| South Pacific Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southwest Pacific Ocean (140°E-180°E; 0°S-20°S) | Trackline coverage missing from the GEBCO_2020 Type Identifier Grid Grid cells that are constrained by data within the area 140°E-180°E; 0°S-20°S have been erroneously obmitted from the data set. |
Fixed, July 2020 |
| Southeast Pacific Ocean (70°W; 22°S) | Anomalous deep areas identified near to the coast - due to sparse coverage of sounding point data in shallower water areas to help constrain the base grid during the gridding process. | Improved in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Indian Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southern Indian Ocean (99°E; 55°S) | Line of erroneous 'elevation' values View imagery to illustrate this artifact (471 KB) |
Improved in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
| Southern Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southern Ocean off Antarctica (135°W-120°W; 75°S-69°S) | In the region of the Getz Ice Shelf there is an anomalous trough-like feature shown in the GEBCO_2020 Grid. This issue appears to be caused by a navigation distortion in part of a cruise trackline. View imagery to illustrate this artifact (1.7 MB) |
Improved in the GEBCO_2021 Grid |
The GEBCO_2019 Grid was published in April 2019 and is a global terrain model at 15 arc-second intervals.
| Indian Ocean | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
Off Aldabra Island in the Outer Islands of the Seychelles island group (46° 30'E, 9° 20'S) |
An anomalous ridge, with an elevation of up to 200m above sea-level encircling the atoll, has been reported. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
Fixed in the GEBCO_2020 Grid |
Coastal waters off Sri Lanka (82°E, 7°N) |
It has been reported that there are a number of erroneous 'islands' in the GEBCO_2019 Grid in the coastal area off Sri Lanka which may be the result of the gridding process. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
Fixed in the GEBCO_2020 Grid |
| North Atlantic Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
Northwest Atlantic Ocean (45°W, 52°N) |
An anomalous 'trench-like' feature has been reported in the GEBCO_2019 Grid. This appears to relate to the inclusion of source trackline data into the GEBCO_2019 Grid in this region. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
|
| North Atlantic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
North Sea |
Reported in version 20090202 (GEBCO_08) — A 'grid pattern' is visible in the gridded data set in the southern part of the North Sea. This is an artifact created during the gridding process. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| North Sea | Reported in version 20091120 (GEBCO_08) — A line of discontinuity is visible in the grid along 0°E in parts of the North Sea. This is the result of a mis-match at this boundary between input data sets used to generate the GEBCO_08 Grid. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Irish Sea | Reported in version 20091120 (GEBCO_08) — Anomalous deeps have been reported in the grid for some coastal regions in the Irish Sea area, i.e. the Solway Firth, Morecambe Bay, Dee Estuary, the Mersey Estuary and the approaches to Anglesey. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
The area of the reported bug has been improved in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Region off Dakar | Reported in version 20091120 (GEBCO_08) — Anomalous deep regions (between 150m and 200m) have been reported in the shallower water areas off Dakar (14° 42'N, 17° 24'W). These artifacts have been created during the gridding process due to a lack of source sounding data in shallower water regions. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Continental shelf north of the Bay of Biscay | Reported in version 20091120 (GEBCO_08) — There are anomalous peaks and troughs shown in the GEBCO_08 Grid in the shallower water areas of the continental shelf north of the Bay of Biscay. These artifacts have been created during the gridding process due to a lack of source sounding data in shallower water regions. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
The area of the reported bug has been improved in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Region off Vigo | Present in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and earlier versions — Anomalous ‘trench-like’ feature shown in the GEBCO_08 Grid in the region off the coast of Vigo, Spain (42°N, 9° 30’W). This is an artifact created during the generation of the grid, caused by anomalous soundings along a ship track. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Waters around the Bahamas | Present in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and earlier versions — Anomalous deeps have been reported in the shallow water regions off the Bahamas (25°N, 76°W). These artifacts have been created during the gridding process due to a lack of source sounding data in shallower water regions. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
|
| North Atlantic Ocean near the Faroe Islands | Present in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and earlier versions — Anomalous shallow water areas have been reported near Faroe Bank (60° 49'N, 9° 21'W). These artifacts have been created during the gridding process. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| North Atlantic Ocean | In version 20150318 (GEBCO_2014) and present in earlier versions an anomalously shallow feature has been reported in the region 4° 35' 49''W; 0° 34' 51''N. | |
| South Atlantic | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southeast Atlantic Ocean | In version 20150318 (GEBCO_2014) and present in earlier versions an anomalously shallow feature has been reported in the region 3° 10' 48''E; 5° 44' 19''S. In this area the grid is based on interpolation. | |
| North Pacific | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| No problems reported | ||
| South Pacific | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Coral Sea | Reported in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) — Anomalous deep regions reported in the Moreton Bay area off Brisbane, Australia ( 27.14°S, 153.3°E). These are artifacts created during the generation of the grid, caused by anomalous soundings in a source survey data set. View imagery to illustrate this artifact |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Coral Sea | Reported in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and present in earlier versions — A scientific research cruise between Australia and New Caledonia has reported that Sandy Island (19° 14'S, 159° 57'E) does not exist. This feature has been included in GEBCO's grid via coastline and topography data sets. Find out more about this feature's inclusion in the GEBCO_08 Grid |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Southwest Pacific Ocean | Reported in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and present in earlier versions — north of the island of New Guinea (1° 59’S, 141° 30’E) there is a line of cells in the GEBCO_08 grid erroneously labelled as land data (between and 141° 59’ 31’’E, 141° 0’ 25’E ). View imagery to illustrate this artifact. |
This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Southwest Pacific Ocean | Reported in version 20100927 (GEBCO_08) and present in earlier versions — east of Norfolk Island (29° 2'S, 167° 56'E) an extra area of land is present in the GEBCO_08 Grid. | This bug has been fixed in version 20141103 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in December 2014. |
| Indian Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Persian Gulf - Gulf of Bahrain | Reported in version 20150318 (GEBCO_2014) and present in earlier versions — there are anomalous deep regions near to the coast at 25°N, 50.694°E. These artifacts have been created during the gridding process due to a lack of source sounding data in shallower water regions. Therefore the grid cells in this area have interpolated depth values. View imagery to illustrate this artifact. |
|
| Southern Ocean | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| Southern Ocean | Reported in version 20141103 (GEBCO_2014). In the region south of 60°S the GEBCO_2014 Grid is based on v1 of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO). There is a 500m (approximate) shift in latitude northwards of the data in the GEBCO_2014 Grid compared to the source IBCSO grid in the region south of 60°S. This error appears to have occurred during the process to include the IBCSO grid into GEBCO. |
This bug has been fixed in version 20150318 of the grid (GEBCO_2014), released in March 2015. |
| Mediterranean Sea | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
| No problems reported | ||
| Other areas | ||
| Specific area | Problem(s) reported | Comment |
Mekong Delta region of Vietnam |
There are cell values in the GEBCO_2014 Grid on land that have been labelled with a value of '-1'. View imagery to illustrate this artifact. |
This bug has been reported in version 20150318 of the grid (GEBCO_2014). |