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Release of the GEBCO_2021 Grid

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  • IOC of UNESCO Logo

New version of the GEBCO global bathymetric grid is now available

GEBCO_2021 global grid

The latest release of the GEBCO global grid, GEBCO_2021, is now available to download.

The data set provides global elevation data, in meters, on a 15 arc-second interval grid. This is the third GEBCO grid produced through the framework of the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. The aim of the project is to map the global sea floor by 2030.

For the 2021 release of the GEBCO grid, it is estimated that 20.6% of seafloor has now been mapped, this is an increase from 19% for the previous release, GEBCO_2020.

The GEBCO_2021 Grid uses as a ‘base’ Version 2.2 of the SRTM15+ data set between latitudes of 50° South and 60° North. This data set is a fusion of land topography with measured and estimated seafloor topography. The base grid has been augmented with the gridded bathymetric data sets developed by the four Seabed 2030 Regional Centers to produce the global GEBCO grid. Access a list of data sets included in the GEBCO_2021 Grid and their contributors.

The primary GEBCO_2021 grid contains land and ice surface elevation information - as provided for previous GEBCO grid releases. In addition, for the 2021 release, we have made available a version with under-ice topography/bathymetry information for Greenland and Antarctica.

GEBCO's grids can be downloaded as a global file in netCDF format or for user-defined areas, through our download app, in netCDF, data GeoTiff and ESRI ASCII raster formats.

Please note that previous releases of GEBCO grid can also be accessed through the app.

Find out how to contribute bathymetric data sets to help update the global GEBCO grid.

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 International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) (of UNESCO). Find out more about GEBCO.

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