Comments on GEBCO sought

Abstract

The Guiding Committee for the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) (Chair: A.S. Laughton, Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Bideston, U.K.), a joint effort of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the International Hydrographic Organization, is interested in assessing the impact of the fifth edition of GEBCO on the ocean science community. An international task team has been formed to advise on the format of a sixth edition after assessing the impact of the fifth edition. Eventually, the task team will be asked to advise whether the sixth edition should be a traditional paper chart, an “electronic chart” (i.e., a digital file reproducing the contents of the paper chart), an assemblage of digital contours, a gridded depth data base, or some combination of these.To assist the task team, comments on the recent fifth edition are invited, either as general comments on the usefulness of GEBCO, suggested improvements, criticisms, or comments on questions as specific as the following