Authors
Matt Bochain (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI), Jesse Varner (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI), Jennifer Jencks (NOAA/NCEI), Jessica Nation (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI), Kevin Lally (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI), Max Smith (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI), Lee Shoemaker (CIRES,NOAA/NCEI)

Abstract

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the co-located IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB) together serve as the world's authoritative reference for raw bathymetric data. The DCDB also functions as the long-term archive for major regional and global seabed mapping initiatives, including the Nippon Foundation–GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. Holdings span a broad range of data types: multibeam and single-beam surveys, NOAA/NOS hydrographic data, crowdsourced bathymetry (CSB), and NCEI/CIRES-developed bathymetric/topographic digital elevation models. The multibeam archive alone now exceeds 81 TB across more than 3,800 surveys, representing 46 years of ocean mapping contributed by 87 data providers worldwide. Archived data are freely and openly available through two complementary discovery tools: NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer and the IHO DCDB Viewer. These applications allow users to explore data coverage, assess survey quality, review metadata, and order data online, providing a streamlined path from discovery to delivery. Both tools are built on a geospatial web services architecture leveraging ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online, with data accessible via ArcGIS REST (feature and image service) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard endpoints. In February 2026, NCEI released a major update to the Bathymetric Data Viewer, developed by CIRES associate scientists Matt Bochain and Jesse Varner. The redesigned application was rebuilt using modern web technologies including React, the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, and Material UI, resulting in a faster, more intuitive user experience. The update also introduces more powerful search and filtering capabilities, enhanced mobile responsiveness, and improved Section 508 accessibility compliance, broadening access to NCEI's bathymetric data holdings for all users. Similar updates are also under development for an upcoming major update to the IHO DCDB Viewer.