Ocean Deep Viewing Online Courtesy of NOAA

April 19, 2012

NOAA View of Delgada Canyon: Photo credit NOAA
NOAA View of Delgada Canyon: Photo credit NOAA

NOAA releases new online views of Earth's ocean floor

NOAA has made sea floor maps and other data on the world’s coasts, continental shelves and deep ocean available for easy viewing online. Anyone with Internet access can now explore undersea features and obtain detailed depictions of the sea floor and coasts, including deep canyons, ripples, landslides and likely fish habitat.

The new online data viewer compiles sea floor data from the near shore to the deep blue, including the latest high-resolution bathymetric (sea bottom) data collected by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey primarily to support nautical charting.

“NOAA’s ocean bottom data are critical to so many mission requirements, including coastal safety and resiliency, navigation, healthy oceans and more" said Susan McLean, chief of NOAA's Marine Geology and Geophysics Division in Boulder, Colo.

This division is responsible for compiling, archiving and distributing Earth system data, including Earth observations from space, marine geology information and international natural hazard data and imagery. NGDC’s sea floor data have long been free and open to the public in original science formatting, but that often required the use of specialized software to convert the data into maps and other products.

The new interface makes exploration easy and intuitive, using a “color-shaded relief” technique to depict bathymetric data and derived maps and models. For example, a user can zoom into Delgada Canyon, one of a series of deep canyons off the northern California coast between Fort Bragg and Eureka. The sea floor descends steeply from shallow yellows into dark blues and purples.

Logistics News

US Commerce Disorganization Stalls Thousands of Export Approvals

US Commerce Disorganization Stalls Thousands of Export Approvals

Russian Oil Vessels Forced to Divert From India Under US Sanctions

Russian Oil Vessels Forced to Divert From India Under US Sanctions

Hanseatic Global Terminals Launches Latin America Expansion

Hanseatic Global Terminals Launches Latin America Expansion

Two CK Hutchison-Operated Ports Near Panama Could See State Partnerships Take Over

Two CK Hutchison-Operated Ports Near Panama Could See State Partnerships Take Over

Subscribe for Maritime Logistics Professional E‑News

Berkshire takes $3.8 billion Kraft Heinz write-down, operating profit falls
FAA plans to change helicopter routes after fatal accident
Enbridge is seeing a strong demand for additional oil pipeline capacity between Canada and the US Gulf