BODC data management partnerships

To encourage a coordinated approach to marine data management, BODC has forged partnerships with six of the Natural Environment Research Council's centres. More information can be found under ‘Partners’, a new section introduced to our web site.

BODC has forged partnerships with six centres ©

The six centres are the

• British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
• National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS)
• Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
• Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL)
• Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
• Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)
  

Each centre has a BODC staff member who acts as their Laboratory Liaison Officer (LLO). The LLOs make regular visits to ensure that data collected can be identified. This allows them to be managed properly and curated for long-term use by the public, which is a prerequisite to all NERC funded research.

The current NERC funded Oceans 2025 research programme involves all of NERC's marine centres and national facilities, and draws together the strengths of the individual organisations. Its aim is to improve understanding of ocean behaviour, response to climate change and subsequent impacts on society through cross-disciplinary partnership research.

These partnerships have become increasingly important under the Oceans 2025 framework. They also help NERC and its research centres to meet their legal obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations.

bodc, data management, oceanographic data, nerc

New web site for the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) launched

The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) announces the launch of its new web site, designed and implemented by BODC.

General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean web site ©

The web site provides information about GEBCO, including

• its organisational structure
• contact information
• links to data sets and products
• details on the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO training course

More about GEBCO

GEBCO consists of an international group of experts who develop and make available a range of bathymetric data sets and data products. Their aim is to provide the most authoritative publicly-available bathymetry of the world's oceans.

The GEBCO chart series has its origins at the turn of the 20th Century with its initiation by Prince Albert I of Monaco in 1903. Today, GEBCO produces a range of digital data sets and products. These include

• GEBCO One Minute Grid
• GEBCO Digital Atlas
  — maintained and updated at BODC
• GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names
• GEBCO world map

GEBCO operates under the auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

gebco,bathymetry,bathymetric data,seafloor,topography