BOX 4 | Seamount Catalog: Seamount Morphology, Maps, and Data Files by Anthony A.P
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or collective redistirbution of any portion of this article by photocopy machine, reposting, or other means is permitted only with the approval of The Oceanography Society. Send all correspondence to: [email protected] ofor Th e The to: [email protected] Oceanography approval Oceanography correspondence POBox 1931, all portionthe Send Society. Rockville, ofwith any permittedUSA. articleonly photocopySociety, by is MD 20849-1931, machine, of this reposting, means or collective or other redistirbution This article has This been published in BOX 4 | Seamount Catalog: Seamount Morphology, Maps, and Data Files Oceanography By Anthony A.P. Koppers, Hubert Staudigel, and Rupert Minnett , Volume 23, Number 1, a quarterly journal of The 23, NumberOceanography 1, a quarterly Society. , Volume Seamount research, more often than not, is carried out by highly specialized science teams with narrowly focused science objec- tives. As a result, different seamount science disciplines often do not collaborate or are not even aware of each other. However, it is obvious that interdisciplinary collaboration is the most successful approach to help understand the integrated chemical, phys- ical, and biological systems at seamounts. The Seamount Biogeoscience Network (SBN) was founded to promote the neces- sary cooperation through workshops, publi- © 2010 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy this article for use in teaching and research. Republication, systemmatic reproduction, systemmatic Republication, research. article for this and use teaching copy to in reserved. The granted 2010 by is rightsAll Oceanography Permission Society. cations, and the development of a database that allows all seamount sciences to share data. Among such data, bathymetric maps are the most fundamental to all disciplines. The Seamount Catalog (see http:// earthref.org/SBN) is a hub for a variety of map-related data and user-contributed files. It functions as an online digital archive for bathymetric maps GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean) gazetteer of seamounts that can be viewed and downloaded in various data are included in the database in order to provide informa- file formats. Additionally, this catalog contains morphological tion on the history, discovery, and names of the seamounts. data characterizing seamounts, sample information, and Data files for each seamount include a map made from the related grid and multibeam data files, including relevant user- multibeam data only, a map made from Smith and Sandwell’s contributed data. Educational materials about seamounts are (1997) predicted bathymetry, a merged map incorporating included in the interlinked collection of Enduring Resources both data sets, and a map showing the discrepancy between for Earth Science Education (ERESE), including, for example, the two data sets. Currently, the Seamount Catalog contains a lesson plan on hotspot volcanism for high school students the maps and corresponding raw and processed data from (http://earthref.org/ERESE/lessons/hotspots/2006/). All data more than 1,800 seamounts covering all of the oceans, with a are stored indefinitely on the professionally managed redun- cumulative data repository exceeding 800 GB. dant hard drive arrays of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. All files can be downloaded for free. Reference Each seamount in the catalog is described in terms of its Smith, W.H.F., and D.T. Sandwell. 1997. Global sea floor topog- raphy from satellite altimetry and ship depth soundings. Science location, height, volume, elongation, azimuth, irregularity, rifts, 277(5334):1,956–1,962. morphological classification, and relation to other features. The Anthony A.P. Koppers ([email protected]) is Associate Professor, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. Hubert Staudigel is Research Geologist and Lecturer, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. Rupert Minnett is a programmer/ analyst, IGPP, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. Oceanography March 2010 37.