Services Directory - multibeam_mosaic

multibeam_mosaic_hillshade (Map Service)

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Current Version: 10.81

Service Description:

Bathymetry is the measurement of the depth of the ocean floor, data that can be used for a variety of purposes such as: nautical charting, oceanographic research and modeling, habitat classification, maritime commerce, and recreational applications. The Multibeam Bathymetry Database (MBBDB) at NCEI collects and archives multibeam data from the earliest commercial installations (circa 1980) through today's modern high-resolution collections. Data are acquired from both U.S. and international government and academic sources (see individual cruise metadata records for source information) and consist of the raw (as collected) sonar data files. Datasets may also include processed or edited versions of the sonar data, ancillary data (i.e., sound velocity data), derived products (i.e., grids), and/or metadata for the data collection. The MBBDB provides data that span the globe and are discoverable and accessible via map interface or text-only search options. More information about the database can be found here.

This ArcGIS tiled layer provides a color shaded relief visualization of gridded multibeam data from the NCEI's archive. Each individual multibeam dataset has been gridded using MB-System software at a 3 arc-second cell size (~100m), then organized into an ArcGIS mosaic dataset. "Overviews" are then built upon the underlying tiles to provide a seamless raster that combines all the surveys. Where surveys overlap, the mean depth value of the contributing surveys is used.

Note: NCEI's archive typically contains the raw, unedited multibeam data provided by the data contributors. There are some erroneous depth values and/or data artifacts visible in this service. These data should not be used for navigational purposes.

This set of services provides access to gridded multibeam data:

Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Raw Data): all raw data are combined (using mean depth value) into a single mosaic. The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Processed Data): all processed data are combined (using mean depth value) into a single mosaic. The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Raw and Processed Combined): processed data (mean depth value) are drawn on top of raw data (mean depth value). The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Tiled Shaded Relief Visualization): This service. Tiled image service, provides rapid display of color shaded relief imagery, displaying the “Raw and Processed Combined” data.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Group Layer for Shaded Relief Visualization): a group layer displaying the “Tiled Shaded Relief Visualization” at smaller scales (more zoomed out), and the “Raw and Processed Combined” service when zoomed in.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic Subsets (REST endpoint): provides access to the individual surveys, and allows filtering by survey ID, platform name, source organization, survey date, etc. This service has slower performance than the others.

For ship tracks of the multibeam surveys, along with additional metadata and links to obtain the data, see the corresponding Multibeam Bathymetry Datasets feature layer.

NCEI's Bathymetric Data Viewer (NOAA GeoPlatform entry) provides an interactive mapping interface to the multibeam database as well as other sources of bathymetric data.

For the default visualization, the water depths are displayed using this color ramp:

Multibeam Mosaic last updated: December 2025.

Metadata for the Multibeam Bathymetric Database

Map Name: Layers

Legend

All Layers and Tables

Layers:

Description:

Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Raw Data): all raw data are combined (using mean depth value) into a single mosaic. The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Processed Data): all processed data are combined (using mean depth value) into a single mosaic. The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Raw and Processed Combined): processed data (mean depth value) are drawn on top of raw data (mean depth value). The image service provides shaded-relief imagery (default) or depth values.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Tiled Shaded Relief Visualization): This service. Tiled image service, provides rapid display of color shaded relief imagery, displaying the “Raw and Processed Combined” data.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Group Layer for Shaded Relief Visualization): a group layer displaying the “Tiled Shaded Relief Visualization” at smaller scales (more zoomed out), and the “Raw and Processed Combined” service when zoomed in.
Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic Subsets (REST endpoint): provides access to the individual surveys, and allows filtering by survey ID, platform name, source organization, survey date, etc. This service has slower performance than the others.

Multibeam Mosaic last updated: December 2025.

Metadata for the Multibeam Bathymetric Database

Copyright Text: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Spatial Reference:
102100

Single Fused Map Cache: true

Capabilities: Map,TilesOnly,Tilemap

Tile Info:

Height: 256
Width: 256
DPI: 96
Levels of Detail: (# Levels: 24)

Level ID: 0 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 1 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 2 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 3 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 4 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 5 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 6 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 7 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 8 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 9 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 10 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 11 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 12 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 13 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 14 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 15 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 16 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 17 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 18 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 19 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 20 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 21 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 22 [Start Tile, End Tile]
Level ID: 23 [Start Tile, End Tile]

Format: MIXED
Compression Quality: 90
Origin:
Spatial Reference:
102100

Initial Extent:

Full Extent:

Min Scale: 0.0
Max Scale: 0.0

Min LOD: 0
Max LOD: 11

Units: esriMeters

Supported Image Format Types: MIXED

Export Tiles Allowed: false
Max Export Tiles Count: 100000

Resampling: true

Document Info:

Title: Multibeam Bathymetry Mosaic (Tiled Shaded Relief Visualization)
Author: ncei_noaa
Comments:
Subject: Color shaded relief visualization of gridded multibeam bathymetric data from surveys archived at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Category:
Keywords: NOAA, NCEI, multibeam, bathymetry, MBBDB, sonar, seafloor, oceans, IHO DCDB, R2R, hillshade, shaded relief