BlueTopo
Data Set (DS) | Office of Coast Survey (OCS)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:75311 | Updated: March 28, 2025 | Published / External
Item Identification
| Title: | BlueTopo |
|---|---|
| Short Name: | BlueTopo |
| Status: | On Going |
| Creation Date: | 2021-05-14 |
| Abstract: |
BlueTopo is a compilation of the nation's best available bathymetric data. Created as part of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey's nautical charting mission and its National Bathymetric Source (NBS) program, BlueTopo is curated bathymetric source data to provide a definitive nationwide model of the seafloor and navigational lakes. In the same way that a topographic map details the height of land, BlueTopo details the depth of lake beds and seafloor beneath navigationally significant U.S. waters. Primary sources of bathymetry in NBS compilations include NOAA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrographic surveys and topographic bathymetric (topo-bathy) lidar (light detection and ranging) data. Data submitted through the NOAA Office of Coast Survey's external source data process are also included. Coverage gaps in water over 200 meters are filled in BlueTopo through Global Multi-Resolution Topography, a merged model of bathymetry made available through Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. In addition to compiled bathymetry, BlueTopo contains metadata with quality metrics from the source data to enable the appropriate use of the product. |
| Purpose: |
Created as part of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey's nautical charting mission and its National Bathymetric Source (NBS) program, BlueTopo is curated bathymetric source data to provide a definitive nationwide model of the seafloor and navigational lakes. In the same way that a topographic map details the height of land, BlueTopo details the depth of lake beds and seafloor beneath navigationally significant U.S. waters. |
| Notes: |
Primary sources of bathymetry in NBS compilations include NOAA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrographic surveys and topographic bathymetric (topo-bathy) lidar (light detection and ranging) data. Data submitted through the NOAA Office of Coast Survey's external source data process are also included. Coverage gaps in water over 200 meters are filled in BlueTopo through Global Multi-Resolution Topography, a merged model of bathymetry made available through Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. In addition to compiled bathymetry, BlueTopo contains metadata with quality metrics from the source data to enable the appropriate use of the product. |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
| Thesaurus | Keyword |
|---|---|
| Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords |
EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > BATHYMETRY
|
Physical Location
| Organization: | Office of Coast Survey |
|---|---|
| City: | Silver Spring |
| State/Province: | MD |
| Country: | United States |
Data Set Information
| Data Set Scope Code: | Model |
|---|---|
| Data Set Type: | GeoTiff |
| Maintenance Frequency: | Continually |
| Data Presentation Form: | Model (digital) |
| Entity Attribute Overview: |
For entity attribute information, please see: https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/bluetopo.html |
| Entity Attribute Detail Citation: |
https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/bluetopo_specs.html |
| Entity Attribute Detail URL: | https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/bluetopo_specs.html |
| Distribution Liability: |
Creative Commons - CC0-1.0 |
| Data Set Credit: | Source information is included with each file. |
Support Roles
Data Steward
| Date Effective From: | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective To: | |
| Contact (Organization): | Office of Coast Survey (OCS) |
| Address: |
1315 East West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 |
| URL: | https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ |
| Contact Instructions: |
ocs.nbs@noaa.gov |
Distributor
| Date Effective From: | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective To: | |
| Contact (Organization): | Office of Coast Survey (OCS) |
| Address: |
1315 East West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 |
| URL: | https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ |
Metadata Contact
| Date Effective From: | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective To: | |
| Contact (Organization): | Office of Coast Survey (OCS) |
| Address: |
1315 East West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 |
| URL: | https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ |
| Contact Instructions: |
ocs.nbs@noaa.gov |
Extents
Extent Group 1
Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1
| W° Bound: | 150 | |
|---|---|---|
| E° Bound: | 60 | |
| N° Bound: | 75 | |
| S° Bound: | 0 | |
| Description |
Ocean Sector |
|
Extent Group 1 / Vertical Extent 1
| CRS Type: | Vertical | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPSG Code: | EPSG:5703 | ||||||||
| EPSG Name: | NAVD88 height | ||||||||
| ▾ See Full Coordinate Reference System Information | |||||||||
| Datum Name: | North American Vertical Datum 1988 | ||||||||
Axis: Gravity-related height |
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| Vertical Minimum: | -6000.0 | ||||||||
| Vertical Maximum: | 20.0 | ||||||||
Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1
| Time Frame Type: | Continuing |
|---|---|
| Start: | 1807 |
Spatial Information
Spatial Representation
Representations Used
| Grid: | Yes |
|---|
Reference Systems
Reference System 1
Coordinate Reference System |
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Access Information
| Data License: | CC0-1.0 |
|---|---|
| Data License URL: | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
| Data License Statement: | These data were produced by NOAA and are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. NOAA waives any potential copyright and related rights in these data worldwide through the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0-1.0). |
| Security Class: | Unclassified |
| Data Access Constraints: |
Unrestricted |
| Data Use Constraints: |
Data use constraints for BlueTopo vary as it is derived from multiple source datasets. Please check the source data layer for specific data use constraints. |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
| Download URL: | https://noaa-ocs-nationalbathymetry-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#BlueTopo/ |
|---|---|
| Distributor: | Office of Coast Survey (OCS) (2025 - Present) |
| Description: |
Three-layer GeoTIFFs with elevation, uncertainty, contributor information, and raster attribute table (RAT) layers. All layers are presented as 32-bit floating point values. Available to download through NOAA's Open Data Dissemination Program at Amazon Web Services bucket. |
| Distribution Format: | GeoTIFF |
Distribution 2
| Download URL: | https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/geoserver/gwc/service/wmts?REQUEST=GetCapabilities |
|---|---|
| Distributor: | Office of Coast Survey (OCS) (2025 - Present) |
| Description: |
BlueTopo is available to view and access through nowCOAST. The nowCOAST map viewer makes BlueTopo available through a web map tile service and the viewer |
| Distribution Format: | TMS - Tile Map Service |
URLs
URL 1
| URL: | https://noaa-ocs-nationalbathymetry-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#BlueTopo/ |
|---|---|
| Name: | NOAA National Bathymetric Source Data AWS bucket |
| URL Type: |
Online Resource
|
URL 2
| URL: | https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/geoserver/gwc/service/wmts?REQUEST=GetCapabilities |
|---|---|
| Name: | nowCOAST |
| URL Type: |
Other
|
| File Resource Format: | Web Map Tile Service |
| Description: |
Web map tile service Elevation, Source Institution, Source Survey ID, Survey Date End, Bathy Coverage, Significant Features, Coverage, Uncertainty |
Activity Log
Activity Log 1
| Activity Date/Time: | 2025-03 |
|---|---|
| Activity Type: | InPort catalog item creation |
| Responsible Party: | Courtney Thompson |
| Description: |
Creation of InPort catalog item |
Data Quality
| Accuracy: |
Depth- and Source-dependent |
|---|---|
| Horizontal Positional Accuracy: |
Depth- and Source-dependent |
| Vertical Positional Accuracy: |
Depth- and Source-dependent |
| Completeness Report: |
Complete |
| Conceptual Consistency: |
Complete |
Lineage
| Lineage Statement: |
BlueTopo is available for download as three layer GeoTIFFs with elevation, uncertainty, and raster attribute table (RAT) layers. All layers are presented as 32-bit floating point values. The bathymetry is compiled from multiple sources with varying quality and includes forms of interpolation. The bathymetric quality and interpolation is described through the vertical uncertainty layer and the associated data quality raster attribute table. |
|---|
Catalog Details
| Catalog Item ID: | 75311 |
|---|---|
| GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:75311 |
| Metadata Record Created By: | Courtney Thompson |
| Metadata Record Created: | 2025-03-21 11:17+0000 |
| Metadata Record Last Modified By: | Brianna Key |
| Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2025-03-28 18:19+0000 |
| Metadata Record Published: | 2025-03-28 |
| Owner Org: | OCS |
| Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
| Do Not Publish?: | N |
| Metadata Last Review Date: | 2025-03-28 |
| Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
| Metadata Next Review Date: | 2026-03-28 |