NGDC Coastal Relief Model

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This Coastal Relief Gridded database provides the first comprehensive view of the US Coastal Zone; one that extends from the coastal state boundaries to as far offshore as the NOS hydrographic data will support a continuous view of the seafloor. In many cases, this seaward limit reaches out to, and in places even beyond the continental slope.

Bathymetric data sources include the US National Ocean Service Hydrographic Database, the US Geological Survey (USGS), Monterey Bay Area Research Institute (MBARI), US Army Corps of Engineers LIDAR (SHOALS), and various other academic institutions. Topographic data are from the USGS 3-arc-second DEMs and Shuttle Radar Topography data (SRTM). Volumes 3 through 5 also use bathymetric contours from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico project as input to the gridding process.

The gridded database contains data for the entire coastal zone of the conterminous US, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The next area to be included will be Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The database will eventually include the Great Lakes and surrounding state coastal areas.

more about the Coastal Relief Model