We present the first digital seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM) of the global ocean. The GSFM includes 131,192 separate polygons in 29 geomorphic feature categories, used here to assess differences between passive and active continental margins as well as between 8 major ocean regions (the Arctic, Indian, North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Atlantic, South Pacific and the Southern Oceans and the Mediterranean and Black Seas). The GSFM provides quantitative assessments of differences between passive and active margins: continental shelf width of passive margins (88 km) is nearly three times that of active margins (31 km); the average width of active slopes (36 km) is less than the average width of passive margin slopes (46 km); active margin slopes contain an area of 3.4 million km2 where the gradient exceeds 5°, compared with 1.3 million km2 on passive margin slopes; the continental rise covers 27 million km2 adjacent to passive margins and less than 2.3 million km2 adjacent to active margins. Examples of specific applications of the GSFM are presented to show that: 1) larger rift valley segments are generally associated with slow-spreading rates and smaller rift valley segments are associated with fast spreading; 2) polar submarine canyons are twice the average size of non-polar canyons and abyssal polar regions exhibit lower seafloor roughness than non-polar regions, expressed as spatially extensive fan, rise and abyssal plain sediment deposits – all of which are attributed here to the effects of continental glaciations; and 3) recognition of seamounts as a separate category of feature from ridges results in a lower estimate of seamount number compared with estimates of previous workers. Reference: Harris PT, Macmillan-Lawler M, Rupp J, Baker EK Geomorphology of the oceans. Marine Geology.

Norwegian Download service for INSPIRE Sea Regions.

Long-term monitoring programs on benthic fauna are missing for large areas of the Arctic. In areas where repeated monitoring has occurred, it is difficult to compare data due to different sampling approaches and different targets of monitoring efforts. There is a need for an international standardization of long- term benthic monitoring. The CBMP Benthos Expert Network has identified potential ways to improve benthic monitoring coverage, and has come up with a map showing a Pan Arctic station map.

This Amphipoda dataset contains three parts: 1. Distribution records collected from literature; 2. Distribution records of specimens collected by the BioICE project (Benthic Invertebrates of Icelandic waters 1992-2004); 3. Distribution records of specimens collected by the IceAGE project (Icelandic marine animals: Genetics and Ecology, since 2011). The IceAGE data are outcome of two Amphipoda identification workshops held in Wilhelmshaven, Germany (2016) and Spala, Polen (2017).

Dataset information available at http://www.arcodiv.org/Database/Data_overview.html

The study of long-distance migration provides insights into the habits and performance of organisms at the limit of their physical abilities. The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea is the epitome of such behavior; despite its small size (-lt;125 g), banding recoveries and at-sea surveys suggest that its annual migration from boreal and high Arctic breeding grounds to the Southern Ocean may be the longest seasonal movement of any animal. Our tracking of 11 Arctic terns fitted with miniature (1.4 g) geolocators revealed that these birds do indeed travel huge distances (more than 80,000 km annually for some individuals). As well as confirming the location of the main wintering region, we also identified a previously unknown oceanic stopover area in the North Atlantic used by birds from at least two breeding populations (from Greenland and Iceland). Although birds from the same colony took one of two alternative southbound migration routes following the African or South American coast, all returned on a broadly similar, sigmoidal trajectory, crossing from east to west in the Atlantic in the region of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone. Arctic terns clearly target regions of high marine productivity both as stopover and wintering areas, and exploit prevailing global wind systems to reduce flight costs on long-distance commutes. Purpose: The Arctic tern is known to make the longest annual migration in the animal kingdom. During its breeding season, it is found far to the north where summer days are long, and it winters far south in the southern hemisphere, where the days are longest during November to February. This means that the Arctic tern probably experiences more sun light during a calendar year than any other creature on Earth. The long-distance travel of the Arctic tern is well-known both amongst researchers and in the broader public. Now, for the first time, technological advances allow us to follow the Arctic tern on its immense journey, practically from pole to pole. Supplemental information: Four erroneous points were removed from the original dataset: ARTE_410, 9/17/2007 noon; ARTE_370, 9/13/2007 noon; ARTE_373, 9/15/2007 noon and 9/16/2007 noon. Sand Island (74.263 degrees N, 20.160 degrees W), northeast Greenland, is the breeding colony for these Arctic terns and was placed on the map (red-orange square). Sand Island can be used as the beginning and end of all tracks, but since exact dates of the starting and ending of the migration were not available (high-Arctic zone = continuous day light during summer = poor positions when using geolocators), the tracklines for each animal were not mapped to and from the breeding colony. Original provider: Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Dataset credits: Greenland Institute of Natural Resources

Happywhale.com is a resource to help you know whales as individuals, and to benefit conservation science with rich data about individual whales. Original provider: HappywhaleDataset credits: Happywhale and contributors Supplemental information: Sightings and images were submitted to Happywhale by contributors. A portion of the Happywhale data were transferred to OBIS-SEAMAP upon the agreement between Happywhale and OBIS-SEAMAP. There may be duplicate records among Happywhale datasets and other OBIS-SEAMAP datasets. The precision of date/time vary per record. Some records have date accuracy up to year only. This dataset includes sightings and photos from the following 14 contributors in alphabetic order: Adelie Xiaohang Li; Andrew Thompson; Annette Bombosch; Chris Lewis; Heidi Krajewsky; Hondius; Lauren Farmer; Marilia Olio; MS Otto Sverdrup; MS Spitsbergen; Nick Savic; Patrick Mitchell; Ronny Hogstrom; Tobias Brehm

Happywhale.com is a resource to help you know whales as individuals, and to benefit conservation science with rich data about individual whales. Original provider: Happywhale Dataset credits: Happywhale and contributors Supplemental information: Sightings and images were submitted to Happywhale by contributors. A portion of the Happywhale data were transferred to OBIS-SEAMAP upon the agreement between Happywhale and OBIS-SEAMAP. There may be duplicate records among Happywhale datasets and other OBIS-SEAMAP datasets. The precision of date/time vary per record. Some records have date accuracy up to year only. This dataset includes sightings and photos from the following 9 contributors in alphabetic order: Anna Astafurova; Conor Ryan; Johnny Giese; Kerstin Langenberger; Léa Zinsli; Marian Herz; Mick Peerdeman; Rémi Bigonneau; Victoria Stokes

This represents data on Benthic fauna, Food webs and the littoral zone from the Polish Academy of Sciences; Institute of Oceanology, taken between 1981 - 1985 from 60 stations annually investigated during summer. This dataset was collected as part of an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI).

Original provider: Happywhale Dataset credits: Happywhale and contributors Abstract: Happywhale.com is a resource to help you know whales as individuals, and to benefit conservation science with rich data about individual whales. Supplemental information: Sightings and images were submitted to Happywhale by contributors. A portion of the Happywhale data were transferred to OBIS-SEAMAP upon the agreement between Happywhale and OBIS-SEAMAP. There may be duplicate records among Happywhale datasets and other OBIS-SEAMAP datasets. The precision of date/time vary per record. Some records have date accuracy up to year only. This dataset includes sightings and photos from the following 0 contributors in alphabetic order: