Multibeam data were collected during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XXIV/4. Data recording was executed in northern Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Bay of Biscay for calibration of sonar system Hydrosweep DS2. Data should therefore not be used for high quality grid calculations and charting projects.

The raw multibeam sonar data in SURF format are compressed as TAR archive with GZIP. One dataset contains a measurement period not exceeding eight hours. SURF data files can be processed using the software packages CARIS HIPS/SIPS or with the open source software package MB-System (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/MB-System/). The source code for an application programming interface (API) to read and write SURF data is released by the Hydrosweep manufacturer Atlas Hydrographic, Bremen, and published under the GNU GPL. Contact mailto:infobathy@awi.de for data access.