Multibeam data were measured during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XX/2 along track lines of 5557 NM total length during transits and partly during stationary work. Data were achieved in the Eastern Weddell Sea, the Riiser-Larsen Sea and the Lazarev Sea.

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.