Antarctic Digital Database

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) ADD is a seamless compilation of topographic data for Antarctica to 60°S. The ADD is the place to view, query and download datasets such as the Antarctic coastline, contours and rock outcrop.

The Mapping and Geographic Information Centre (MAGIC) compiles, manages and distributes the ADD datasets on behalf of SCAGI, the SCAR Standing Committee on Geographic Information.

ADD datasets and data access

Visit the Antarctic Digital Database map viewer to visualise the available data. Data can be downloaded through the data catalogue in Geopackage or Shapefile format.

Coastline and contour datasets are also accessible in the ArcGIS Living Atlas.

The datasets included in the ADD are:

• Coastline, including grounding lines and ice shelf fronts
• Rock outcrop
• Contours
• Lakes
• Moraine
• Streams
• Seamask
• ADD data limit at 60°S

All datasets are in WGS84 Antarctic Polar Stereographic projection, EPSG 3031.

Data update schedule

Datasets within the ADD are reviewed on a regular basis, and updated accordingly. Any changes to datasets are released as new versions every 6 months. Where a dataset is not updated within this schedule, the most recent dataset will continue to be used.

Last release: 10th November 2023 – version 7.8.

Planned releases and data updates:

• 10th May 2023

Contributing to the ADD

The ADD is a service to the whole Antarctic science and logistics community, and as such we invite all users of the data to be active participants in improving its quality.   Any inconsistencies can be reported via the web interface (the feedback button in the top navigation bar), or to the Mapping and Geographic Information Centre. Similarly, any new or updated data from users are welcome for potential future inclusion in the ADD. Please also contact us if you have any questions about the ADD generally.

Licensing

Data are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

When using the data, please refer to the data catalogue for the required citation for each dataset.