Visualizing the contours of the ocean floor east of Japan’s Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands.
Study area
The Ogasawara Arc is a volcanic island arc system in the western Pacific, part of the larger Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana (IBM) arc system. The study area (21°–28° N, 143°–151° E) includes steep trench walls, volcanic ridges, and clusters of seamounts that reveal the dynamic interface between tectonic plates.
Data
| Layer | Source | Dataset / service |
|---|---|---|
| Bathymetry | GEBCO | Gridded Bathymetry Data |
All spatial data were downloaded in October 2025 and projected to WGS 1984 / UTM Zone 55N (EPSG:32655).
Ogasawara Arc bathymetry
The map was created using GEBCO bathymetry data and follows John Nelson’s “Isometric Ocean Floor Map” method in ArcGIS Pro.
The bathymetric data were generalized and contoured, then colored by depth. Subtle vertical offsets, color gradients, and lighting overlays enhance the illusion of a 3D seafloor without using actual elevation data in 3D space.
The result is a stylized yet data-driven depiction of a geologically active marine region.