Four Sessions of the Editorial Board for IBCWP (EB-IBCWP)
First Session
The first session of the Editorial Board for IBCWP (EB-IBCWP) was held in Tianjin, China in October 1993. Representatives from eight Member States attended the meeting. The session discussed and approved such technical documents as:
1. Specifications for the International Bathymetric Chart of the Western Pacific;
2. Terms of Reference for the Chief Editor as well as Responsible, Producing and Participating Countries/Organizations;
3. Recommendation for Preparation of Plotting Sheets for International Bathymetric Chart Produced under Regional Mapping Projects; and
4. Assembly Diagram for International Bathymetric Chart of the Western Pacific.
After discussion, it was agreed that the region is divided into 6 subregions, and Russia, Japan, China and Australia acted as the Responsible Countries for subregions 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
Second Session
Organized by the IOC/WESTPAC Secretariat, the second session of the EB-IBCWP was held in Bangkok, Thailand in December 1996. Representatives from nine Member States attended the meeting. At the session, Prof. Hou Wenfeng, Chief Editor of EB-IBCWP, reported the progress of the project and the existing problems, and the responsible countries and Member States reported their own progress respectively. The followings were discussed at the session: the development plan of the project, preparation of compilation sheets, progress of sub-regions1 through 4, the establishment of IBCWP database, the joint data inventory and such technical issues as standards and quality control. The session agreed to use the bathymetric chart of the Mediterranean as a model for the IBCWP project.
Third Session
At the third session of the EB-IBCWP in September 2000, representatives of the Members States reported the activities related to the IBCWP in their own countries. Such issues as data exchange, establishment of the IBCWP database, standardization and quality control, undersea feature names, etc. was discussed. The Board approved the revisions to the original specifications proposed by the IHB Secretariat. A list of Cartographic Standards for the IBCWP was accepted by the Board. The producing and participating country or organization for each sheet of the sub-region 1 was identified. Those for some of sheets in the subregion 2 were also decided though several sheets were still without producing countries. Russia presented three compilation sheets of 1-12, 1-13 and 1-14 at the 3rd session for comments and proposals. Before the third session, New Zealand and Australia agreed to take the position of responsible countries respectively for subregion 5 and 6.
Fourth Session
The Fourth session of EB-IBCWP was held within the 6th IOC/WESTPAC Scientific Symposium in Hangzhou, China in April 2004. Representatives of seven Member States attended the meeting. Such issues as data exchange, preparation of compilation sheets, capacity building were discussed at the session. The meeting agreed to a metadata and data exchange policy, that is, all data holdings in areas where there is an overlap of interest, such as within a sheet or along sheet boundaries, will be enter into the IBCWP Data Catalogue System.
And in addition to the Data Catalogue, the following digital data should be made available for exchange:
• Contours and/or sounding data gridded at an appropriate spacing;
• With full recognition of national marine data policies, real or actual bathymetric sounding should be provided, particularly relevant for those areas there are discrepancies between contours for the same or adjoining areas;
• In those areas where the exchange of actual data is not possible due to national data policies or the proprietary nature of the data, the two parties will meet, with their data in hand, to reconcile any inconsistencies without the actual exchange of data.
In order to make progress in the implementation of the IBCWP, and respecting the national policies of the Member States, it was suggested by the session that all countries interested in compiling the same sheet, and where data exchange is not possible, should proceed as follows:
• All interested countries will generate compilation sheets (bathymetric data control and contours) using their own data.
• When individual compilation sheets are complete, all compiling countries for a particular sheet will meet, together with the Chief Editor, if necessary, and exchange compilation sheets, and provide each other with constructive comments on the compilation sheets.
• Based on comments, all differences will be reconciled using the principles of the data exchange agreement above, after which the master digital copy will be jointly generated and submitted to the Editorial Board for approval.