Bathymetric (50-m) and acoustic backscatter (25-m) gridded surfaces of the Samoa Basin

Gridded surfaces of bathymetry (50-meter resolution) and acoustic backscatter (25-meter resolution) were produced from 12 kHz Kongsberg Maritime EM124 multibeam echo sounding data of the Samoa Basin seafloor within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding the Territory of American Samoa. Together, these two datasets of seafloor elevation and seafloor character (substrate hardness) serve to expand the knowledge of the global abyssal seafloor and support ongoing investigations into the geology, geomorphology, and benthic habitats of this region. These grids were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with data collected by third-party hydrographic surveys on the M/V Ocean Guardian and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of NOAA's American Samoa Abyssal Mapping effort, OPR-T900-KR-26, between February 19, 2026 to May 13, 2026. These data are not intended to be used for navigation. This work was funded in part through Marine Minerals Administration Interagency Agreement O2507-014-014-110933 with USGS.