How steep is the seafloor in the Oceanic Shoals CMR?

The topography of the seafloor can play a major role in determining what types and abundance of organisms can survive there as it controls water circulation (read how it works). One of the most common measures of topography is the slope - the rate of change of depth with distance (rise over run). Note that the answer you get when calculating slope is highly dependant on how detailed the input topography data is - if you need to measure how slope changes over very small distance, you need very high resolution bathymetry to get an accurate estimate (read why this happens here).

Use the interactive map below to view how the slope of the seafloor varies within and beyond the Oceanic Shoals CMR. The flattest areas are shown in blue and the steepest areas are shown in red.

How to use the map

	Click on this icon at the top left of the map to see a full screen version.
	Click on this icon also at the top left of the map to zoom in closer to (+) or further from (-) the map.