Research prototype · public data · not validated · not for navigation.
Anomaly scan: Prototype 2's regions (exploratory)
Run 12 October 2026 over 21 regions and 149,754 hexagons, from the build's own tables. Exploratory: the thresholds were set before the run, but the scan was not written down in advance the way the trackline test was. It reports what the data show, never what an anomaly is.
Unidentified objects (USOs): none of the datasets read so far records any. Adding sourced public records is planned (see the end).
Each profile already says "Sources disagree here" where GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median of more than 100 m, or where GEBCO calls the depth predicted while GMRT holds ship data. This scan adds a test relative to depth (so shallow water counts) and asks, for each one, whether anything in the data explains it.
What it found
- The two depth grids disagree (median difference at least 50 m and 10% of the depth) in 303 hexagons. 272 are explained by the data: GEBCO's depth there is mostly not measured, or the ground is steep. 31 are not explained by anything read so far.
- Rises only the satellite prediction shows (at least 500 m above the neighbours' median, in a hexagon whose depth is mostly predicted): 12. Each is a possible seamount no ship has measured, or an artefact of the prediction. Unverified either way.
| Region | Hexagons | Grids disagree | Explained | Not explained | Predicted-only rises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey shelf | 2,470 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mid-Atlantic Ridge | 25,297 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gulf of Maine | 7,558 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Virginia to Hatteras | 6,258 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Blake Plateau | 10,918 | 43 | 33 | 10 | 1 |
| Florida Keys | 4,567 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 0 |
| Gulf of Mexico | 11,845 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Puerto Rico | 5,121 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern California | 2,075 | 74 | 74 | 0 | 0 |
| Monterey | 1,654 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Pacific Northwest | 12,348 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 7,500 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Long Island | 398 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Florida | 1,141 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas shelf | 2,722 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern California | 2,865 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Gulf of Alaska | 9,873 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Southeast Alaska | 4,708 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Aleutians | 6,647 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Marianas | 17,840 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| American Samoa | 5,949 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
Not explained by the data read so far
- Gulf of Maine, 41.71°N, 65.90°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 115 m at about 116 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Gulf of Maine, 41.34°N, 66.27°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 104 m at about 114 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Gulf of Maine, 41.31°N, 66.33°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 81 m at about 99 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Gulf of Maine, 44.14°N, 67.13°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 72 m at about 80 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Gulf of Maine, 41.77°N, 65.91°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 61 m at about 115 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Virginia to Hatteras, 35.04°N, 75.32°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 79 m at about 74 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 71% measured. open
- Blake Plateau, 31.89°N, 79.13°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 181 m at about 466 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 65% measured. open
- Blake Plateau, 31.06°N, 79.69°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 168 m at about 367 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Blake Plateau, 27.12°N, 79.18°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 149 m at about 27 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 77% measured. open
- Blake Plateau, 27.02°N, 79.13°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 118 m at about 7 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 95% measured. open
- Blake Plateau, 31.02°N, 79.73°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 118 m at about 352 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Florida Keys, 26.92°N, 79.08°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 216 m at about 17 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 87% measured. open
- Florida Keys, 26.86°N, 79.06°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 203 m at about 7 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 98% measured. open
- Florida Keys, 26.97°N, 79.11°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 191 m at about 15 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 88% measured. open
- Florida Keys, 26.81°N, 79.03°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 128 m at about 3 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Florida Keys, 24.44°N, 81.64°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 93 m at about 34 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 59% measured. open
- Pacific Northwest, 42.03°N, 124.55°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 78 m at about 138 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Northern California, 41.93°N, 124.51°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 152 m at about 136 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Northern California, 41.99°N, 124.49°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 109 m at about 110 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Northern California, 41.90°N, 124.46°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 107 m at about 104 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
- Northern California, 41.95°N, 124.44°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 77 m at about 86 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 99% measured. open
- Gulf of Alaska, 60.96°N, 149.67°W: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 71 m at about 57 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 51% measured. open
- Marianas, 13.43°N, 144.67°E: GEBCO and GMRT differ by a median 1,255 m at about 31 m deep, where GEBCO's depth is 100% measured. open
Largest predicted-only rises
- American Samoa, 11.54°S, 169.83°W: about 2,824 m deep where the neighbours average 4,008 m (54% predicted). open
- Marianas, 11.11°N, 146.72°E: about 2,559 m deep where the neighbours average 3,689 m (73% predicted). open
- Marianas, 12.23°N, 147.42°E: about 2,544 m deep where the neighbours average 3,604 m (99% predicted). open
- Marianas, 12.84°N, 147.60°E: about 2,184 m deep where the neighbours average 3,183 m (100% predicted). open
- Marianas, 12.28°N, 147.46°E: about 2,307 m deep where the neighbours average 3,279 m (100% predicted). open
- Blake Plateau, 27.64°N, 76.56°W: about 2,368 m deep where the neighbours average 3,286 m (92% predicted). open
- Marianas, 11.48°N, 147.05°E: about 2,112 m deep where the neighbours average 3,010 m (89% predicted). open
- Aleutians, 53.13°N, 166.61°W: about 963 m deep where the neighbours average 1,483 m (92% predicted). open
What explains most of these, and what comes next
- Most disagreements are explained by how each grid was made: GEBCO fills unmeasured ground from satellite gravity; GMRT holds ship data. A disagreement not explained here is a reason to look at the original survey, not evidence of anything unusual.
- A predicted-only rise becomes known only when a ship maps it. Each is a candidate for the "Possible next observation" list, never a claim.
- Next, so more can be explained: NOAA's charted wrecks and obstructions (public domain) as a "known objects" layer; NCEI's methane seeps (cleared; file requested); GEBCO's own source-survey polygons; then sourced public records of unidentified observations, each with what was recorded, by which instrument, when and under what licence, and a status: reported, documented, reviewed, explained or still unexplained.
Thresholds: disagreement 50 m and 10% with at least 20 paired cells; steep when the depth range is 3x the difference; mostly predicted at 50%; a rise 500 m and 25% above the six neighbours' median, with all six at sea and at least 200 m of water (added after the first run, when a 44 m "rise" off Hawaii turned out to be the coastline). Code: aethon_p2/anomaly_scan.py.