MB-System is an open source software package for the processing and display of seafloor mapping data, particularly bathymetry and backscatter imagery data derived from multibeam, interferometry, and sidescan sonars. MB-System is freely available for download as source code that can be built and installed on Linux and OS-X computers. This page and the documents it links to are included in each MB-System distribution, along with Unix-style command line interface manual pages, in order to provide basic documentation of the capabilities and operation of programs included with MB-System.
More complete documentation, tutorials, and FAQ are provided in the MB-System website hosted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The MB-System discussion email lists allows users to engage with MB-System developers and other users from around the world.
MB-System was originally developed in 1993 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO) of Columbia University by David W. Caress and Dale N. Chayes with support from the Marine Geology and Geophysics program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
MB-System is now a collaborative effort between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the Center of Marine Environmental Science (MARUM) at Universität Bremen, and the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) at the University of New Hampshire. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has provided the primary support for MB-System through MBARI since 1998. NSF supported MB-System development from its inception in 1993 through 2018. Development efforts at MARUM are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG).
Please direct inquiries, requests, and problem reports regarding MB-System to the MB-System Discussion list.