SCUFN

Objectives
The objectives of the Sub-Committee are to;

• select undersea feature names define when appropriate the extent of named features;
• provide advice to individuals and appropriate authorities on the selection of undersea feature names in international waters and, on request, in waters under national jurisdiction
• encourage the establishment of national boards of geographical names and undersea features, and when such a board does not exist for a given coastal state, co-operate in the naming of seafloor features related to those national waters;
• prepare and maintain international gazetteers and supplements of undersea feature names;
• encourage the use of undersea feature names shown on GEBCO products, on other maps, charts, scientific publications, and documents by promulgating them widely;
• prepare and maintain internationally agreed guidelines for the standardization of undersea feature names and encourage their use;
• review and address the need for revised or additional terms and definitions for submarine topographic features.
• maintain close liaison with the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names and international or national authorities concerned with the naming of undersea features.

The Sub-Committee is composed of 12 experts selected by IHO and IOC (6 representatives each).

Documents & Resources

All resources are now only available via the SCUFN section of the IHO Portal.

To access the SCUFN section's content, you will need:

• to create an account on the IHO portal
• follow the SCUFN group page (see 'information' tab to apply)

Next Meeting

The 39th SCUFN Meeting will take place in Kanazawa (Japan) from 9 to 14 November 2026.

Meeting registration and documents available via the IHO Portal.

GEBCO