# Antarctica and Southern Ocean basemap for Desktop GIS

We provide a south pole projected Antarctica and Southern Ocean basemap as a web service, which can be loaded in to Desktop GIS. 

The basemap is updated every 6 months to reflect changes to the coastline and to include updated elevation and bathymetry data, as appropriate. It is a WMTS service hosted using ArcGIS Online and is also included in the ArcGIS Living Atlas. 

This guide will run through [how to add it to a QGIS Project](#using-the-basemap-in-qgis).

{% embed url="<https://arcg.is/1en1P1>" %}
Demonstration of Antarctica and Southern Ocean basemap
{% endembed %}

## Using the basemap in QGIS

In the main menu, navigate to **Layer** > **Add Layer** > **Add WMS/WMTS Layer...**.

Select **New** to create a new service connection.&#x20;

Complete the dialogue box as follows, and then click **Ok**:

1. Tick the 'Ignore axis orientation' box,&#x20;
2. enter a name, ie. 'Antarctica and Southern Ocean' and&#x20;
3. enter the following url into the URL box:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```html
https://tiles.arcgis.com/tiles/tPxy1hrFDhJfZ0Mf/arcgis/rest/services/Antarctica_and_the_Southern_Ocean/MapServer/wmts
```

{% endcode %}

<figure><img src="https://1732800529-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUp9ezgTwLUN5L1qHiPak%2Fuploads%2F5xYRC5doQAD3ZnbDylUb%2FAntarctica%20and%20Southern%20ocean%20connection%20options.png?alt=media&#x26;token=786ac9cc-387f-4269-b135-cedde691b806" alt=""><figcaption><p>Connection details dialogue box</p></figcaption></figure>

Click **Connect**. Once the service has connected, select the Antarctica and Southern Ocean layer and click **Add.**

<figure><img src="https://1732800529-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUp9ezgTwLUN5L1qHiPak%2Fuploads%2FA7X8bZdjdSYonm6iA1kE%2FAntarctica%20and%20Southern%20ocean%20add.png?alt=media&#x26;token=8a650b71-5c3f-4bce-a2c8-83b189bd23b8" alt=""><figcaption><p>Once you connect to the service, the layer will appear in this list to select and add to your QGIS project</p></figcaption></figure>

**Close the Data Source Manager window**, and the basemap will be loaded in to use within the project.

<figure><img src="https://1732800529-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUp9ezgTwLUN5L1qHiPak%2Fuploads%2FznEq6GHY74dtk8wFTLmK%2FQGIS-project.png?alt=media&#x26;token=687b7069-d9d3-4240-8f88-3bb00b187a4f" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>