<div>The Abbot Point to Hydrographers Passage bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) onboard the RV Escape during the period 6 Oct 2020 – 16 Mar 2021. This was a contracted survey conducted for the Australian Hydrographic Office by iXblue Pty Ltd as part of the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program. The survey area encompases a section of Two-Way Route from Abbot Point through Hydrographers Passage QLD. Bathymetry data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM 2040, and processed using QPS QINSy. The dataset was then exported as a 30m resolution, 32 bit floating point GeoTIFF grid of the survey area.</div><div>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.</div>

This resource includes bathymetry data acquired during the Tasmanian East Coast bathymetry survey collected by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) University of Tasmania (UTAS) during the period 12 – 23 April 2021 on the RV Abyss using a Kongsberg Maritime EM2040C multibeam sonar (contracted from CSIRO). The Tasmanian East Coast bathymetry survey was led by Dr. Vanessa Lucieer (IMAS). The purpose of the project was to map the fine-scale spatial distribution of key abalone habitat impacted by urchins in < 25 m water depth using multibeam acoustic imagery. This dataset contains seven 0.5m-resolution 32-bit floating point geotiff files of the bathymetry in study area and transits, derived from the processed EM2040C bathymetry data, using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software. A detailed report on the survey is provided in: Lucieer V, Keane J, Shelamoff V, Nau A, Ling S, Mapping abalone habitat impacted by Centrostephanus on the east coast of Tasmania: Final contracted report for the Abalone Industry Reinvestment Fund (AIRF Project 2021) and Tasmanian Climate Change Office (Climate Research Grants Program 2021), Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, UTAS, December (2021) [Contract Report] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/148298. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

This resource includes bathymetry data acquired during the Northern Depths of the Great Barrier Reef survey on RV Falkor using its Kongsberg EM302 multibeam sonar system. The EM710 data acquired on this survey will be included in a future release. The primary objective of the survey was to explore the Cape York Peninsula region, through geophysical mapping of the shelf edge and continental slope adjacent to the barrier reefs and around the seven detached reefs lying north of Cape Weymouth, including within the large Wreck Bay. The offshore Cape York area is considered a frontier marine region with very little multibeam data collected previously in this far northern section of the Great Barrier Reef. The survey aimed to reveal the full inventory of submarine canyons, drowned reefs and any other significant seabed features in the region. A secondary objective was to conduct geophysical mapping of the Swain slide, an underwater landslide on the slope adjacent to the Swain Reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef, with a headscarp about 10 km wide and a debris field extending ~20 km from the headscarp. The mapping aimed to reveal the full extent of the debris field and nature of the debris material proximal to the headscarp. Another objective was to conduct geophysical mapping around the steeper slopes around reefs in the eastern Coral Sea Marine Park, including the Saumarez, Frederick, Kenn, Wreck and Cato Reefs. The mapping aimed to fill data gaps between existing airborne LIDAR bathymetry over the shallow reefs and previously collected multibeam data around the steeper flanks. To achieve these objectives, the survey extended over 47 days, leaving Brisbane, Australia on September 30, 2020 and returning to Brisbane, Australia on November 17, 2020. The voyage was split into three legs, with port calls made at Cairns and Horn Island in the Torres Strait. Geophysical mapping involved the use of both Kongsberg EM302 and EM710 multibeam systems on the RV Falkor, typically operated in Dual Swath mode. In depths deeper than ~1200 m, the EM710 was turned off. Backscatter and water column data were also collected on both multibeam systems. This V1 dataset contains two 64m resolution 32-bit geotiff files of the FK200930 survey area produced from the processed EM302 only bathymetry data. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

Australia’s marine jurisdiction covers over 10 million square kilometres, and we estimate that only 25% of its seafloor has been mapped to the adequate resolution required to support the sustainable development and management of our marine estate. Considering that seabed mapping underpins most aspects of ocean sciences and engineering, and contributes strongly to Australia’s economic, environmental and social values, it is critical that we address this fundamental knowledge gap. AusSeabed was founded three years ago—a cross sector collaborative national program aimed at coordinating ocean mapping efforts to maximise benefits to stakeholders. AusSeabed is working to address many challenges surrounding efficient data acquisition, quality assurance, processing and delivery to various end-users with an aim to eliminate duplication of effort and improve data quality and consistency across sectors. A fundamental component of the AusSeabed program is the design and development of a federated, cloud-based, open-source platform to address the whole supply chain from data acquisition to delivery. Importantly, this work is enabling seamless collation of seabed mapping datasets and their integration with other marine data types from a variety of previously isolated and inaccessible holdings. Strong community commitment and a powerful resonance with stakeholders have driven rapid program growth and are a testament to the value of deliberate and effective collaboration for national benefit. This presentation will give an overview of AusSeabed’s current progress, highlights and forward plan.

The AusSeabed Strategy aims to set a framework for the Program to operate. It defines the Programs vision, mission, role, outcomes and program goals. It will be revised every 3 years in-line with the rotation of the AusSeabed Steering Committee.

This resource includes bathymetry data acquired during the Keppel Bay 2004 bathymetry survey. Data were collected using a Reson SeaBat 8125 multibeam sonar system by Curtin University of Technology (CUT), Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and Geoscience Australia (GA) on the charter vessel Rum Rambler during the period 20th – 26th September 2004. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project between CUT, DSTO and GA under the Coastal Water Habitat Mapping (CWHM) Project within Coastal Cooperative Research Centre Program. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats within the study area. This V1 dataset contains a 1m resolution 32-bit floating point geotiff file of the bathmetry of target areas in Keppel Bay, derived from the processed Reson SeaBat 8125 bathymetry data, using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

This dataset contains bathymetry products from the Lord Howe Rise 2D Seismic Survey undertaken by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) during the period from 17 March to 16 May 2016 onboard the RV Kairei (Survey KR1605). The Lord Howe Rise (LHR) is a submerged plateau that extends from southwest New Caledonia to the west of New Zealand. Much of the LHR lies within the Australian marine jurisdiction at water depths of 1000-3000m. The Commonwealth conducted a scientific seismic survey over the Lord Howe Rise in 2016 in collaboration with JAMSTEC. This collaboration contributes to a larger research proposal submitted to the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) that would provide the first deep stratigraphic record for the Cretaceous Eastern Gondwana Margin. The IODP proposal, if funded, is to drill a deep stratigraphic well to a depth of 2-3 km below the seabed, possibly in 2020. In order to select the drill sites, GA and JAMSTEC are conducting site assessments that involve a seismic survey in 2016 and a geotechnical survey in 2017. Multibeam bathymetry data were acquired during the survey covering an area of 62,360 km2. Eight bathymetry grids of 50 to 80m resolution were produced using the shipborne 12 KHz sonar system.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

This resource includes backscatter data for Arafura Marine Park (Arafura Sea) collected by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science during the period 2 – 15 November 2020 on the RV Solander. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by GA and AIMS. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats in Arafura Marine Park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the North Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for two areas (Money Shoal and Pillar Bank), seabed samples and underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish. This backscatter dataset contains two 32-bit geotiff files of the backscatter mosaic for two survey areas produced from the processed EM2040C Dual Head system using the CMST-GA MB Process v15.04.04.0 (x64) toolbox software co-developed by the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University and Geoscience Australia. A detailed report on the survey is provided in: Picard, K. Stowar, M., Roberts, N., Siwabessy, J., Abdul Wahab, M.A., Galaiduk, R., Miller, K., Nichol, S. 2021. Arafura Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub (https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/node/4505).

On behalf of Australia, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is leading search operations for missing Malaysian airlines flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean. Geoscience Australia provided advice, expertise and support to the ATSB to facilitate bathymetric surveys, which were undertaken to provide a detailed map of the sea floor topography to aid navigation during the underwater search. Bathymetric data was acquired by multibeam sonar mounted on the hull of multiple vessels (GA survey reference: GA-4421, GA-4422 & GA-4430). Bathymetric surveys were conducted from June 2014 to February 2017, collecting over 710,000 square kilometres of data in the search area and along transit lines (to and from the search area). This dataset allows exploration of the seafloor topography of bathymetry data at a resolution of 150 m across the search and transit areas of the Southern Indian Ocean. The dataset is overlain on a hillshade created from the 150m resolution bathymetry data. The hillshade was created with the parameters of point illumination azimuth at 45 degrees and altitude of 45 degrees.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Geoscience Australia conducted a marine seismic survey (GA-0352) over poorly defined areas of the Gippsland Basin between 5th of April to the 24th of April 2015. The aim was to acquire industry-standard precompetitive 2D seismic data, Multi-beam echo-sounder (MBES) and sub-bottom profiling (SBP) data to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the basin. The survey, undertaken as part of the Department of Industry and Science's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), aimed to identify and characterise indicators of natural hydrocarbon or fluid seepage that may indicate compromised seal integrity in the region. The data collected during this survey will enhance sequence stratigraphic studies in the Gippsland Basin that provide constraints on the most suitable areas for storage of CO2 and help to identify potential CO2 storage reservoirs. The survey was conducted by Gardline CGG vessel MV Duke The data collected during the survey are available for free download from the Geoscience Australia website. This dataset include all the bathymetry data collected during the survey.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.