Marine Bathymetry Data Collection  

Authors / CoAuthors

Abstract

Bathymetry is the study and mapping of the sea floor. It involves obtaining measurements of the depth of the ocean and is the equivalent to mapping topography on land. Bathymetric data is collected in multiple ways: 1. Satellite data can be used to produce maps showing general features over a large area at low resolution. Satellite altimetry measures the height of the ocean surface. If there are hills/mountains on the sea floor, the gravitational pull around that area will be greater and hence the sea surface will bulge. This measurement can be used to show where the seafloor is higher, and this can be used to produce maps showing general features over a large area at low resolution. 2. Single beam echosounders produce a single line of depth points directly under the equipment. These measurements are usually made while a vessel is moving to identify general sea floor patterns and/or schools of fish. 3. Equipment that captures swathes of data by acquiring multiple depth points in each area, such as multibeam echosounders (or swath echosounders) and airborne laser measurements (LADS). These datasets are very high resolution, with data down to better than one metre accuracy. This bathymetry dataset is a collection of singlebeam data sourced from seismic navigation lines, multibeam data, satellite and LADS data acquired by GA and by other government and non-government agencies.

Product Type

dataset

eCat Id

74526

Contact for the resource

Keywords

( Theme )

• marine data

( Theme )

• bathymetry

( Theme )

• marine

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• marine geoscience

( Theme )

• multibeam

( Theme )

• bathymetry grid

( Theme )

• marine survey

( Theme )

• coastal

( Theme )

• continental shelf

( Theme )

• geoscience

( Theme )

• environmental science

( Theme )

• sonar

( Theme )

• seabed mapping

• Published_External

Publication Date

1989-01-01T00:00:00

Creation Date

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - license

Use - license

Status

Purpose

Maintenance Information

continual

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Lineage

Most of the bathymetry dataset has been acquired by ships having multibeam sonar systems under their hulls. The first survey in Geoscience Australia’s dataset was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Cook in July 1989 over the Great Barrier Reef and hundreds of surveys followed since then up to the present date. The dataset geographical extends is from 20 to 180 degrees East and +39 to -70.5 degrees South. It includes scientific surveys, transiting ships through Australian waters, academic surveys in neighbouring pacific countries, States coastal marine and LIDAR surveys. The Horizontal Datum is WGS84 UTM zones. The Vertical Datum is MSL. Use Limitation: This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

Parent Information

Extents

[-70.5, 39, 20, 180]

Reference System

msl depth (EPSG:5715)

Spatial Resolution

Service Information

Associations

Downloads and Links

Link to Bathymetry web page  

Source Information

Geoscience Australia (GA)