Geomorphology of the Australian Margin and adjacent seafloor (National Geoscience Dataset)  

Authors / CoAuthors

Unknown

Abstract

The geomorphic features of the seafloor in the Australian Marine Jurisdiction were identified using the Australian Bathymetry and Topography dataset (Webster & Petkovic 2005). Twenty one feature types were identified and mapped for an area including the seafloor surrounding the Australian mainland and island territories of Christmas, Cocos (Keeling), Macquarie, and Norfolk Islands (Heap & Harris 2008). Some examples of these geomorphic features include: abyssal plains, trenches, canyons, and seamounts.

Product Type

dataset

eCat Id

77235

Contact for the resource

Keywords

• GIS Dataset

( Theme )

• marine

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

( Theme )

• DC2020

• Published_Internal

• HVC_144674

Publication Date

2013-08-21T00:00:00

Creation Date

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - restricted

Use - license

Status

Purpose

Maintenance Information

unknown

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Lineage

Initially, the geomorphic features were captured in 2002 as part of a program run by Geoscience Australia and the National Oceans office to create a spatial inventory of benthic habitats for Australia's marine jurisdiction. The original bathymetry database contained more than 200 million data points from 931 marine surveys (Petkovic & Buchanan 2002). A further 87.5 million data points were added for a later study by Heap & Harris (2008). These additional data points were extracted from the new bathymetry model of the Australian margin and adjacent seafloor (Webster & Petkovic 2005). The geomorphic features are defined by the International Hydrographic Office (IHO, 2001), with one additional feature identified as type 21 - Sandwave/Sand bank (Heap & Harris 2008). The geomorphic features were identified using a 250 m spatial resolution bathymetry model with reference to previously published geological studies. In most cases, the feature boundaries corresponded to already published boundaries or were defined based on obvious bathymetric features, supplemented by high-resolution seismic reflection and sedimentary data. Where appropriate, the feature boundaries and classifications are consistent with United Nations Law of the Sea boundaries. The identification of shelf valleys and submarine canyons on the continental slope was aided by the use of predicted drainage maps. All the features were identified on the contour and false colour maps and drawn by hand onto transparent compilation maps. When completed, the compilation maps were scanned, georeferenced and the separate polygons were digitised and stored as an ARC/GIS shape file. Care was taken where separate maps sheets joined to ensure that features were correctly identified and retained their identity across the boundaries.

Parent Information

Extents

[-60.0, -8.0, 92.0, 172.0]

Reference System

Spatial Resolution

Service Information

Associations

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