International Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Working Group's Seabed Geomorphology Classifier (ISGM-SGC)
<div>The International Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Working Group's Seabed Geomorphology Classifier (ISGM-SGC) is used to support the implementation of the ISGM marine and coastal mapping approach. Part 1 of this approach (Dove et al., 2020) is used to map and define the seabed shape using bathymetry and derivative data; Part 2 (Nanson et al., 2023; in press) classifies these shapes with their geomorphic interpretation.</div><div><br></div><div>ISGM-SGC implements the Part 2 geomorphic classification framework (including physiography) by classifying and attributing the geomorphology of mapped seabed features using a standardised nomenclature structure. Seabed geomorphology maps provide critical baseline information for a wide range of Ocean Economy stakeholders. To bring greater consistency and value to diverse mapping efforts, it is essential to standardise the terminology used to classify seabed features. To address this need, geoscience agencies from the United Kingdom (British Geological Survey), Norway (Geological Survey of Norway), Ireland (Geological Survey Ireland and University College Cork), and Australia (Geoscience Australia) formed the International Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Working Group (ISGM) and collaborated to develop a standardised, two-part approach to seabed geomorphology mapping. </div><div><br></div><div>ISGM-SGC was developed as an Esri ArcGIS Pro Python tool using Python 3+. ISGM-SGC assigns five levels of geomorphology classification attributes for selected seabed features. The tool is composed of a series of drop-down lists and several free text entries. Depending on the user choices at the drop-down lists of higher classification levels, options at the drop-down list of lower classification levels are updated accordingly. In addition, 16 additional attributes can be assigned to describe the geomorphic interpretation of selected features. </div><div><br></div><div>The system and data format requirements of ISGM-SGC are described in the tutorials and user guide that accompany the tool, which also include sampled data and step-by-step examples of their application. ISGM-SGC is designed to operate as a standalone GIS tool for the consistent application of the Part 2 classification framework, while also integrating with broader seabed geomorphology mapping workflows, including those supported by complementary tools developed for Part 1 morphology mapping (Arosio et al., 2024; Huang et al., 2023). Further details of this tool, including its description, graphic illustrations and example applications, are also available in its metadata. </div><div><br></div><div>Arosio, R., Gafeira, J., De Clippele, L.H., Wheeler, A.J., Huvenne, V.A., Sacchetti, F., Conti, L.A. and Lim, A., 2024. CoMMa: A GIS geomorphometry toolbox to map and measure confined landforms. Geomorphology, 458, p.109227.</div><div><br></div><div>Dove, D., Nanson, R., Bjarnadóttir, L., Guinan, J., Gafeira, J., Post, A., Dolan, M.; Stewart, H.; Arosio, R, Scott, G. (October, 2020). A two-part seabed geomorphology classification scheme (v.2); Part 1: morphology features glossary. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4075248</div><div><br></div><div>Huang, Z., Nanson, R., McNeil, M., Wenderlich, M., Gafeira, J., Post, A. and Nichol, S., 2023. Rule-based semi-automated tools for mapping seabed morphology from bathymetry data. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, p.1236788</div><div><br></div><div>Nanson, R., Arosio, R., Gafeira, J., McNeil, M., Dove, D., Bjarnadóttir, L., Dolan, M., Guinan, J., Post, A., Webb, J., & Nichol, S. (2023). A two-part seabed geomorphology classification scheme; Part 2: Geomorphology classification framework and glossary (Version 1.0) (1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7804019</div><div><br></div><div>Nanson, R., Arosio, R., Gafeira, J., McNeil, M., Dove, D., Bjarnadóttir, L.R., Dolan, M.F.J., Post, A., Nichol, S., Huang, Z., Guinan, J., Bialik, O.M., Webb, J., Wells, J. and Carroll, A.G. (in press). Coastal to deep-marine geomorphic classification: a standardised framework and review of terms to support globally consistent mapping. Earth-Science Reviews.</div>
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2026-02-13T11:00:00
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-02-23T00:15:11.036Z
- Citation identifier
- Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/150905
Identifier
- Cited responsible party
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Publisher Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Author Huang, Z.
Internal Contact Author Nanson, R.
Internal Contact Author McNeil, M.
External Contact Author Wells, J.
Internal Contact Author ISGM
External Contact
- Purpose
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ISGM-SGC aims to help the geomorphic interpretation and classification of seabed features by assigning geomorphology attributes and additional descriptive attributes.
- Status
- Completed
- Point of contact
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Resource provider Place and Communities Division
External Contact Point of contact Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Point of contact Huang, Z.
Internal Contact
- Spatial representation type
- Topic category
-
- Geoscientific information
Extent
- Maintenance and update frequency
- As needed
Resource format
- Title
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Product data repository: Various Formats
- Protocol
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FILE:DATA-DIRECTORY
- Name of the resource
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Data Store directory containing the digital product files
- Description
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Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes
- Keywords
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ArcGIS Pro
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- Keywords
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Seabed Geomorphology
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- Keywords
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Two-part Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Scheme
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- Project
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Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity
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Seabed
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Marine
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- theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
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Marine geoscience
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Geomorphology and earth surface processes
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- Keywords
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Published_External
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Resource constraints
- Title
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
- Alternate title
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CC-BY
- Edition
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4.0
- Access constraints
- License
- Use constraints
- License
- Other constraints
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© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2026
Resource constraints
- Title
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Australian Government Security Classification System
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
- Classification system
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Australian Government Security Classification System
Associated resource
- Association Type
- Informed
- Title
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Geoscience Australia's Semi-automated Morphological Mapping Tools (GA-SaMMT) for Seabed Characterisation
- Citation identifier
- 146832
- Citation identifier
- 3f1ac2d6-83ce-4260-9423-53b5c88dc574
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Distribution Information
- OnLine resource
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Download the tool (zip) [17.8 MB]
Download the tool (zip) [17.8 MB]
Distribution Information
- Distributor contact
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Distributor Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice
Resource lineage
- Statement
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<div>This is the version 1 of ISGM-SGC and was developed in Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the International Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Working Group. The tool was developed as an ArcGIS Pro Python tool for classifying seabed geomorphology (Nanson et al., 2023) and is aligned to updated decision trees presented in Nanson et al. (in press). </div><div><br></div><div>The latest development and future updates on the ISGM-SGC can be accessed from https://github.com/GeoscienceAustralia/ISGM-SGC.</div>
Metadata constraints
- Title
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Australian Government Security Classification System
- Edition date
- 2018-11-01T00:00:00
- Classification
- Unclassified
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
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urn:uuid/972b1eb7-ed25-4069-833e-c592dfc37875
- Title
-
GeoNetwork UUID
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Contact
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details Point of contact Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Voice Point of contact Huang, Z.
Internal Contact
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Software
Alternative metadata reference
- Title
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Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with uuid
- Citation identifier
- eCatId/150905
- Metadata linkage
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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/972b1eb7-ed25-4069-833e-c592dfc37875
- Date info (Creation)
- 2026-02-26T22:55:20.694Z
- Date info (Creation)
- 2026-02-23T00:20:39.134Z
- Date info (Creation)
- 2026-02-13T04:19:42.321Z
- Date info (Revision)
- 2026-02-26T22:55:40.251Z
Metadata standard
- Title
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AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
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ISO 19115-1:2014
Metadata standard
- Title
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ISO 19115-3
- Title
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Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014
- Edition
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Version 2.0, September 2018
- Citation identifier
- https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551
Product catalogue