Authors / CoAuthors
Heap, A.D. | Przeslawski, R. | Nichol, S.L. | Radke, L. | Battershill, C.
Abstract
Geoscience Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science are conducting seabed mapping surveys in northern Australia to generate regional baseline information on seabed environments. The data are being made available to Australia's offshore oil and gas industry to assess the wider significance of planned infrastructure developments designed to bring on regional gas reserves. In 2009 the first of these surveys focused on the Van Diemen Rise, a series of submerged carbonate banks and channels on the tropical, macrotidal northern Australian shelf. Data reveal a relatively complex seabed geomorphology comprising banks, terraces, plains, ridges, and deep/hole/valleys. Banks, terraces and ridges are characterised by partially-cemented coarse carbonate sands supporting species-rich sponge and octacoral communities.The plains and deep/hole/valleys are dominated by muddy fine to medium carbonate sands containing abundant polychaetes and crustaceans. The survey data will be combined with regional datasets to provide a synthesis of seabed environments for the northern Australian shelf. Follow-up surveys are planned for August 2010 and late 2011.
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
70272
Contact for the resource
Custodian
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
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- GA Publication
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- continental shelf
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- marine survey
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- marine biodiversity
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- marine
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2010-01-01T00:00:00
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geoscientificInformation
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