<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 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).

Two bathymetric surveys of Darwin Harbour were undertaken during the period 17 October to 07 November 2010 and 24 June to 20 August 2011 by iXSurvey Australia Pty Ltd for Darwin Port Corporation and Department of Lands Planning, and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport (NRETAS) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia (GA), the Darwin Port Corporation (DPC) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) using iXSurvey's and GA's Kongsberg EM3002D multibeam sonar systems and DPC's vessel 'Matthew Flinders'.

Established in 2018, AusSeabed is a collaborative national seabed mapping initiative focused on delivering freely accessible seabed mapping data and coordinating efforts to map the gaps across the Australian maritime region of responsibility. AusSeabed is driven by a cross-sector steering committee bringing together organisations from the government, academia and private sectors to ensure an inclusive and diverse representation of the seabed mapping community. The Annual Highlights Report presents the key achievements of the AusSeabed program over the 2020/21 financial year. The report is structured in five sections, the first four are aligned to the 2020/21 work plan objectives and the fifth highlights engagement activities over the past year.

The AusSeabed Marine Data Portal provides openly accessible seabed data to users. This report details the results and recommendations following a community survey on the portals functionality and usability. The report informs future development of the AusSeabed Marine Data Portal to ensure it meets end-user needs.

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 Annual Progress Report provides a detailed account of the progress made against the AusSeabed program activities planned for 2020/21. A summary of highlights can be found in the Annual Highlights Report. The detailed report presented here includes six sections: 1. Achievement summary 2. Annual financial statement 3. Detailed report 4. Key program learnings 5. Appendices providing details for various elements.

The GMRT-AusSeabed project aims to address the cost associated with processing, merging and reformatting of bathymetric data in marine modelling and management by enabling users to more easily create bathymetric maps. The project leverages two major existing initiatives, the AusSeabed Data Hub operated by AusSeabed and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography Synthesis (GMRT) operated by Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) and funded by the US National Science Foundation. GMRT-AusSeabed is seeking to deliver two core services that are relevant to this particular document: 1. Definition of an attributed point cloud for bathymetric data that is common across a wide range of bathymetric sensor platforms (multibeam echosounder, LiDAR, satellite, etc) 2. Develop additional user controls, primarily relating to data selection, that leverage the attributed point cloud for the creation of bathymetric maps. Within the bounds of the GMRT-AusSeabed project, this document provides: 1. A summary of the key points discussed within the second workshop, “Backend Storage”, 2. An overview of the toolkits being explored by the project for delivery of various capabilities 3. Outcomes and actions that are being moved forward with in the project. Workshop participants included representatives from Geoscience Australia, Australian Antarctic Division, University of Western Australia, and Guardian Geomatics. See <a href="https://www.ausseabed.gov.au/gmrt">https://www.ausseabed.gov.au/gmrt</a> for more information.

This video presents an introduction to the GMRT-AusSeabed project. The project will enable users to create their own seamless seabed maps using AusSeabed datasets. Through a cloud-based platform, users will be able to select, prioritise and merge available datasets together to then grid them at their preferred resolution (data allowing). The project will deliver a prototype platform in June 2022 that will focus on bathymetry data, but will seed future AusSeabed activities.

​The King Island North, Bass Strait, bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) onboard the M/V Pacific Quest during the period 28 January to 6 May 2021. This was a contracted survey conducted as part of the HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP). The survey area encompasses a region located north of King Island in Bass Strait, including the approaches to Phoques Bay, located at the NW extremity of King Island. Bathymetry data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM2040D and processed using QPS Qimera V2.0.1. The dataset was then exported to GeoTIFF using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software. This dataset contains a 30m-resolution 32-bit floating point GeoTIFF file of the bathymetry in the survey area. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.