<p>This dataset measures the mean decadal warming rates of the sea surface temperature (SST) in 58 Australian Marine Parks (with the exception of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Park) over the past 25 years (1992 to 2016). They are derived from the Sea Surface Temperature Atlas of the Australian Regional Seas (SSTAARS). The field of “trend_d” represents the linear SST trend for March 1992 to December 2016. The unit of the warming rates is Celsius degree/per decade. <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

<p>This dataset provides the spatially continuous data of seabed gravel (sediment fraction >2000 µm), mud (sediment fraction < 63 µm) and sand content (sediment fraction 63-2000 µm) expressed as a weight percentage ranging from 0 to 100%, presented in 10 m resolution raster grids format and ascii text file.</p> <p>The dataset covers the eight areas in the Timor Sea region in the Australian continental EEZ.</p> <p>This dataset supersedes previous predictions of sediment gravel, mud and sand content for the basin with demonstrated improvements in accuracy. Accuracy of predictions varies with sediment types, with a VEcv = 71% for mud, VEcv = 72% sand and VEcv = 42% for gravel. Artefacts occur in this dataset as a result of noises associated predictive variables (e.g., horizontal and vertical lines resulted from predictive variables derived from backscatter data are the most apparent ones). To obtain the most accurate interpretation of sediment distribution in these areas, it is recommended that noises with backscatter data should be reduced and predictions updated.</p> <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

<p>This dataset contains identifications of polychaetes collected during surveys on the RV Solander in northern Australia: SOL4934 (27 August-24 September, 2009) , SOL5117 (30 July-27 August, 2010), SOL5463 (3-31 May 2012), and SOL5650 (12 September-6 October 2012). Sediment was collected with a Smith McIntyre grab or boxcore and elutriated over a 500um sieve. Elutriated material was then sorted back at Geoscience Australia, and all polychaetes were removed and sent to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT). Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson taxonomically identified each animal to the lowest possible level, differentiating species using established names and operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Specimens are lodged at the MAGNT. See relevant post-survey reports (GA Records 2010/09, 2011/08, 2012/66 and 2013/38) for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia. <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Australia has established a network of 58 marine parks within Commonwealth waters covering a total of 3.3 million square kilometres, or 40 per cent of our exclusive economic zone (excluding Australian Antarctic Territory). These parks span a range of settings, from near coastal and shelf habitats to abyssal plains. Parks Australia manages the park network through management plans that came into effect for all parks on 1 July 2018. Geoscience Australia is contributing to their management by collating and interpreting existing environmental data, and through the collection of new data. This includes compiling existing bathymetry datasets for select marine parks. This dataset includes a compilation of multibeam sonar bathymetry (gridded to 100 m spatial resolution) for Bremer Marine Park, in the South-west Marine Park Network. The park incorporates Bremer Canyon and adjacent smaller canyons that incise the continental slope and outer shelf. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

<p>Flythrough movie of Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve, southwest Western Australia showing bathymetry of Bremer Canyon, Hood Canyon, Henry Canyon and Knob canyon. <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

A stakeholder workshop for NESP Project D1 ¿Ecosystem understanding to support sustainable use, management and monitoring of marine assets in the North and North-west regions¿ was held at the University of Western Australia, Perth, on 21 April 2016. The objective of the workshop was to identify stakeholder information needs in the North and North-west regions and use these to guide research activities in Project D1. Stakeholders from State and Local Government departments, Industry, Fisheries, Conservation, and Indigenous groups each explained their priorities and issues in the North and North-west region, after which geographic focus, research scope, and data delivery needs were discussed across the group and prioritised through a post-workshop online survey. From a stakeholder perspective, the geographic focus of research should be prioritised towards Commonwealth Marine Reserves (particularly the Kimberly and Gascoyne areas) and areas under the highest pressure. Stakeholders considered that research in Project D1 should be targeted towards using predictive models to characterise and map benthic habitats and demersal fish species. There was positive feedback from Stakeholders regarding the Northwest Atlas as a platform for the communication of research outcomes and as a repository for information relevant to management of the regions, with a number of suggestions made for making information more readily searchable within that framework. Combined outcomes from the D1 Stakeholder Workshop and the earlier D1 Science Workshop will provide direction for future research within Project D1 and contribute to the National Prioritisation workshop with Project D3. <b>Citation:</b> R. Przeslawski,K.J. Miller,J.J. Meeuwig., <i>Ecosystem understanding to support sustainable use, management and monitoring of marine assets in the North and North-west regions - Stakeholder workshop report April 2016</i>, Report in Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Programme (NESP)

Australia has one of the world’s largest marine estates, but without some common and agreed standards, information collected may not be comparable with other areas or sectors. Due to the large geographic area, diverse flora and fauna, and range of environmental conditions represented by the Australian Marine estate, a single method of sampling is neither practical nor desirable (Bouchet et al. 2018, Przeslawski et al. 2018). For this reason, we present a standard approach for each of seven key marine benthic sampling platforms that were identified based on frequency of use in previous open water sampling and monitoring programs: Multibeam sonar (MBES), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), benthic Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs), towed video, grabs and box cores, sleds and trawls, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). n addition, we provide a field manual for pelagic BRUVs as a concept sampling method in pelagic ecosystems due to its similarity to benthic BRUVs. This field manual package aims to provide a standardised national methodology for the acquisition of marine data from a prioritised set of frequently-used sampling platforms (below diver depths) so that data are directly comparable in time and through space. This will then facilitate national monitoring programs in Australian open waters and contribute to the design of an ongoing monitoring program for AMPs. The long-term goal is to produce a set of manuals that is applicable to a broad range of users and to be prescriptive enough that all data are collected without unnecessary technical variation. Using an inclusive and collaborative approach, over 115 individuals from 50 organisations contributed to versions 1 and 2 of the field manual package, Version 1 of the field manual package was released in February 2018, and Version 2 was released two years later in June 2020. All original chapters were updated in Version 2 with stakeholder feedback, corrections, and updates where applicable. The chapter ‘Seafloor Mapping Field Manual for Multibeam Sonar’ was substantially changed in Version 2 to amalgamate it with the Australian Multibeam Guidelines which were released in June 2018 by AusSeabed, a nationally seabed mapping coordination program. The unified multibeam manual in Version 2 addresses stakeholder concerns about maintaining two separate SOPs for multibeam sonar. In addition, a new manual on ROVs was developed for the Version 2 package. The ROV was chosen based on findings from a report titled Scoping of new field manuals for marine sampling in Australian waters. One of the most notable changes for Version 2 was the development of an online portal for the field manuals (https://marine-sampling-field-manual.github.io). While Version 1 was released as static pdfs through the NESP Marine Hub website, Version 2 was released through GitHub. <b>Citation:</b> Przeslawski R, Foster S [Eds.]. (2020). Field Manuals for Marine Sampling to Monitor Australian Waters, Version 2. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub. Geoscience Australia and CSIRO. http:dx.doi.org/10.11636/9781925848755

This resource includes multibeam sonar backscatter data for Middleton Reef and Elizabeth Reef within Lord Howe Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia during the period 31 January to 6 February 2020 on the Australian Maritime College vessel, TV Bluefin. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania), NSW Department of Primary Industries, University of Sydney (Australian Centre for Field Robotics) and Parks Australia (Marine Park managers, Commonwealth Government). The purpose of the survey was to collect baseline information for benthic habitats within the National Park Zone (Middleton Reef) and Recreational Use Zone (Elizabeth Reef) of the marine park. These data will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the Temperate East Marine Park Network as part of its 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included seabed mapping using multibeam sonar (Kongsberg EM 2040C HD, 300 kHz), seabed imagery acquisition by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV Sirius and AUV Nimbus), sediment samples (grab) and imagery of demersal fish communities by baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). This dataset comprises two bathymetry grids derived from multibeam sonar data gridded at 4 mspatial resolution. A detailed report on the survey is available on the Marine Biodiversity Hub’s website (https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/reports; Carroll, A et al., 2020,. Australian Marine Park Baseline and Monitoring Survey: Post Survey Report, Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, Lord Howe Marine Park. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia

<p>Australia has established a network of 58 marine parks within Commonwealth waters covering a total of 3.3 million square kilometres, or 40 per cent of our exclusive economic zone (excluding Australian Antarctic Territory). These parks span a range of settings, from near coastal and shelf habitats to abyssal plains. Parks Australia manages the park network through management plans that came into effect for all parks on 1 July 2018. Geoscience Australia is contributing to their management by collating and interpreting existing environmental data, and through the collection of new marine data. “Eco-narrative” documents are being developed for those parks, where sufficient information is available, delivering collations and interpretations of seafloor geomorphology, oceanography and ecology. Many of these interpretations rely on bathymetric grids and their derived products, including those in this data release. <p>Geoscience Australia has developed a new marine seafloor classification scheme, which uses the two-part seafloor mapping morphology approach of Dove et al (2016). This new scheme is semi-hierarchical and the first step divides the slope of the seafloor into three Morphological Surface categories (Plain, <2°; Slope, 2-10°; Escarpment, >10°). This classification was applied to the portion of the Beaman and Spinnocia (2018) 30 m grid within the marine park. <p>Beaman, R.J. and Spinoccia, M. (2018). High-resolution depth model for Northern Australia - 30 m. Geoscience Australia. <p>Dove, D., Bradwell, T., Carter, G., Cotterill, C., Gafeira, J., Green, S., Krabbendam, M., Mellet, C., Stevenson, A., Stewart, H., Westhead, K., Scott, G., Guinan, J., Judge, M. Monteys, X., Elvenes, S., Baeten, N., Dolan, M., Thorsnes, T., Bjarnadóttir, L., Ottesen, D. (2016). Seabed geomorphology: a twopart classification system. British Geological Survey, Open Report OR/16/001. 13 pages. <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

<p>Australia has established a network of 58 marine parks within Commonwealth waters covering a total of 3.3 million square kilometres, or 40 per cent of our exclusive economic zone (excluding Australian Antarctic Territory). These parks span a range of settings, from near coastal and shelf habitats to abyssal plains. Parks Australia manages the park network through management plans that came into effect for all parks on 1 July 2018. Geoscience Australia is contributing to their management by collating and interpreting existing environmental data, and through the collection of new marine data. “Eco-narrative” documents are being developed for those parks, where sufficient information is available, delivering collations and interpretations of seafloor geomorphology, oceanography and ecology. Many of these interpretations rely on bathymetric grids and their derived products, including those in this data release. <p>Bathymetry grids <p>The bathymetry of the marine parks was created by compiling and processing Geoscience Australia’s bathymetry data holding gridded at the optimum resolution depending of the vessel’s sonar system. <p>The bathymetry of the park is illustrated by a panchromatic geotiff image, developed by combining the bathymetric data with a hillshade image. <p> Morphological Surfaces <p>Geoscience Australia has developed a new marine seafloor classification scheme, which uses the two-part seafloor mapping morphology approach of Dove et al (2016). This new scheme is semi-hierarchical and the first step divides the slope of the seafloor into three Morphological Surface categories (Plain, <2°; Slope, 2-10°; Escarpment, >10°). <p>Dove, D., Bradwell, T., Carter, G., Cotterill, C., Gafeira, J., Green, S., Krabbendam, M., Mellet, C., Stevenson, A., Stewart, H., Westhead, K., Scott, G., Guinan, J., Judge, M. Monteys, X., Elvenes, S., Baeten, N., Dolan, M., Thorsnes, T., Bjarnadóttir, L., Ottesen, D. (2016). Seabed geomorphology: a twopart classification system. British Geological Survey, Open Report OR/16/001. 13 pages. <p>This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.