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  • This dataset contains hardness classification data from seabed mapping surveys on the Van Diemen Rise in the eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf of the Timor Sea. The survey was conducted under a Memorandum of Understanding between Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in two consecutive years 2009 (GA survey number GA-0322 and AIMS survey number SOL4934) and 2010 (GA survey number GA-0325 and AIMS survey number SOL5117). The surveys obtained detailed geological (sedimentological, geochemical, geophysical) and biological data (macro-benthic and infaunal diversity, community structure) for the banks, channels and plains to investigate relationships between the physical environment and associated biota for biodiversity prediction. The surveys also provide Arafura-Timor Sea, and wider northern Australian marine region context for the benthic biodiversity of the Van Diemen Rise. Four study areas were investigated across the outer to inner shelf. Refer to the GA record 'Methodologies for seabed substrate characterisation using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, and video data: A case study for the Eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Northern Australia' for further information on processing techniques applied (GeoCat: 74092; GA Record: 2013/11).

  • Geoscience Australia (GA) has an active research interest in using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter data and their derivatives together with geophysical data, sediment samples, biological specimens and underwater video/still footage to create seabed habitat maps. This allows GA to provide spatial information about the physical and biological character of the seabed to support management of the marine estate. The main advantage of using multibeam systems over other techniques is that they provide spatially continuous maps that can be used to relate to physical samples and video observations. Here we present results of a study that aims to reliably and repeatedly delineate hard and soft seabed substrates using bathymetry, backscatter and their derivatives. Two independent approaches to the analysis of multibeam data are tested: (i) a two-stage classification-based clustering method, based solely on acoustic backscatter angular response curves, is used to derive a substrate type map. (ii) a prediction-based classification is produced using the Random Forest method based on bathymetry, backscatter data and their derivatives, with support from video and sediment data. Data for the analysis were collected by Geoscience Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science on the Van Dieman Rise in the Timor Sea using RV Solander. The mapped area is characterised by carbonate banks, ridges and terraces that form hardground with patchy sediment cover, and valleys and plains covered by muddy sediment. Results from the clustering method of hard and soft seabed types yielded classification accuracies of 78 - 87% when evaluated against seabed types as observed in underwater video. The prediction-based approach achieved a classification accuracy of 92% based on 10-fold cross-validation. These results are consistent with the current state of knowledge on geoacoustics. Patterns associated with geomorphic facies and biological categories are also observed. These results demonstrate the utility of acoustic data to broadly and objectively characterise the seabed substrate and thereby inform our understanding of the distribution of key habitat types.

  • Acoustic remote sensing is the only effective technique to investigate deep sea bottom. Modern high-frequency multibeam echosounders transmit and receive backscatter signals from hundreds of narrow-angle beams which enlighten small footprints on the seabed. They can produce bathymetry and backscatter data with a spatial resolution around 2% of water depth, which enables us to map the seabed with great detail and accuracy. After calibration, the backscatter intensity is largely controlled by three seabed physical properties: the acoustic impedance contrast (often called hardness), apparent interface roughness (relative to acoustic frequency) and volume inhomogeneity [3, 4, 7]. These seabed physical properties are directly related to sediment grain size characteristics at the sedimentary areas. Studies showed that backscatter intensity had a moderate and positive correlation with sediment mean grain size [1, 3, 6]. Also, backscatter intensity was found to be positively correlated with coarse fractions and inversely correlated with finer fractions [2, 5, 6]. Other sediment grain size properties, especially sorting may also play important roles in the backscatter-sediment relationship [3, 5, 6]. The backscatter-sediment relationship, however, is complex in nature. Research is needed to better understand how acoustic sound interacts with sediment. This study aims to explore this relationship using a set of high quality sediment and multibeam backscatter data, and a robust spatial modelling technique. The co-located sediment and multibeam data were collected from four different areas of Australian margin which represent different sedimentary environments. Five hundred sixty-four sediment grab samples were taken from these survey areas. They were analysed in laboratory using the same procedure to generate grain size properties of %gravel, %sand, %mud, mean grain size, sorting, skewness and kurtosis. The multibeam data were collected using Kongsberg's 300 kHz EM3002 system. The raw multibeam backscatter was processed using the CMST-GA MB Process v8.11.02.1 software developed by Geoscience Australia and the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University of Technology. As a result, the backscatter mosaics from incidence angles of 1o to 60o, at an interval of 1o, were generated. The backscatter intensity values from these 60 incidence angles were extracted for all of the sediment samples. The machine learning model Random Forest Decision Tree (RFDT) was used to investigate the backscatter-sediment relationship. The seven sediment grain size properties were the explanatory variables. The response variable was the backscatter intensity from each incidence angle. The model performance was evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation. For incidence angles between 1o and 42o, the RFDT models achieved fairly good performance, with a percentage of variance explained around 70% (Figure 1). The model performance gradually decreased for the outer beam range (incidence angle > 42o). Mud content was consistently identified as the most important explanatory variable to the backscatter strength. The second most important explanatory was usually sediment mean grain size. The RFDT models were also able to generate predicted response curves to quantitatively investigate the relationships between the important explanatory variables and individual response variables. The predicted relationship between %mud and the acoustic backscatter intensity is shown in Figure 2. This indicates a negative but non-linear relationship, with the increase of mud content in the sediment, the backscatter intensity decreases. This finding is consistent with that of previous studies [2, 5, 6]. Fine sediment with high mud content not only is soft (e.g., low impedence contrast) but also has high acoustic penetration (e.g., high attenudation in sediment), which naturally incurs low backcatter return

  • This report is the second of three reports that provide the scientific analyses and interpretations resulting from a four-year collaborative habitat mapping program undertaken within the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour region by Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This program was made possible through offset funds provided by the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project to DENR, and co-investments from GA and AIMS.

  • Geoscience Australia carried out a marine survey on Carnarvon shelf (WA) in 2008 (SOL4769) to map seabed bathymetry and characterise benthic environments through co-located sampling of surface sediments and infauna, observation of benthic habitats using underwater towed video and stills photography, and measurement of ocean tides and wave-generated currents. Data and samples were acquired using the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Research Vessel Solander. Bathymetric mapping, sampling and video transects were completed in three survey areas that extended seaward from Ningaloo Reef to the shelf edge, including: Mandu Creek (80 sq km); Point Cloates (281 sq km), and; Gnaraloo (321 sq km). Additional bathymetric mapping (but no sampling or video) was completed between Mandu creek and Point Cloates, covering 277 sq km and north of Mandu Creek, covering 79 sq km. Two oceanographic moorings were deployed in the Point Cloates survey area. The survey also mapped and sampled an area to the northeast of the Muiron Islands covering 52 sq km.. 0308_carnarvon_shelf contains processed multibeam backscatter data of the Carnarvorn Shelf. The SIMRAD EM3002 multibeam backscatter data were processed using the CMST-GA MB Process, a multibeam processing toolbox co-developed by Geoscience Australia and Curtin University of Technology.

  • This report presents the results of seabed mapping and habitat classification surveys completed in Darwin Harbour during 2011 and 2013 as part of the Northern Territory Government's marine habitat mapping program. This research aims to provide baseline data on the existing marine habitats and characteristics of the Darwin Harbour region. It is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM) and the Darwin Port Corporation. Key objectives are to: - Produce detailed maps of the bathymetry and derived parameters such as slope and rugosity, - Classify the seabed into areas of hard and soft substrate, and, - Produce seabed habitat maps (or seascapes). Data collection was completed in two stages comprising a multibeam survey, undertaken on the MV Matthew Flinders in 2011 by DLRMs predecessor, the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport (NRETAS), GA, AIMS and the Darwin Port Corporation; and, a seabed sampling survey undertaken in 2013 on the MV John Hickman, by DLRM and GA. Data acquired from the surveys included continuous high-resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and acoustic backscatter, video and still camera observations of seabed habitats and biological communities, and physical samples of seabed sediments. Key outcomes from the surveys include: 1. Improved understanding of the seabed of Darwin Harbour. The main seabed geomorphic features identified in Darwin Harbour include banks, ridges, plains and scarps, and a deep central channel that divides into smaller and shallower channels. Acoustically hard substrates are found mostly on banks and are associated with rocky reef and sponge gardens, and are often overlain by a thin veneer of sandy sediment. In contrast, plains and channels are characterised by acoustically soft substrates and are associated with fine sediments (mud and sand). 2. Classification of physical seabed properties to produce a Seascape Map for Darwin Harbour. Six seascape classes (potential habitats) were derived using an Iterative Self Organising (ISO) unsupervised classification scheme. These six classes are related to statistically unique combinations of seabed substrate, relief, bedform and presence of sediment veneer (quite often inferred from presence of epibenthic biota). The results presented in this report demonstrate the utility of multibeam acoustic data to broadly and objectively characterise the seabed to describe the spatial distribution of key benthic habitats. This is particularly important technique in high-turbidity settings such as Darwin Harbour where the application of satellite and aerial remote sensing techniques can be limited. The results of this study will be used for the planning and analysis of data from upcoming benthic biodiversity studies as they: - Provide robust near-continuous physical variables that can be used to predictive modelling of biodiversity; - Provide high-resolution coverage of near-continuous variables that describe the key physical characteristic of the seabed of the harbour, and; - Enhance survey sample design by providing indicative locations of likely similar biology communities.

  • This resource contains backscatter data acquired during the WA Margins Reconnaissance survey, GA-2476 from October 2008 to January 2009 onboard the RV Sonne as part of the Energy Security Program. Almost 230,000 km² of multibeam bathymetry was acquired over the duration of the survey including all transits. Seafloor features revealed by the backscatter and swath bathymetry have shown that geomorphology of the study areas is diverse. The continental slope of the west Australian margin study areas is characterised by large areas with numerous deeply incised canyons and areas with low-angle slumps and scarps mostly on the upper part of the slope. Other geomorphic features on the continental slope include short escarpments of local extent and small volcanic peaks over the Houtman Sub-basin part of the Perth margin. New bathymetry from the Cuvier Plateau has mapped large volcanic domes, some of them with terraces, ridges, a large previously unmapped valley and two large seamounts (newly named the Cuvier Seamount and the Wallaby seamount). See GA Record 2009/38 (Geocat# 69606) for further details on processing methods.

  • Geoscience Australia undertook a marine survey of the Vlaming Sub-basin in March and April 2012 to provide seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of this sedimentary basin. The survey was undertaken under the Australian Government's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to help identify sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 within reasonable distances of major sources of CO2 emissions. The Vlaming Sub-basin is located offshore from Perth, Western Australia, and was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially highly suitable for CO2 storage. The principal aim of the Vlaming Sub-basin marine survey (GA survey number GA334) was to look for evidence of any past or current gas or fluid seepage at the seabed, and to determine whether these features are related to structures (e.g. faults) in the Vlaming Sub-basin that may extend up to the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota in the areas of interest to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This research addresses key questions on the potential for containment of CO2 in the Early Cretaceous Gage Sandstone (the basin's proposed CO2 storage unit) and the regional integrity of the South Perth Shale (the seal unit that overlies the Gage Sandstone). This dataset comprises high resolution backscatter grids.

  • This dataset contains backscatter variance data from seabed mapping surveys on the Van Diemen Rise in the eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf of the Timor Sea. The survey was conducted under a Memorandum of Understanding between Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in two consecutive years 2009 (GA survey number GA-0322 and AIMS survey number SOL4934) and 2010 (GA survey number GA-0325 and AIMS survey number SOL5117). The surveys obtained detailed geological (sedimentological, geochemical, geophysical) and biological data (macro-benthic and infaunal diversity, community structure) for the banks, channels and plains to investigate relationships between the physical environment and associated biota for biodiversity prediction. The surveys also provide Arafura-Timor Sea, and wider northern Australian marine region context for the benthic biodiversity of the Van Diemen Rise. Four study areas were investigated across the outer to inner shelf. Refer to the GA record 'Methodologies for seabed substrate characterisation using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, and video data: A case study for the Eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Northern Australia' for further information on processing techniques applied (GeoCat: 74092; GA Record: 2013/11).

  • This report is the first of three reports that provide the scientific analyses and interpretations resulting from a four-year collaborative habitat mapping program undertaken within the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour region by Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This 4 year program (2014-2018) aims to improve knowledge of the marine environments in the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour regions by collating and collecting baseline information and developing thematic habitat maps that will underpin future marine resource management decisions. This program was made possible through offset funds provided by the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project to DENR, and co-investments from GA and AIMS.