AGSO Cruise 210: Seafloor Swath-Mapping Survey off Eastern Tasmania, April 1997

From 10 to 17 April 1997, the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) conducted a swath-mapping cruise using the R.V. Melville. The survey aimed to map sea bed morphology and character off eastern Tasmania and in the Gippsland Basin using a SeaBeam 2000 multibeam sonar system, a magnetometer, and a gravity meter. The data was intended to aid tectonic, basin, and sedimentological studies, as well as the fishing industry and future geological sampling.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor morphology and roughness based on multibeam sonar swath-mapping data.
• Conducting tectonic and basin studies based on integrated bathymetric, magnetic, and gravity data.
• Aiding fisheries planning and habitat mapping based on high-resolution sea bed character data.
• Planning future seismic profiling and geological sampling campaigns based on the survey's foundational maps.

Strengths

• Survey employed high-accuracy navigation with military standard GPS providing about 5-meter accuracy.
• Used a SeaBeam 2000 system capable of mapping a swath 3.5 times the water depth, providing broad coverage.
• Integrated multiple geophysical instruments including multibeam sonar, a magnetometer, and a gravity meter.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a single cruise in April 1997; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO), via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Ship-based survey using the R.V. Melville, equipped with SeaBeam 2000 multibeam sonar, a magnetometer, and a gravity meter.

Time Range

10 to 17 April 1997.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:02:39.445494; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Areas east and northeast of Tasmania, including the deep water part of the Gippsland Basin.