Australia's Seabed Map 2023: 250m Resolution Bathymetry Grid

Australia's marine region from 92°E to 172°E and 8°S to 60°S, including areas around the continent, Tasmania, and several external territories. The map is a 3D picture of the seafloor compiled from 1582 individual surveys using multibeam echosounders, LiDAR, and other sources, representing decades of data collection. It is based on the revised AusBathyTopo 250m 2023 grid and is a significant improvement over the 2009 version.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor terrain for offshore infrastructure planning based on the 3D bathymetry data.
• Supporting area-based environmental management with regional-scale seabed context.
• Conducting scientific research on marine geology using the compiled multibeam and seismic data.
• Enhancing public education materials with a seamless land-sea transition map.

Strengths

• Compiled from 1582 individual surveys using multiple technologies like multibeam echosounders and LiDAR.
• Covers a vast area from 92°E to 172°E and 8°S to 60°S, including multiple Australian territories.
• Represents a significant improvement since the last revision in 2009, incorporating innovations like satellite data for coastline definition.

Limitations

• The 250 m resolution is only supported where direct bathymetric observations are sufficiently dense; in many regions, the grid size exceeds the optimal resolution of the input data.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The map is not suitable for navigation and does not replace products from the Australian Hydrographic Office.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Compiled from 1582 individual surveys using multibeam echosounders, single-beam echosounders, LiDAR, 3D seismic first returns, regional compilations, Electronic Navigation Charts, and satellite-derived bathymetry.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 03:34:10.191770; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia's marine region from 92°E to 172°E and 8°S to 60°S, including areas adjacent to the Australian continent, Tasmania, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Excludes areas offshore from Heard and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.