Bathymetry of the Western Australian Margin from MH370 Search

Geoscience Australia collected high-resolution seafloor depth data to support the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Bathymetry survey vessels spent months scanning the southern Indian Ocean with multibeam sonar, revealing seabed features for the first time. The data was last updated on 2026-04-30.

Use Cases

• Generate high-resolution seafloor terrain visualizations based on multibeam sonar data.
• Plan safe underwater search operations based on detailed bathymetric maps.
• Analyze previously unknown seabed features in the southern Indian Ocean.
• Support marine geological research based on the revealed sea floor terrain.

Strengths

• Data was gathered over months at sea using multibeam sonar for detailed scanning.
• The high-resolution data revealed many seabed features for the first time.
• Produced by Geoscience Australia, a national geological authority.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified despite the 2026 update date.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Collected by bathymetry survey vessels using multibeam sonar.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 15:20:56.223516

Geography

Southern Indian Ocean, specifically the search area for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 off the western margin of Western Australia.