Lord Howe Rise Benthic Habitat Data from 2003 and 2007 Surveys

1.6 million km² of Australia's exclusive economic zone consists of submarine plateaus, representing about 13.8% of the world's known inventory. This dataset presents results from two major marine surveys on the Lord Howe Rise plateau in 2003 and 2007, collecting biological samples, geological samples, underwater photographs, video, and multibeam sonar bathymetry. The collection of papers in this special volume represents a major advance in knowledge about plateau ecology.

Use Cases

• Classifying benthic habitat types based on collected biological and geological samples.
• Mapping hard/rocky substrates and volcanic peaks using multibeam sonar bathymetry data.
• Assessing ecological significance for conservation under UN CBD criteria based on described habitat features.
• Analyzing epifaunal assemblages and suspension feeding invertebrates from underwater photographs and video.

Strengths

• Covers a significant area, with Australia's EEZ containing 1.6 million km² of submarine plateaus.
• Includes multiple data modalities: biological samples, geological samples, photographs, video, and sonar bathymetry.
• Focuses on a specific, rare habitat type, with hard substrates covering around 31 km² of volcanic peaks.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the two specific survey years (2003, 2007).

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Results from two major marine surveys collecting samples, photographs, video, and sonar data.

Time Range

Surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 17:27:01.740767; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lord Howe Rise submarine plateau within the Australian exclusive economic zone.