Benthic Environments of Lord Howe Rise Plateau from 2003 and 2007 Surveys

Australia's exclusive economic zone contains 1.6 million km² of submarine plateaus, about 13.8% of the world's known inventory. This special volume presents results from marine surveys on the Lord Howe Rise plateau in 2003 and 2007, collecting biological samples, underwater photos, video, and sonar bathymetry. The work represents a major advance in knowledge about benthic habitats on plateaus, coordinated by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Mapping benthic habitat types based on collected biological and geological samples.
• Assessing ecological significance of hard/rocky substrates for suspension feeding invertebrates.
• Analyzing seafloor morphology and features using multibeam sonar bathymetry data.
• Studying the distribution and rarity of benthic ecosystems on submarine plateaus.

Strengths

• Data originates from two major marine surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007, providing a temporal snapshot.
• Includes multiple data modalities: biological samples, geological samples, underwater photographs, video, and multibeam sonar bathymetry.
• Focuses on a specific and significant geographic area: the Lord Howe Rise plateau within Australia's EEZ.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Results from two major marine surveys involving sample collection, photography, video, and sonar mapping.

Time Range

Surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 16:32:18.053916; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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