Lord Howe Rise Benthic Habitat Surveys from 2003 and 2007

Geoscience Australia presents results from two major marine surveys on the Lord Howe Rise plateau in 2003 and 2007. The dataset includes benthic biological and geological samples, underwater photographs, video, and multibeam sonar bathymetry data. It documents habitats like hard rocky substrates covering volcanic peaks and seamounts that support significant epifaunal assemblages.

Use Cases

• Analyze multibeam sonar bathymetry data to map the seafloor topography of the Lord Howe Rise plateau.
• Classify benthic habitats from underwater photographs and video to identify hard rocky substrates and epifaunal assemblages.
• Assess geological samples from volcanic peaks and seamounts to understand substrate composition and formation.
• Evaluate benthic biological samples against UN CBD criteria for uniqueness, vulnerability, and naturalness.

Strengths

• Data originates from two dedicated marine surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007.
• Covers a significant feature, with Australia's EEZ containing 1.6 million km2 of submarine plateaus.
• Includes multiple complementary data types: biological samples, geological samples, imagery, video, and bathymetry.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column structures, and file sizes for the underlying data are unknown.
• Primary data access appears to be through an HTML format, which may not be structured for direct machine analysis.
• Temporal coverage is limited to two survey years, 2003 and 2007.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Collected during two major marine surveys involving sampling, photography, video, and sonar mapping.

Time Range

2003 and 2007

Freshness

Metadata last updated in March 2026, though the underlying survey data is from 2003 and 2007.

Geography

Lord Howe Rise plateau within the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)