BMR Cruise 107: Seabed Morphology and Offshore Resources around Christmas Island

Christmas Island, a raised atoll producing nearly 1,000,000 tonnes of phosphate rock annually until 1987, lies on oceanic crust 1600 km from Australia. This dataset from the Australian Ocean Data Network details a 1992 seabed resource study for boundary delimitation, focusing on the island's volcanic pedestal, limestone layers, and the surrounding 5000-6000 m deep abyssal plains. It likely contains survey data on seabed morphology and non-living resources from the research vessel RV Rig Seismic.

Use Cases

• Model seabed morphology based on bathymetric and geological survey data mentioned in the description
• Assess offshore mineral resource potential based on the described volcanic and limestone composition
• Support maritime boundary delimitation negotiations based on the study's stated purpose
• Study plate tectonics and uplift rates based on the described 7 cm/year northward movement of the Indo-Australian Plate

Strengths

• Study was conducted for a specific government request from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, indicating a defined purpose.
• Description provides specific geographic and geological context, including island dimensions (140 km2 area) and depths of surrounding features (Java Trench >6500 m deep).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in HTML and PDF formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Marine survey conducted by BMR using RV Rig Seismic.

Time Range

Study started in January 1992.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 17:37:58.197203; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Christmas Island and surrounding seabed in the Indian Ocean, including the Christmas Rise and Java Trench.