Marine survey data from BMR Cruise 107 describes seabed morphology and non-living resources around Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The dataset was collected in January 1992 aboard the RV Rig Seismic, initiated by a request from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It includes information on the island's geology, bathymetry, and phosphate deposits.
Use Cases
- Map seabed morphology based on bathymetric and geological survey data.
- Analyze offshore non-living resources based on descriptions of phosphate deposits and volcanics.
- Support maritime boundary delimitation negotiations based on seabed resource assessments.
- Study the geological uplift and structure of the Christmas Rise based on descriptions of oceanic crust and plate movement.
Strengths
- Dataset includes specific geographic coordinates and bathymetric depths (e.g., Java Trench >6500m deep).
- Description provides detailed geological context, including island area (140 km2) and phosphate production history (nearly 1,000,000 tonnes/year until 1987).
- Survey mission and date (January 1992) are explicitly stated.
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/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Marine survey conducted aboard RV Rig Seismic.
- Time Range
- Survey initiated January 1992.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-23 02:32:38.181506; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Christmas Island and surrounding seabed in the Indian Ocean.