Carnarvon Shelf Marine Biodiversity Survey with Physical and Biological Data, 2008

A 2008 survey of the Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia, conducted by the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub aboard RV Solander. The report describes methods and datasets including multibeam sonar, sediment samples, underwater video, and plankton samples from three primary study areas. Additional processing of the physical and biological data is required before comparative analysis can be completed.

Use Cases

• Testing physical parameters as surrogates for benthic biodiversity patterns based on co-located data collection.
• Characterizing benthic communities based on interpretations of towed underwater video and still photography.
• Analyzing seabed morphology and composition based on multibeam sonar bathymetry, backscatter, and sediment grab samples.

Strengths

• Data collection was focused on three strategically selected study areas (Mandu, Point Cloates, Gnaraloo) representative of broader benthic environments.
• The survey collected high-quality, accurately co-located physical and biological data for robust analysis.
• The report includes initial interpretations of physical data and examples of encountered biota.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Additional processing of most physical and biological data is required before comparative analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, via collaboration between Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Geoscience Australia (GA).

Collection Method

Field survey aboard RV Solander as part of the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub's Surrogates Program.

Time Range

August and September 2008

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 20:52:47.351715; freshness should be verified

Geography

Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia, specifically Mandu, Point Cloates, Gnaraloo, and near the Muiron Islands.