Australian Continental Shelf Sediment Mobility Predictions from Tidal Currents and Waves

Estimates of sediment threshold exceedance on the Australian continental shelf, predicting where unconsolidated sediment is mobilised. The data was produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network using predictions of significant wave height, wave period, and tidal current speed over a semi-lunar cycle. The dataset was last updated on 2026-05 04.

Use Cases

• Modelling sediment transport pathways based on predicted threshold exceedance areas.
• Assessing the relative importance of tidal currents versus swell waves for seabed disturbance.
• Mapping regions of potential seabed instability or habitat change for benthic ecosystems.

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, physically modelled process (sediment threshold exceedance).
• Covers the entire Australian continental shelf, providing a national-scale perspective.
• Examines sediment-entraining processes (tidal currents and swell waves) independently to quantify their relative importance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modelling.
• The description metadata is limited; actual data quality and resolution require manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Modelled using estimates of significant wave height, wave period, and tidal current speed.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is based on a semi-lunar cycle, but the specific period is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-04 23:18:04.610843; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian continental shelf