Crowdy Head Offshore Seabed Bathymetry and Backscatter, 2021

Multibeam sonar data from the Research Vessel Bombora, collected over 10 days in April 2021 by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. This dataset provides 32-bit floating point geotiff files of bathymetry and backscatter at a 5-meter resolution for the Crowdy Head area. It was created as part of the SeabedNSW program to establish a baseline and map seabed type distribution.

Use Cases

• Modeling underwater terrain and slope stability based on the 5m resolution bathymetry data.
• Classifying seabed substrate types (e.g., sand, rock) based on the backscatter intensity data.
• Establishing environmental baselines for marine park management based on the stated program goals.
• Integrating high-resolution seafloor data with other coastal datasets for habitat mapping.

Strengths

• Data was acquired using a specific multibeam sonar system (R2Sonic 2022) over a defined 10-day period.
• Provides both bathymetry and backscatter layers at a consistent 5-meter spatial resolution.
• Processing followed documented standard operating procedures and specific survey reports are available.

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.

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE), acquired via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Multibeam survey from the Research Vessel Bombora, processed with Hypack, Qimera, FMGT, and other software.

Time Range

20/APR/2021 - 30/APR/2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 00:00:30.681426; freshness should be verified

Geography

Crowdy Head Offshore, New South Wales, Australia