Predicted Seabed Mud Content for Darwin Harbour, 10m Resolution

395 seabed samples and nine environmental variables underpin a 10-meter resolution grid predicting mud content for Darwin and Bynoe Harbour. Geoscience Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Northern Territory Government compiled surveys from 2011 to 2017 to create this baseline. Predictive accuracy for mud content is reported as very high, with a VEcv of 62% and a 198.3% improvement over a common interpolation method.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic habitat suitability based on predicted seabed mud content.
• Informing marine spatial planning and dredging operations using high-resolution sediment maps.
• Calibrating remote sensing models with ground-truthed sediment samples from 2011-2017.
• Assessing environmental change by comparing this baseline to future seabed surveys.

Strengths

• Predictive accuracy for mud is reported as very high with a VEcv of 62%.
• Model performance improved by 198.3% for mud compared to a commonly used method (IDW).
• Data is derived from a compilation of multiple surveys conducted between 2011 and 2017.
• Spatial predictions are provided at a 10-meter resolution.

Limitations

• Absences in predictions occur due to non-availability of associated predictive variables.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for some analytical tasks.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Collection Method

Predictions based on 395 samples and nine environmental variables derived from multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data.

Time Range

Surveys conducted between 2011 and 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:18:26.196319; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Greater Darwin Harbour and Bynoe Harbour region, northern Australian marine margin.