Darwin Harbour Seabed Habitat Maps from Multibeam Surveys

A 1978 km2 seabed mapping program in Darwin and Bynoe Harbour regions, Northern Territory, Australia. The data was collected by Geoscience Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Northern Territory Government through four marine surveys conducted between 2015 and 2018. It provides baseline environmental data to inform marine resource management.

Use Cases

• Classify seabed habitat types using multibeam echosounder bathymetry and backscatter data layers.
• Analyze relationships between seabed features from sub-bottom profiler data and biological samples from grab samplers.
• Model sediment distribution and benthic community composition by integrating underwater camera imagery with grab sample results.
• Create baseline maps for environmental monitoring by overlaying habitat classifications with spatial survey boundaries.

Strengths

• Covers a large area of 1978 km2, with 1754 km2 mapped using multibeam echosounders.
• Data integrated from multiple instruments (multibeam, sub-bottom profilers, cameras, grab samplers) over 247 survey days.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column names, and data formats are not provided in the description.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to a four-year period (2015-2018), which may not reflect more recent changes.

Provenance

Source

Collaborative program by Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Northern Territory Government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Collection Method

Data acquired via marine surveys using multibeam echosounders, sub-bottom profilers, underwater cameras, and grab samplers.

Time Range

2015 to 2018

Freshness

null

Geography

Darwin and Bynoe Harbour regions, Northern Territory, Australia.