Darwin Harbour Seabed Habitat Maps from 2015-2018 Multibeam Surveys

Four marine surveys over 247 days mapped 1754 km² of seabed in Darwin and Bynoe Harbour using multibeam echosounders, sub-bottom profilers, and underwater cameras. This 1978 km² data package results from a collaborative program between Geoscience Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Northern Territory Government, funded by the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project. The baseline data provides new insights into tropical northern Australia's marine environments to inform resource management.

Use Cases

• Create habitat maps for marine resource management based on collated baseline environmental data.
• Analyze seabed features and processes in tropical northern Australia based on multibeam echosounder mapping.
• Inform future environmental assessments in the Greater Darwin region based on the acquired seabed and sampling data.

Strengths

• Covers a large, specific area of 1978 km², with 1754 km² mapped using multibeam echosounders.
• Data was collected over four dedicated marine surveys spanning 247 days between 2015 and 2018.
• Collaborative effort by three authoritative institutions: Geoscience Australia, AIMS, and the Northern Territory Government.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for certain analytical tasks.
• Data freshness should be verified despite the listed last update date of 2026-06-05.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (aggregator), with original data from Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Northern Territory Government.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Surveys conducted between 2015 and 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:30:45.756492; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Darwin-Bynoe Harbour region, Northern Territory, Australia.