Deep Sea Lebensspuren Features from Australian Margin Imagery

Thousands of high-resolution still images from the Eastern and Western margins of Australia document biological features on the deep seafloor. The Australian Ocean Data Network compiled these images into a Lebensspuren Directory to correlate features with abiotic factors and assess the technique's utility. The dataset record was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Correlate lebensspuren type and density with abiotic factors like depth and sediment type using feature classifications from the directory.
• Train image classification models to automatically identify lebensspuren features such as burrows, tracks, or mounds in thousands of still images.
• Assess the spatial distribution of biological activity by analyzing lebensspuren presence/absence data across the Eastern and Western Australian margins.
• Validate the use of lebensspuren quantification from still photographs as a proxy for broader deep-sea biodiversity and infaunal activity.

Strengths

• Analysis based on thousands of high-resolution still images.
• Covers a broad geographical area along both the Eastern and Western Australian margins.

Limitations

• Sample size (number of images or rows) is unspecified.
• Primary data formats are HTML and PDF, which may require extraction for computational analysis.
• The dataset focuses on specific Australian regions, limiting geographic generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data gathered from high-resolution still images taken along the Australian continental margin.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Record metadata was updated in April 2026.

Geography

Eastern and Western margins of Australia