FK200930: Northern Great Barrier Reef Bathymetry at 4-32m Resolution

A 47-day survey from September 30 to November 17, 2020 collected bathymetry data in the northern Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. The dataset contains fifteen geotiff files at resolutions from 4 to 32 meters, produced from processed EM302 multibeam sonar data. It is published by Geoscience Australia with the objective of mapping submarine canyons, drowned reefs, and underwater landslides.

Use Cases

• Mapping submarine canyon networks based on high-resolution bathymetry data.
• Analyzing the extent and morphology of underwater landslides like the Swain slide.
• Identifying and characterizing drowned reef structures mentioned in the survey objectives.
• Filling data gaps between LIDAR and existing multibeam surveys around Coral Sea reefs.

Strengths

• Covers a frontier marine region with previously limited multibeam data.
• Includes data at multiple resolutions (4m, 9m, 10m, 16m, 32m) for analysis at different scales.
• Survey was conducted over 47 days with specific mapping objectives for distinct geological features.

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.
• The dataset explicitly states it is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Data acquired using Kongsberg EM302 multibeam sonar system on RV Falkor during the Northern Depths of the Great Barrier Reef survey.

Time Range

Survey conducted from September 30, 2020 to November 17, 2020.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:39:59.548447; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Great Barrier Reef, Cape York Peninsula region, Swain Reefs, and eastern Coral Sea Marine Park.