FK200930: Northern Great Barrier Reef Bathymetry from RV Falkor Survey

Fifteen geotiff files at 4m to 32m resolution contain bathymetry data from the Northern Depths of the Great Barrier Reef survey. The 47-day survey on RV Falkor in 2020 mapped the Cape York Peninsula region, Swain slide, and eastern Coral Sea reefs using Kongsberg EM302 and EM710 multibeam systems. Geoscience Australia published this dataset, which is not for navigational use.

Use Cases

• Model submarine canyon morphology based on high-resolution bathymetry data.
• Analyze underwater landslide debris fields based on mapping of the Swain slide.
• Map drowned reef structures based on geophysical mapping of the shelf edge.
• Fill data gaps between LIDAR and multibeam surveys based on mapping of steep reef slopes.

Strengths

• Data covers a frontier marine region with previously very little multibeam data.
• Survey collected backscatter and water column data in addition to bathymetry.
• Resolution ranges from 4 to 32 meters across fifteen geotiff files.

Limitations

• 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

Collection Method

Geophysical mapping using Kongsberg EM302 and EM710 multibeam sonar systems on RV Falkor.

Time Range

Survey conducted from September 30 to November 17, 2020.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 25 18:42:16.527194; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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