Forster Pacific Palms Cape Hawke Seabed Survey: Bathymetry and Backscatter 2019

A NSW government survey acquired multibeam sonar data from March 2019 to August 2022. The dataset provides 5-meter resolution 32-bit floating point geotiff files of bathymetry and backscatter for the Forster Pacific Palms Cape Hawke area. It was created as part of the SeabedNSW program to establish a baseline and map seabed type distribution.

Use Cases

• Map seabed type spatial distribution based on the 5-meter resolution backscatter data.
• Establish baseline bathymetric models for coastal management based on the processed multibeam survey.
• Analyze seabed morphology changes over time using the high-resolution geotiff files.
• Support marine habitat classification projects based on the combined bathymetry and backscatter layers.

Strengths

• Data resolution is explicitly 5 meters.
• Survey period spans over three years from March 2019 to August 2022.
• Files are 32-bit floating point geotiffs, suggesting high precision.
• Processing details and standard operating procedures are documented via a provided URL.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description warns 'Not to be used for navigational purposes', indicating specific application constraints.

Provenance

Source

NSW government (Department of Planning and Environment – DPE)

Collection Method

Acquired onboard the Research Vessel Bombora using DPE’s R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar.

Time Range

01/MAR/2019 – 12/AUG/2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 13:54:33.398370; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Forster Pacific Palms Cape Hawke, NSW, Australia