Seafloor Backscatter And Bathymetry For Cape Hawke, NSW

GeoTIFF files contain 5-meter resolution seafloor backscatter and bathymetry data for the Cape Hawke region near Forster, NSW. The dataset was collected by the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment using an R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar system aboard the RV Bombora. Survey operations occurred between March 2019 and August 2022 as part of the SeabedNSW program.

Use Cases

• Classify seabed types like sand, rock, or seagrass by analyzing spatial patterns in the 32-bit floating point backscatter values.
• Model underwater terrain and slope stability using the 5m resolution bathymetry raster to calculate depth gradients.
• Establish a baseline for monitoring coastal erosion or sediment transport by comparing future surveys against this 2019-2022 dataset.
• Correlate backscatter intensity with known substrate types to validate or train automated seafloor classification algorithms.

Strengths

• Data provides high-resolution 5-meter grid cells for detailed spatial analysis.
• Survey conducted over a multi-year period from 2019 to 2022, capturing seasonal or temporal variations.
• Processing pipeline documented with standard operating procedures and specific survey reports.

Limitations

• Specific row/column counts, file sizes, and exact spatial extent are not provided in the description.
• Data is explicitly not intended for navigational purposes, indicating potential positional uncertainties or gaps.
• License terms are unknown, which may restrict commercial or redistribution use cases.

Provenance

Source

New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

Collection Method

Data acquired via multibeam sonar from the RV Bombora and processed through Hypack, Qimera, and FMGT software.

Time Range

01/MAR/2019 – 12/AUG/2022

Freshness

Data reflects conditions from the 2019-2022 survey period; platform metadata indicates a recent update in April 2026, likely to metadata only.

Geography

Forster Pacific Palms Cape Hawke, New South Wales, Australia.