GEOMAT: Continental Shelf Sediment Mobility Models for Australian Marine Planning

GEOMAT modelling predicts swell wave energy mobilized fine sand over 63.5% of the Australian continental shelf during a one-year period. The project was conducted over two years by collaborators from AGSO, the University of Tasmania, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and a Danish geodetic division. It provides a process-based understanding of the shelf sedimentary system to support marine environmental management and engineering.

Use Cases

• Mapping biological habitats and communities based on predicted sediment mobility regions.
• Supporting marine engineering projects where shelf sediment mobilization is a concern.
• Informing regional studies of pollution dispersal and accumulation based on sediment transport processes.
• Assisting the National Ocean's Office regional marine planning process with predictive environmental data.

Strengths

• Models predict specific, quantified outcomes, such as fine sand mobilization over 63.5% of the shelf.
• The work defines six distinct shelf regions of relative wave and tidal energy, providing a structured classification.
• Collaboration involved multiple authoritative institutions, including a national geological survey and a meteorological bureau.

Limitations

• Data is presented in PDF and HTML report formats, not in a readily analyzable tabular or geospatial data format.
• The description mentions inclusion of estimated mean grain size is 'being undertaken,' suggesting the dataset may be incomplete.
• Row count, column definitions, and specific data file structures are unknown from the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Geological-oceanographic computer modelling combining tidal and surface ocean swell-wave models.

Time Range

Models reference the period March 1997 to February 1998.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:46:27.108483; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian continental shelf, with specific mention of the Great Australian Bight.