GEOMAT: Modelling of Continental Shelf Sediment Mobility

GEOMAT is a geological-oceanographic computer modelling project from a collaborative team including AGSO, the University of Tasmania, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and a Danish geodetic division. It uses tidal and swell-wave models to predict sediment mobilisation on the Australian continental shelf, defining six regions of relative wave and tidal energy. The work provides a process-based tool for understanding shelf sedimentary systems and has potential applications in marine planning and habitat mapping.

Use Cases

• Predicting sediment mobility patterns based on modelled wave and tidal energy thresholds.
• Regionalising the continental shelf into zones dominated by waves, tides, or mixed processes.
• Informing marine spatial planning and habitat mapping by explaining surficial sediment distributions.

Strengths

• Model outputs include specific, quantified predictions, such as swell waves mobilizing fine sand over 63.5% of the shelf.
• Based on a multi-year, collaborative project involving several authoritative institutions.
• Defines a clear, six-category regionalisation of shelf energy processes.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: no column names, row counts, or specific data formats are provided.
• The 'last updated' dates (2026) are inconsistent and appear to be future dates, casting doubt on metadata accuracy.
• The dataset's underlying files (HTML/PDF) suggest it may be a report rather than a structured, machine-readable dataset.

Provenance

Source

Collaborative project by AGSO, University of Tasmania, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (Denmark).

Collection Method

Computer modelling of tidal and surface ocean swell-wave processes.

Time Range

Model application period cited is March 1997 to February 1998.

Freshness

Last updated dates are inconsistent and implausible (2026-06-27, 2026-05-05).

Geography

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