Marine Geospatial Data for the Indian Ocean, Including MH370 Search Bathymetry

Geoscience Australia's marine geospatial data includes bathymetry, backscatter, and marine sediment grids. It contains data from phases 1 and 2 of the multinational search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean, featuring 150 m and optimal resolution bathymetry, plus 5 m sidescan and synthetic aperture sonar data. The web service, last updated on 2026-06-27, allows exploration of seafloor topography compiled from multibeam sonar and other marine datasets.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor topography based on compiled multibeam sonar data.
• Analyzing backscatter and sediment data for marine habitat studies.
• Planning marine surveys using bathymetry coverage and priority area layers.
• Studying high-resolution sonar data from the MH370 search operation.

Strengths

• Includes specific high-resolution data (5 m sidescan sonar, synthetic aperture sonar) from a documented multinational search operation.
• Contains derived layers like bathymetry coverage information and planning areas.
• Compiles data from multiple sources including multibeam sonar surveys.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific search and survey missions.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Data collected via marine surveys, including multibeam sonar, sidescan sonar, and synthetic aperture sonar.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 20:33:25.954857; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Indian Ocean, specifically areas related to the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.