Gifford Marine Park Bathymetry and Seafloor Morphology Grids

30-meter resolution bathymetric grid for the Gifford Marine Park, part of Australia's network of 58 marine parks covering 3.3 million square kilometers. The dataset includes processed sonar data and derived morphological surface classifications based on a two-part seafloor mapping scheme. It was developed by Geoscience Australia in support of marine park management plans effective from July 2018.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor habitats based on bathymetric slope and morphological surface categories.
• Creating hillshade visualizations for marine park management and interpretation.
• Supporting ecological narratives by integrating bathymetry with oceanographic and biological data.

Strengths

• Data is gridded at a 30-meter resolution, providing detailed seafloor topography.
• Derived from Geoscience Australia's bathymetry data holdings, processed for optimal resolution based on sonar systems.
• Includes a new semi-hierarchical seafloor classification scheme (Plain, Slope, Escarpment) based on established research.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, contributed via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Compiled and processed from Geoscience Australia's bathymetry data holdings, gridded based on vessel sonar system resolution.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 10:17:45.858589; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gifford Marine Park, within Australia's Commonwealth waters network.