Tropical Shelf Seabed Geochemistry and Infauna Clusters from 2009/2010 Survey

The eastern Bonaparte Gulf was surveyed by Geoscience Australia in 2009/2010 to characterize seabed properties for biodiversity and infrastructure planning. The dataset comprises 124 samples with 74 physical and geochemical variables describing organic matter and sediment processes, analyzed using clustering methods. Results were presented at the GEOHAB conference in May 2014.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic biodiversity patterns based on physical and geochemical cluster groups.
• Assessing seabed geohazards and organic matter reactivity for infrastructure planning.
• Investigating cross-shelf biogeochemical transitions related to energy levels and sediment oxygen.
• Studying the influence of pockmarks on sediment chemistry and organic matter pools.

Strengths

• Includes 124 seabed samples with 74 measured variables, providing a multi-faceted view of the environment.
• Data integrates physical, chemical, and biological properties for a holistic seabed assessment.
• Clustering analysis directly links geochemical variables to infauna groupings and ecosystem processes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific 2009/2010 survey; temporal applicability to current conditions may be limited.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Seabed mapping surveys collecting physical, chemical, and biological samples.

Time Range

2009/2010

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-04 09:43:54.805399; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern Bonaparte Gulf, tropical Australia.