MH370 Phase 1 Bathymetry: 150m Resolution Seafloor Maps of the Southern Indian Ocean

Over 710,000 square kilometres of seafloor data were collected to support the search for missing flight MH370. Geoscience Australia provided expertise for bathymetric surveys conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau from June 2014 to February 2017. This dataset provides a 150m resolution map of the search and transit areas, overlain on a hillshade for terrain visualization.

Use Cases

• Modeling underwater terrain and geological features based on the detailed sea floor topography.
• Analyzing seafloor morphology for scientific research using the 150m resolution bathymetry data.
• Visualizing ocean floor landscapes for educational or planning purposes using the provided hillshade overlay.
• Studying the bathymetric characteristics of a historically significant search area in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Strengths

• Covers over 710,000 square kilometres of the Southern Indian Ocean.
• Data was collected over a sustained period from June 2014 to February 2017.
• Provides a consistent 150m resolution grid for the entire search and transit area.
• Includes a derived hillshade layer created with specific illumination parameters for enhanced visualization.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The data is explicitly not to be used for navigational purposes, limiting its direct application.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, with data acquisition led by Geoscience Australia (GA surveys GA-4421, GA-4422, GA-4430) on behalf of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Collection Method

Bathymetric data acquired by multibeam sonar mounted on the hulls of multiple survey vessels.

Time Range

June 2014 to February 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 06:46:09.971894; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Search area and transit lines in the Southern Indian Ocean related to the MH370 search operation.