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

Over 710,000 square kilometres of bathymetric data were collected from June 2014 to February 2017 to support the search for missing flight MH370. Geoscience Australia provided expertise, with data acquired via multibeam sonar from multiple vessels. This dataset allows exploration of seafloor topography at a 150-meter resolution across the search and transit areas, overlain on a hillshade layer.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor terrain for geological research based on the 150m resolution bathymetry data.
• Creating navigational aids for underwater exploration based on the detailed hillshade overlay.
• Analyzing the bathymetric history of a specific search operation area based on the multi-year survey data.

Strengths

• Over 710,000 square kilometres of spatial data coverage.
• Data collection spanned nearly three years, from June 2014 to February 2017.
• Provides a 150-meter resolution view of seafloor topography.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

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

Time Range

June 2014 to February 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:11:07.584051; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Search and transit areas of the Southern Indian Ocean