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 for surveys using hull-mounted multibeam sonar on multiple vessels. The resulting dataset allows exploration of seafloor topography at a 150-meter resolution across the search and transit areas.

Use Cases

• Analyze seafloor topography and geomorphology based on the 150-meter resolution bathymetry grid.
• Model underwater terrain for navigation and search planning based on the detailed hillshade overlay.
• Study the bathymetric features of a remote ocean region based on data collected along transit lines.
• Integrate multibeam sonar survey data from multiple vessels for a unified seabed map.

Strengths

• Covers over 710,000 square kilometres, providing extensive spatial coverage of the search area.
• Data was collected over a nearly three-year period (June 2014 to February 2017), offering temporal consistency for the survey.
• Includes a hillshade layer created with specific illumination parameters (45-degree azimuth and altitude) to enhance topographic 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.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, collected on behalf of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Collection Method

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

Time Range

June 2014 to February 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 15:12:58.497942; freshness should be verified

Geography

Southern Indian Ocean, specifically the MH370 search area and associated transit lines.