Multibeam Echo Sounder User Needs Survey: 103 Respondents

103 participants from 69 Australian and international entities responded to a survey on multibeam echosounder (MBES) data needs. The report, produced by FrontierSI, Geoscience Australia, and Deakin University, identifies 30 specific survey purposes across 10 application areas. It was published via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Designing survey planning tools based on identified user challenges and data discovery difficulties.
• Improving data sharing services based on the finding that 73% of participants reported willingness to share data.
• Prioritizing funding for seabed mapping programs like SEA 2400 and Seabed 2030 based on summarized user needs.
• Developing quality assurance frameworks for MBES surveys based on the reported use of existing specifications and guidelines.

Strengths

• Survey gathered responses from 103 individuals across government, private sector, and academia.
• Report identifies 30 specific MBES survey purposes across 10 general application areas.
• Data includes quantified participant behaviors: 56% were directly involved in MBES acquisition, 57% use existing specifications.

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.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Online questionnaire supported by two workshops.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 22:33:49.690087; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Primarily Australia, with some international participants.