NESP D3 Hunter Marine Park Bathymetry: Multi-beam Sonar Surveys 2015-2019

Hunter Marine Park off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, contains gridded multi-beam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry data. The data was acquired by the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment aboard the RV Bombora, funded by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Biodiversity Hub in 2015 and 2018. Surveys focused on areas containing the Key Ecological Feature 'Continental Shelf Reef' near Seal Rocks and the Broughton Islands.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor topography and habitat based on gridded bathymetry data.
• Identifying and analyzing the distribution of 'Continental Shelf Reef' Key Ecological Features based on survey focus areas.
• Characterizing seabed habitats for marine park management based on the linked survey reports.
• Correlating bathymetric features with biological data from towed video and BRUVs mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data is linked to specific, published scientific reports (Davies et al 2016, Williams et al 2020) detailing methodology.
• Surveys were conducted over multiple years (2015 and 2018) with focused 100% coverage mapping in later years.
• Surveys targeted specific, ecologically significant features ('Continental Shelf Reef') within the marine park.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description metadata is detailed but technical; actual data structure requires inspection.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, originating from NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment and the NESP Biodiversity Hub.

Collection Method

Acquired via multi-beam echosounder (MBES) system aboard the RV Bombora.

Time Range

Surveys conducted in 2015 and 2018, with data published for 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:06:31.242270; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Hunter Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia, specifically areas east of Seal Rocks and the Broughton Islands.