North Wollongong Seabed Bathymetry and Backscatter Survey, 2017-2022

The North Wollongong bathymetry survey was acquired by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment onboard the RV Bombora between 13 August 2017 and 4 March 2022. It provides 5-meter resolution 32-bit floating point geotiff files of bathymetry and backscatter data for the Bellambi Point to Stanwell Park area. The dataset was created as part of the SeabedNSW program to establish a baseline and map seabed type distribution.

Use Cases

• Map seabed type spatial distribution based on bathymetry and backscatter data.
• Establish baseline seabed morphology for coastal management planning.
• Analyze underwater terrain features based on 5-meter resolution geotiff files.
• Support habitat mapping initiatives based on the survey's stated purpose.

Strengths

• Survey conducted over a 4.5-year period (13 Aug 2017 – 4 Mar 2022), providing temporal coverage.
• Data processed through multiple specialized software suites (Hypack, R2Sonic GUI, POSView, POSPac, Qimera, FMGT).
• High-resolution (5m) 32-bit floating point geotiff files for bathymetry and backscatter.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE)

Collection Method

Acquired using DPE's R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar onboard the RV Bombora.

Time Range

13 August 2017 to 4 March 2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 16:27:09.306640; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Wollongong, NSW, Australia (Bellambi Point to Stanwell Park)