RV Investigator Antarctic Echosounder Data from Voyage IN2026_V01

Antarctic waters acoustic backscatter data collected by the RV Investigator's Simrad EK80 split-beam echosounders during the COOKIES voyage from January to February 2026. The dataset comprises 2435 raw files totaling 231 GB, logged continuously across six frequencies (18, 38, 70, 120, 200, and 333 kHz) to a maximum range of 4500 meters. Data are stored by CSIRO in .raw, .bot, and .idx formats and have not undergone post-processing.

Use Cases

• Estimate biomass and distribution of marine organisms based on acoustic backscatter.
• Study water column structure and scattering layers around Antarctica.
• Analyze acoustic data continuity across multiple frequencies for the duration of a voyage.
• Investigate deep-sea acoustic properties to depths of 4500 meters.

Strengths

• Data collection spans a continuous 55-day voyage from January 02 to February 25, 2026.
• Includes 231 GB of raw data across 2435 files, suggesting substantial volume.
• Acoustic data captured across six distinct frequencies (18, 38, 70, 120, 200, and 333 kHz).
• Maximum sampling range of 4500 meters provides deep-water coverage.

Limitations

• No post-processing has been conducted on this data, requiring significant user effort for analysis.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific voyage track.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Collected using Simrad EK80 split-beam echosounders aboard the RV Investigator.

Time Range

January 02, 2026 to February 25, 2026.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 03:13:00.615423; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctic waters, with transit legs around Antarctica.