Seabed Environments of the Eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

A 2009 survey collected detailed geological and biological data from the Van Diemen Rise in the eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. It covers four study areas with 100% multibeam sonar coverage over 1,154 square kilometres, supplemented by samples from 63 stations and 340 line-km of sub-bottom profiles. The dataset supports research into late-Quaternary evolution and relationships between physical environment and marine biota.

Use Cases

• Modeling late-Quaternary seabed evolution based on sedimentological and geophysical data.
• Investigating surrogacy relationships between physical environment and benthic community structure.
• Placing local biodiversity into a biogeographic context for the Arafura-Timor Sea region.
• Analyzing sediment transport patterns using collected oceanographic current data.

Strengths

• Provides 100% multibeam sonar seabed coverage for four distinct study areas.
• Integrates multimodal data from 63 sampling stations, including geological, biological, and novel geochemical assessments.
• Includes a substantial 1,154 square kilometres of sonar data and 340 line-km of sub-bottom profiles.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the source metadata.
• The dataset's primary collection occurred in 2009, which may limit relevance for contemporary dynamic processes.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one source lists the survey as SOL4934 in 2009, while others show a last updated date of 2026, suggesting possible reprocessing or metadata refresh without clear versioning.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science

Collection Method

Marine survey involving multibeam sonar mapping, station sampling, and oceanographic data collection.

Time Range

Survey conducted between 27 August and 24 September, 2009.

Freshness

2026-05-14 04:42:35.062355

Geography

Van Diemen Rise, eastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, northern Australia.