Seabed Sand Content Raster for the Australian Continental EEZ

Australian continental EEZ seabed sand content is provided as a spatially continuous raster at 0.01 decimal degree resolution, with values representing weight percentages from 0 to 100%. The dataset supersedes previous predictions with improved accuracy and was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network. It was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling sediment transport by analyzing spatial gradients in the sand percentage raster.
• Classifying seabed habitats using the continuous sand content values as a key environmental variable.
• Assessing regional sediment composition by aggregating raster values within specific EEZ sub-regions.
• Validating hydrodynamic models by comparing predicted sediment distributions against this observed sand fraction data.

Strengths

• Spatially continuous coverage of the Australian continental EEZ, including waters around Tasmania.
• 0.01 decimal degree raster resolution provides a detailed national-scale view.
• Supersedes previous predictions with demonstrated improvements in accuracy.

Limitations

• Accuracy varies and artifacts exist in regions with insufficient underlying sample data.
• Excludes seabed areas around several Australian territories and Antarctic jurisdictions.
• Not recommended for local-scale analysis where sample density is low.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Prediction and interpolation from seabed sediment samples, presented as a raster.

Time Range

2011

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026.

Geography

Australian continental Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including Tasmania. Excludes several offshore territories and Antarctic areas.