AUSTREA: Seafloor Mapping Surveys of the South-east Australian Marine Region

Two major seabed swath-mapping surveys, AUSTREA-1 and AUSTREA-2, were commissioned by the National Oceans Office and Environment Australia. The Australian Geological Survey Organisation completed these surveys in early 2000 to provide scientific information for Australia's Ocean Policy. The data covers the South-east Marine Region, including Lord Howe Island, Tasmania, the South Tasman Rise, and the Central Great Australian Bight.

Use Cases

• Creating baseline seabed maps for marine protected area (MPA) planning based on the survey's stated purpose.
• Analyzing seabed geophysical features for geological research based on the swath-mapping and geophysical survey description.
• Supporting the implementation of Australia's Ocean Policy based on the dataset's stated design objective.

Strengths

• Commissioned by two national government bodies (National Oceans Office and Environment Australia), suggesting official endorsement.
• Designed specifically to assist implementation of a national policy (Australia's Ocean Policy), indicating a clear purpose.
• Coverage includes multiple distinct regions (Lord Howe Island, South-east Australian Margin, Tasmania, South Tasman Rise, Central Great Australian Bight).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified; the surveys were completed in early 2000.

Provenance

Source

Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO)

Collection Method

Seabed swath-mapping and geophysical surveys

Time Range

Early 2000

Geography

South-east Marine Region and adjacent waters, including Lord Howe Island, South-east Australian Margin (includes Tasmania and South Tasman Rise) and Central Great Australian Bight