Seabed Sediment Characteristics and Biodiversity in the Eastern Bonaparte Gulf

A 2009/2010 seabed mapping survey by Geoscience Australia collected 124 samples with 74 physical and chemical variables from the eastern Bonaparte Gulf. The dataset was used to characterize sediment properties, geohazards, and benthic habitats, with results presented at a 2013 conference. Different clustering methods were applied to analyze relationships between sediment geochemistry and infauna biodiversity.

Use Cases

• Classifying seabed habitats based on physical and chemical sediment variables.
• Modeling the influence of sediment grain-size and redox conditions on benthic biodiversity.
• Investigating the role of terrestrial seepage and authigenic mineral accumulation in outer-shelf sediments.
• Analyzing the relationship between specific geochemical signatures (e.g., Mn, As, P, δ15N) and the occurrence of sponge/gorgonian communities.

Strengths

• Dataset includes 124 samples with 74 measured variables per sample, providing a multi-faceted baseline.
• Analysis methods, including UPGMA clustering with a cophenetic correlation of 0.82, are documented.
• Survey had clear objectives to characterize physical, chemical, and biological seabed properties.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the single survey in 2009/2010.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Seabed mapping survey involving sample collection and laboratory analysis.

Time Range

2009/2010

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 06:06:07.474927; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern Bonaparte Gulf