Seabed Sediment Characteristics and Biodiversity in the Eastern Bonaparte Gulf, 2009-2010

Geoscience Australia conducted seabed mapping surveys in the eastern Bonaparte Gulf in 2009 and 2010. The dataset comprises 124 samples with 74 physical and chemical variables, analyzed to characterize sediment properties and their influence on benthic habitats. Results were presented at the AMSA2013 conference.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic biodiversity patterns based on sediment grain-size and geochemical variables.
• Identifying unique or sensitive benthic habitats using cluster analysis of physical and chemical properties.
• Investigating the influence of subsurface seepage on sediment geochemical signatures.
• Analyzing cross-shelf transitions in sediment composition, such as from Mn/As to P enrichment.

Strengths

• Dataset includes 124 samples with 74 measured physical and chemical variables.
• Analysis used UPGMA clustering with a high cophenetic correlation of 0.82.
• Results were validated by showing clusters discriminated infauna better than geomorphology-based clusters.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-04-30 12:59:59.313908; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Seabed mapping surveys involving sample collection and laboratory analysis.

Time Range

2009-2010

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:59:59.313908

Geography

Eastern Bonaparte Gulf