SI 1018: Bathymetric Survey of Torres Strait's Great North East Channel

Geoscience Australia's dataset contains a 30-meter resolution bathymetric grid of the Great North East Channel (South-West) in Torres Strait, Queensland. The data was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office by EGS Survey Pty. Ltd. between 26 January and 13 April 2022, using Kongsberg EM2040 multibeam sonar systems. Processed with QPS Qimera software, the final product is a 32-bit floating point GeoTIFF.

Use Cases

• Modeling seafloor topography and slope based on high-resolution bathymetric data.
• Planning marine scientific surveys by analyzing the detailed underwater terrain.
• Supporting geological and habitat mapping studies in the Torres Strait region.
• Providing a baseline for coastal and marine environmental management decisions.

Strengths

• High-resolution 30-meter grid derived from modern Kongsberg EM2040C and EM2040P multibeam sonar systems.
• Clear temporal coverage from a specific survey period (26 Jan 2022 – 13 Apr 2022).
• Dataset is part of a formal government program (Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program) with a stated contractor (EGS Survey).

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing, including license, author, file size, and row/column count for the grid.
• The dataset carries an explicit warning that it is not to be used for navigational purposes, limiting its application.
• Metadata freshness is inconsistent, with last updated dates ranging from March to April 2026 for identical descriptions.

Provenance

Source

Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO), data acquired by EGS Survey Pty. Ltd.

Collection Method

Contracted marine survey using multibeam sonar (Kongsberg EM2040C/P), processed with QPS Qimera.

Time Range

26 Jan 2022 – 13 Apr 2022

Freshness

Last updated dates range from 2026-03-07 to 2026-04-30 across entries.

Geography

Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia