Solitary Islands Seabed Bathymetry and Backscatter Survey, 2022-2023

The Solitary Islands Marine Park bathymetry survey was acquired by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment onboard the RV Bombora between 31 August 2022 and 31 July 2023. It provides a baseline dataset of seabed types using a R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar, funded by NSW government programs. The dataset contains 32-bit floating point geotiff files of bathymetry and backscatter in 5-meter resolution.

Use Cases

• Baseline seabed habitat mapping based on the described spatial distribution of seabed types.
• Coastal zone management planning based on the high-resolution bathymetry data.
• Marine park monitoring and assessment based on the baseline dataset.
• Geospatial analysis of underwater terrain based on the 5-meter resolution geotiff files.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a dedicated survey using a R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar.
• Provides 5-meter resolution bathymetry and backscatter geotiff files.
• Survey period spans nearly a full year from August 2022 to July 2023.
• Standard operating procedures and a survey report are referenced for methodological details.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is explicitly not to be used for navigational purposes.

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE), Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Acquired onboard the RV Bombora using a multibeam sonar, processed with Hypack, R2Sonic GUI, POSView, POSPac, Qimera, and FMGT software.

Time Range

31 Aug 2022 – 31 Jul 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 05:10:21.666278; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Solitary Islands Marine Park, NSW, Australia.