South-west Corner Marine Park Seabed Backscatter Data at 4m Resolution

330 km^2 of seabed backscatter data for South-west Corner Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia in March 2020 and January-February 2021. The data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system and processed into a 4 m resolution geotiff. This baseline information supports a 10-year environmental monitoring plan (2018-2028) for the marine park network.

Use Cases

• Mapping seabed composition based on backscatter intensity data
• Establishing baseline habitat models for environmental monitoring as described
• Integrating with underwater imagery for comprehensive benthic community analysis
• Supporting marine park management planning over a 10-year period

Strengths

• Data covers a 330 km^2 area offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin
• Provides a 4 m resolution geotiff from processed multibeam sonar data
• Funded and collected by a collaborative project involving multiple universities and government agencies

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/temporal bias inherent to the specific survey periods

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, with collaboration from the University of Western Australia, University of Tasmania, and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics.

Collection Method

Data acquired using a Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system and processed with the CMST-GA MB Process toolbox.

Time Range

Survey periods: 9 – 12 March 2020 and 27 January – 16 February 2021.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 15:03:38.626886; freshness should be verified

Geography

South-west Corner Marine Park, offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin coast, Western Australia.