Southern Indian Ocean MH370 Search Area Backscatter Data 30m Resolution

The Southern Indian Ocean seafloor backscatter data was collected to support the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. Geoscience Australia provided expertise for bathymetric surveys conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau from June 2014 to February 2017, covering over 710,000 square kilometres. This dataset provides a 30-meter resolution view of the seafloor topography across the search and transit areas.

Use Cases

• Analyze seafloor hardness and sediment type based on backscatter intensity values.
• Map underwater geological features like ridges and valleys based on the detailed seafloor topography.
• Support planning for future underwater search or survey missions based on the mapped transit and search area bathymetry.
• Study seafloor habitat characteristics by correlating backscatter data with known biological zones.

Strengths

• Covers over 710,000 square kilometres of the Southern Indian Ocean.
• Provides seafloor data at a resolution of 30 meters.
• Data collection spanned nearly three years from June 2014 to February 2017.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, Geoscience Australia, Australian Transport Safety Bureau

Collection Method

Acquired by multibeam sonar mounted on the hull of multiple vessels.

Time Range

June 2014 to February 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 04:09:25.148272; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Indian Ocean, specifically the MH370 search and transit areas