Multibeam Survey Acquisition and Processing Standards for Australian Waters

Geoscience Australia hosts bathymetry data from multibeam sonar surveys covering the Australian Maritime Jurisdiction of approximately 7,000,000 km2. The data originates from 48 vessels using 26 different multibeam sonar systems across 9 frequencies, leading to varied quality and processing challenges. This document provides standards, a mandatory checklist, and processing guidance for GA personnel and contractors to improve consistency and efficiency.

Use Cases

• Standardizing multibeam data acquisition procedures based on the provided mandatory checklist.
• Processing bathymetric data from Kongsberg EM series systems using the specific guidance in the appendix.
• Improving data consistency and merging efficiency for surveys conducted across different vessels and sonar systems.
• Training personnel on critical steps for multibeam survey acquisition and post-processing workflows.

Strengths

• Covers a vast geographic area of approximately 7,000,000 km2 within the Australian Maritime Jurisdiction.
• Draws from a diverse collection of sources, including data from 48 vessels and 26 different multibeam sonar systems.
• Provides specific, actionable guidance for processing using Caris HIPS & SIPS software and Kongsberg EM series data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data quality varies depending on the original survey objectives, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Aggregated from multibeam sonar surveys conducted by various vessels.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 08:02:43.649640; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian Maritime Jurisdiction.