Multibeam Survey Standards for Australian Seabed Mapping

Australia's maritime jurisdiction of approximately 7,000,000 km2 has at most 25% of its seabed surveyed at high resolution. Geoscience Australia hosts raw and processed bathymetry datasets from 48 vessels and 26 multibeam sonar systems, leading to varied survey standards. This document provides standards and guidance for multibeam data acquisition and processing to improve consistency.

Use Cases

• Standardizing multibeam survey procedures based on the described mandatory checklist and deliverables.
• Processing multibeam data using Caris HIPS & SIPS software as detailed in the appendix.
• Handling data from Kongsberg EM series multibeam systems based on the provided specific details and tips.
• Improving efficiency in merging bathymetry datasets from varied survey standards as described.

Strengths

• Document references data from 48 vessels and 26 different multibeam sonar systems.
• Covers Australian Marine Jurisdiction of approximately 7,000,000 km2.
• Includes specific processing guidance for Caris HIPS & SIPS 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 may reflect geographic/temporal/source bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data collected by various vessels and multibeam sonar systems, hosted and curated by Geoscience Australia.

Time Range

Surveys conducted since at least 2001; document references status as of January 2013.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 01:48:20.170093; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian Marine Jurisdiction.