Great Barrier Reef Submerged Bank Habitat Extent and Depth

Geospatial data from the Great Barrier Reef quantifies the extent of near-sea-surface and deep coral reef habitats. The dataset indicates 16,110 km² of seabed is capped by near-sea-surface reefs, while 25,600 km² of submerged bank area represents potential deep reef habitat. This data was produced by researchers including Peter T. Harris and published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science in 2013.

Use Cases

• Modeling potential deep reef refugia for coral biodiversity based on submerged bank area.
• Assessing the spatial distribution of reef habitats along the continental shelf based on latitudinal data.
• Predicting suitable habitat for coral communities using the mentioned predictive habitat modelling results.
• Comparing the availability of near-sea-surface versus deeper reef habitats for conservation prioritization.

Strengths

• Provides specific area measurements: 16,110 km² for near-sea-surface reefs and 25,600 km² for submerged banks.
• Includes a mean depth estimate of around 27 meters for the submerged bank area.
• Covers the spatial extent of the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-04-20 02:13:09.981823; freshness should be verified as the underlying research is from 2013.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Likely derived from bathymetric surveys and predictive habitat modelling as described in the associated research paper.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:13:09.981823

Geography

Great Barrier Reef, Australia