A 2013 study from the Australian Ocean Data Network quantified submerged coral reef habitats in the Great Barrier Reef. It shows 39% of seabed on submerged banks is capped by near-sea-surface reefs (16,110 km²), while 61% (25,600 km²) is submerged at a mean depth of around 27 m. Predictive habitat modelling indicates more than half (around 14,000 km²) of this submerged area is suitable for coral communities.
Use Cases
- Modeling potential deep reef habitat distribution based on submerged bank area and depth data
- Assessing coral reef biodiversity resilience by comparing near-sea-surface and deep reef habitat extents
- Predicting suitable coral community habitats using the provided predictive habitat modelling results
- Analyzing spatial distribution of reef habitats along the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf
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 m for submerged bank areas
- Contains predictive modelling output indicating around 14,000 km² is suitable coral habitat
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 bias inherent to data_gov_au
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-16 14:28:49.158390; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Great Barrier Reef, Australia