Sydney Harbour Sediment Samples for Benthic Habitat Mapping, 2003

Sydney Harbour sediment samples were collected and analyzed in August 2003 by Geoscience Australia and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation. The data documents the physical character and distribution of sediments to ground-truth multibeam sonar surveys and study benthic habitat classification. This work was part of the Coastal CRC's Coastal Water Habitat Mapping Project.

Use Cases

• Ground-truthing multibeam sonar survey data based on the description of sediment sample analysis.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of sediment physical properties as described in the sampling program.
• Classifying benthic habitats based on the relationship between sediment properties and acoustic backscatter waveforms mentioned in the report.
• Comparing sediment data with seabed geomorphology using existing swath bathymetry data as stated in the project goals.

Strengths

• Data collected by authoritative organizations Geoscience Australia and DSTO.
• Samples were collected for a specific, documented project milestone (CG1-03) in August 2003.
• Designed for integration with Reson SeaBat 8125 multibeam sonar data for validation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a single survey in 2003; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, from the Coastal CRC project.

Collection Method

Sediment samples collected during a survey, with analysis documented in a milestone report.

Time Range

August 2003.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 17:31:56.095170; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Sydney Harbour, Australia.