Kenn Plateau Marine Geology Survey with Seismic and Bathymetric Data

Geoscience Australia collected marine geological data from the Kenn Plateau off northeast Australia. The RV Southern Surveyor voyage gathered 3090 km of seismic data and 7584 km of bathymetric data, with limited rock sampling. The survey aimed to improve geological understanding of this frontier offshore region.

Use Cases

• Model subsurface geological structures based on the 3090 km of seismic data.
• Analyze seabed topography and sedimentary processes based on the 7584 km of bathymetric data.
• Build a geological history of the region based on the recovered ancient rock samples.
• Improve bathymetric maps of Australia's marine jurisdiction based on the swath-mapping results.

Strengths

• 3090 km of high-quality seismic data collected.
• 7584 km of bathymetric data collected using a SIMRAD EM 300 multibeam sonar system.
• Survey recovered the first ancient rocks from this large frontier offshore region.

Limitations

• Only 12 dredge hauls and one grab sample were obtained, limiting the rock sample dataset.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Marine survey conducted by the RV Southern Surveyor, involving seismic profiling, swath-mapping, and dredging.

Time Range

Voyage scheduled for November-December 2004.

Geography

Kenn Plateau off northeast Australia.