Towed Video Benthic Survey of Australian Shoals and Banks (2007)

14,936 records derived from 36 tows covering 31.51 km at 2.11m resolution, over depths from 4.0 to 499.0 meters. Classification of the benthos and substrate was based on 17 benthic classes and 6 substrate classes, with data collected by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Analyze benthic community composition based on the 17 recorded classes, such as Gorgonians (48.90%) and Hard Coral (22.25%).
• Map substrate distribution based on recorded classes like Sand (27.04%), Limestone (21.57%), and Rubble (16.72%).
• Assess habitat characteristics across a depth gradient from 4.0 to 499.0 meters.
• Validate or train models for automated classification of marine video transects.

Strengths

• 14,936 individual observation records provide a substantial sample size.
• High-resolution (2.11m) spatial coverage over 31.51 km of seabed.
• Detailed classification scheme with 17 benthic and 6 substrate classes.
• Covers a wide depth range from 4.0 to 499.0 meters.

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 bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Towed video survey

Time Range

30-Jul-2007 - 10-Aug-2007

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 17:24:24.665548; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Conway Shoal, East Warrego, Barcoo Bank, Karamea Bank, Long Shoal, Hamilton Island, HardGround, West Warrego, ZoneBoundary