Geoscience Australia has released a new multibeam bathymetry dataset that provides improved understanding about the topography and nature of the seafloor of offshore Australia, an area which for the most part remains poorly mapped.

The 50m Multibeam Dataset of Australia 2012 is a tiled compilation of the entire multibeam dataset held by Geoscience Australia, including all data lying within the outer edge of the offshore area of Australia, as well as some data in international waters, as at August 2012.

“As national co-custodian of this extensive multibeam dataset, we hope this new accessibility will facilitate the use of bathymetry data in the wider mapping community,” said Dr Bruce Goleby, Group Leader of Innovation and Specialists Services at Geoscience Australia.

Bathymetry is the measurement or mapping of seafloor topography. One of the most accurate ways of collecting bathymetry data is through the use of multibeam echosounders which are acoustic ship-borne instruments designed to map the ocean floor.

The newly released dataset includes the multibeam data collected by the Australian Government, in addition to the numerous datasets that have been submitted from other institutions in the international scientific community, and that lie within and around Australian waters.

“The data has also been gridded to a resolution of 50 metres, which means in the areas where data is available, it can now been seen in more detail than the previous Bathymetric Grid of Australia released in 2009,” Dr Goleby said.

The dataset is available to download as individual tiles from the Geoscience Australia website, or the entire 50m Multibeam Dataset of Australia 2012 can be purchased for the cost of transfer from the Geoscience Australia Sales Centre.

Further collaborative work is also being undertaken with the Australian Hydrographic Office to collate a more detailed dataset of available coastal bathymetry data.