Foundational geospatial data has impact far beyond the original purpose it was collected for. In Australia, bathymetry and other seabed mapping data has historically been patchy and collected at fine scales to meet specific needs. Bringing that data into regionally and nationally systematic composite datasets provides Australia with a common understanding to support Australia’s offshore planning, environmental stewardship, research, and growing blue economy.
As part of the Geoscience Australia-led (GA) Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative, the Offshore Mapping Project delivers regional and national bathymetric and seabed characterisation data products to help Australia make better decisions about offshore renewable energy, geological storage of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and groundwater resources.
The method for creating integrated bathymetry and topography datasets (the AusBathyTopo grids) was originally developed by GA and James Cook University to support the definition of Australia’s maritime boundaries. Those same datasets now not only support Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative objectives, but also enable a wide range of scientific and operational advances including understanding palaeogeography and human movements between continents; coastal hazard and hydrodynamic modelling of storms and extreme sea levels; and provides essential context for climate, atmospheric, fisheries and ecological research. By creating a consistent elevation dataset from mountain tops through to the deepest oceans, ABT grids support habitat mapping, survey design, and interpretation of marine species distribution.
This presentation will explore practical examples of the impact of these foundational datasets to support high-quality science and evidence-based decision-making across Australia’s marine and coastal domains above and beyond the instigating reason for their creation.