High-resolution depth model for the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea - 100 m

Brief description

This dataset contains bathymetry products from the compilation of all available source bathymetry data within the Great Barrier Reef into a 100 m-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Coral Sea is the largest coral reef ecosystem on Earth and stretches over 2500 km along the north-eastern Australia margin. Bathymetry mapping of this extensive reef system is vital for the protection of the GBR allowing for the safe navigation of shipping and improved environmental management. Over past ten years, deep-water multibeam surveys have revealed the highly complex shelf-edge drowned reefs and continental slope canyons. Airborne LiDAR bathymetry acquired by the Australian Hydrographic Office cover most of the GBR reefs, with coverage gaps supplemented by satellite derived bathymetry. The Geoscience Australia-developed Intertidal Elevation Model DEM improves the source data gap along Australia’s vast intertidal zone. All source bathymetry data were extensively edited as point clouds to remove noise, given a consistent WGS84 horizontal datum, and where possible, an approximate MSL vertical datum.

This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded

Statement: GRID RESOLUTION: 0.001° (~100 m). TOTAL SURFACE COVERAGE: 3,000,000 km2. HORIZONTAL DATUM: WGS84. VERTICAL DATUM: Approximates mean sea level. DATA LIMITATIONS: AUSTRALIAN HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE NOTICE: Not to be used for navigation. Certain material in this product are reproduced under licence by permission of The Australian Hydrographic Service © Commonwealth of Australia 2010-2020. All rights reserved. This information may not be copied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form, in whole or part, without the prior written consent of the Australian Hydrographic Service. GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA NOTICE: This gbr100 DEM incorporates data which are © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2010- 2020. The Commonwealth gives no warranty regarding the data's accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose. This dataset has been compiled from a wide range of data sources of varying resolution and accuracy. The accompanying report contains an explanation of the various source datasets used in the development of the ~100m-resolution grid, called ‘gbr100’, and how the data were treated in order to convert to a similar Field Description file format with common horizontal (WGS84) and vertical (approximate mean sea level - MSL) datums. Descriptive statistics are presented to show the relative proportion of source data used in the new grid. The report continues with a detailed explanation of the pre-processing and gridding process methodology used to develop the grid. A description is also provided for additional spatial analysis on the new grid in order to derive associated grids and layers. The results section provides a short overview of the improvement of the new grid over the current Australian Bathymetry and Topography Grid (Whiteway, 2009). The report then presents the results of the gbr100 grid, and the derived map outputs as a series of figures. A table of metadata for the current source data (for V1) accompanies this report as Appendix 1. The report is available at: http://www.deepreef.org/publications/reports/67-3dgbr-final.html .

Notes

Purpose
This project aimed to develop a new high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and adjoining Coral Sea at a grid pixel resolution of 0.001-arc degree (about 100 m). A high resolution DEM is a critical 3D dataset required to accurately simulate water mixing and current flow within a whole-of-GBR scale hydrodynamic model. In addition, a new grid is required to improve the geomorphic detail about the location and spatial extent of seabed features for much of the GBR shelf and Coral Sea region. The new grid utilised the latest data sourced from ship-based multibeam and singlebeam echosounder surveys, airborne LiDAR bathymetry surveys, and satellite derived bathymetry data. A full description of the project is available at: http://www.deepreef.org/projects/48-depth-model-gbr.html