Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL)
The Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL) is a compilation of benthic habitat datasets obtained from various sectors including research, government, industry and community sources, across Australia. These disparate datasets have been integrated into a single national-scale benthic habitat database, and classified uniformly under a national classification scheme implemented as a controlled vocabulary ( https://vocabs.ardc.edu.au/viewById/129). Creation of this classification scheme complements work undertaken by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub (Theme D).
The Seamap Australia NBHL can be viewed, analysed and downloaded from the Seamap Australia data portal ( https://seamapaustralia.org/map) – a national repository of seafloor habitat data and a decision support tool for marine managers. The NBHL is supplied through Web Mapping Services (WMS) alongside relevant contextual information, in an interactive mapping portal. All habitat datasets in the Seamap Australia data portal, including the NBHL and all local- to regional-scale contributing datasets, are available for download.
The Seamap Australia NBHL is a data collection of national importance and highlights the diversity of benthic habitats across Australia’s marine estate. This is the first Australian habitat dataset that seamlessly consolidates data from each of Australia’s state and territory providers. This dataset should be considered a “live” asset and will continue to develop as more suitable validated habitat data becomes available for inclusion, and improvements in data collection and analysis techniques enhance its resolution and currency.
The most current (2024) version of the data is available from the following endpoints:
WMS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wms
WFS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wfs
Layer name: SeamapAus_National_Benthic_Habitat_Layer
A download link for the full dataset is supplied in the “Online resources” section of this record, along with download links to older versions of the dataset. Note that data is now only available in Geodatabase (.gdb) format as it exceeds Shapefile size limits.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Publication)
- 2017-03-06
- Date (Revision)
- 2024-07-08
Principal investigator
Collaborator
Collaborator
Collaborator
Collaborator
- Credit
- All marine data providers are listed in the Appendix of the report [see Online Resources section of this record].
- Credit
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS)
- Credit
- Australian National Data Service (ANDS)
- Credit
- Parks Australia, Australian Government
- Credit
- Seamap Australia would not have been possible without the contribution of source datasets from the following providers [see downloaded dataset for specific ownership details]: National • Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) • CSIRO • EOMAP • Geoscience Australia (GA) • National Environmental Science Program (NESP) • PTTEP Australasia NT • Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Northern Territory Government • Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (NEPWS), Northern Territory Government • Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM), Northern Territory Government NSW • Department of Primary Industries (DPI), New South Wales Government • Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), New South Wales Government QLD • Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing (DNPSR), Queensland Government • Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM), Queensland Government • Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Queensland Government • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Queensland Government • Department of Resources (DoR), Queensland Government • Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) • Griffith University (GU) • James Cook University (JCU) • UniDive (The University of Queensland Underwater Club) • University of Queensland (UQ) SA • Department for Environment and Water (DEW), South Australian Government TAS • University of Tasmania (UTAS) • Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) VIC • Deakin University (DU) • Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Victorian Government WA • Department of Environment Regulation (DER), Western Australia Government • Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW), Western Australian Government • Department of Water (DoW), Western Australian Government • University of Western Australia (UWA) • Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI)
- Status
- On going
Point of contact
- Spatial representation type
- Vector
- Topic category
-
- Boundaries
- Biota
- Oceans
Extent
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 1967-01-01 2024-04-01
- NASA/GCMD Keywords, Version 8.5
-
- EARTH SCIENCE | OCEANS | BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY | BATHYMETRY
- EARTH SCIENCE | OCEANS | BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY | BATHYMETRY | COASTAL BATHYMETRY
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS | WETLANDS | MARINE
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | BENTHIC
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | COASTAL
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | REEF | CORAL REEF
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | REEF
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | ESTUARY | SAV/SEA GRASS BED
- EARTH SCIENCE | BIOSPHERE | ECOSYSTEMS | MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | COASTAL | SAV/SEA GRASS BED
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- Benthic seafloor habitat
Resource constraints
- Use limitation
- DATA NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION PURPOSES.
Resource constraints
- Classification
- Unclassified
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- Website
-
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Cite data as: Lucieer V, Walsh P, Monk J, Flukes E (2024). Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL) 2024. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS).
- Other constraints
- The data described in this record are the intellectual property of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania. See downloaded data product for specific ownership of source datasets.
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Supplemental Information
- Butler, C., Lucieer, V., Flukes, E., Walsh, P., and Johnson, C (2017) Seamap Australia: A review of marine benthic habitat classification schemes and development of a national benthic classification model. Final Report to the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) High Values Collection #19. University of Tasmania. ISBN: 978-1-925646-62-7 Lucieer, V., Barrett, N., Butler, C. et al. A seafloor habitat map for the Australian continental shelf. Sci Data 6, 120 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0126-2
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
- Name
- Benthic seafloor habitat
- Name
- NAT_HAB_CL
Identifier
Distribution Information
- Distribution format
-
- Geodatabase (.gdb)
- OnLine resource
- README - instructions for data download [.txt]
- OnLine resource
- INFO - Seamap Australia column descriptions [.docx]
- OnLine resource
- DATA ACCESS OPTION 1 [recommended] - zipped Geodatabase (.gdb) format [direct download ~710MB]
- OnLine resource
- DATA ACCESS OPTION 2 - CSV format via OGW WFS service
- OnLine resource
- View changelog for latest version of dataset
- OnLine resource
-
seamap:SeamapAus_National_Benthic_Habitat_Layer
MAP - Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer 2024
OnLine resource
- Protocol
- OGC:WFS-1.0.0-http-get-feature--shapefile
- Name of the resource
- SHAPE-ZIP
- Description
- DATA ACCESS - Subsettable OGC WFS for the dataset.
- Function
Resource lineage
- Statement
- A full report outlining the methods utilised to create the Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer is available online at https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Seamap-Australia-Report_18_12_11.pdf In brief: source datasets were assessed for suitability by considering collection and analysis methodology to derive the habitat maps. Data Acceptance Guidelines (see https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SeamapAustraliaDataAcceptanceGuidelines.pdf) stipulate the minimum quality requirements for data to be considered for inclusion in the NBHL. All source datasets meeting minimum quality requirements were classified according to the Seamap Australia Classification Scheme (see https://seamapaustralia.org/resources/classification/ for a visual guide). The original classification is retained and can be identified on a per-polygon basis within the full dataset. Source datasets were prioritised according to currency, collection methodology, spatial and taxonomic resolution, and combined into a single dataset using GIS tools ERASE, MERGE and UNION (ArcGIS). Note that the Seamap Australia Classification Scheme has separate biotic and substratum components, which may be contributed from different source datasets. The dataset was then dissolved into multipolygons and basic spatial cleaning was performed (INTERSECT and DELETE IDENTICAL to remove overlapping polygons, INTEGRATE 0.1m, REPAIR GEOMETRY). See https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Updating_Seamap_NBHL_v1.0.pdf for full methodology outlining the update process.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Process step
- Description
- This parent record contains links to all the component data records which have been used to synthesise the Seamap Australia NBHL.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- research vessel
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- research aeroplane
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- human
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
- urn:uuid/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Point of contact
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Collection session
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2021-06-16T23:33:04
- Date info (Revision)
- 2024-09-11T17:33:15
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018