The dataset measures the long-term seasonal variations of the chlorophyll a concentrations of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the standard deviations of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is mg/m3. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

This resource includes bathymetry data for South-west Corner Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia during the periods 9 – 12 March 2020 and 27 January – 16 February 2021 on the charter vessel Santosha. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project with the University of Western Australia, the University of Tasmania and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (University of Sydney), and funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by all partners and the Director of National Parks. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats on the continental shelf in the marine park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the South-West Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for an area covering 330 km^2 (excluding transit) offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin coast, with underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish collected by the University of Western Australia on separate field deployments. This bathymetry dataset contains a 5 m resolution 32-bit geotiff file of the survey area produced from the processed Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software. For further information see: Giraldo-Ospina, A. et al., 2021. South-west Corner Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub.

This dataset measures the mean decadal warming rates of the sea surface temperature (SST) in 58 Australian Marine Parks (with the exception of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Park) over the past 25 years (1992 to 2016). They are derived from the Sea Surface Temperature Atlas of the Australian Regional Seas (SSTAARS). The field of “trend_d” represents the linear SST trend for March 1992 to December 2016. The unit of the warming rates is Celsius degree/per decade. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

The dataset measures the long-term seasonal variations of the sea surface temperature (SST) of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly SST images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the standard deviations of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is Celsius degree. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

The dataset measures the long-term seasonal means of the chlorophyll a concentrations of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the means of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is mg/m3. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

This resource includes seabed backscatter data for South-west Corner Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia during the periods 9 – 12 March 2020 and 27 January – 16 February 2021 on the charter vessel Santosha. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project with the University of Western Australia, the University of Tasmania and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (University of Sydney) and funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by all partners and the Director of National Parks. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats on the continental shelf in the marine park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the South-west Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for an area covering 330 km^2 offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin coast, with underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish collected by University of Western Australia on separate field deployments. This backscatter dataset contains a 4 m resolution 32-bit geotiff file of the survey area produced from the processed Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system data using the CMST-GA MB Process v15.04.04.0 (.64) toolbox software co-developed by the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University and Geoscience Australia. For further information see: Giraldo-Ospina, A. et al., 2021. South-west Corner Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub.

This resource includes backscatter data for Arafura Marine Park (Arafura Sea) collected by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science during the period 2 – 15 November 2020 on the RV Solander. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by GA and AIMS. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats in Arafura Marine Park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the North Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for two areas (Money Shoal and Pillar Bank), seabed samples and underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish. This backscatter dataset contains two 32-bit geotiff files of the backscatter mosaic for two survey areas produced from the processed EM2040C Dual Head system using the CMST-GA MB Process v15.04.04.0 (x64) toolbox software co-developed by the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University and Geoscience Australia. A detailed report on the survey is provided in: Picard, K. Stowar, M., Roberts, N., Siwabessy, J., Abdul Wahab, M.A., Galaiduk, R., Miller, K., Nichol, S. 2021. Arafura Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub (https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/node/4505).

This resource includes multibeam sonar backscatter data for Middleton Reef and Elizabeth Reef within Lord Howe Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia during the period 31 January to 6 February 2020 on the Australian Maritime College vessel, TV Bluefin. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania), NSW Department of Primary Industries, University of Sydney (Australian Centre for Field Robotics) and Parks Australia (Marine Park managers, Commonwealth Government). The purpose of the survey was to collect baseline information for benthic habitats within the National Park Zone (Middleton Reef) and Recreational Use Zone (Elizabeth Reef) of the marine park. These data will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the Temperate East Marine Park Network as part of its 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included seabed mapping using multibeam sonar (Kongsberg EM 2040C HD, 300 kHz), seabed imagery acquisition by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV Sirius and AUV Nimbus), sediment samples (grab) and imagery of demersal fish communities by baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). This dataset comprises two bathymetry grids derived from multibeam sonar data gridded at 4 mspatial resolution. A detailed report on the survey is available on the Marine Biodiversity Hub’s website (https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/reports; Carroll, A et al., 2020,. Australian Marine Park Baseline and Monitoring Survey: Post Survey Report, Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, Lord Howe Marine Park. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia

Australia has established a network of 58 marine parks within Commonwealth waters covering a total of 3.3 million square kilometres, or 40 per cent of our exclusive economic zone (excluding Australian Antarctic Territory). These parks span a range of settings, from near coastal and shelf habitats to abyssal plains. Parks Australia manages the park network through management plans that came into effect for all parks on 1 July 2018. Geoscience Australia is contributing to their management by collating and interpreting existing environmental data, and through the collection of new marine data. “Eco-narrative” documents are being developed for those parks, where sufficient information is available, delivering collations and interpretations of seafloor geomorphology, oceanography and ecology. Many of these interpretations rely on bathymetric grids and their derived products, including those in this data release. Geoscience Australia has developed a new marine seafloor classification scheme, which uses the two-part seafloor mapping morphology approach of Dove et al (2016). This new scheme is semi-hierarchical and the first step divides the slope of the seafloor into three Morphological Surface categories (Plain, <2°; Slope, 2-10°; Escarpment, >10°). This classification was applied to the portion of the Beaman and Spinnocia (2018) 30 m grid within the Kimberley Marine Park. This research is supported by the National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1. Beaman, R.J. and Spinoccia, M. (2018). High-resolution depth model for Northern Australia - 30 m. Geoscience Australia. Dove, D., Bradwell, T., Carter, G., Cotterill, C., Gafeira, J., Green, S., Krabbendam, M., Mellet, C., Stevenson, A., Stewart, H., Westhead, K., Scott, G., Guinan, J., Judge, M. Monteys, X., Elvenes, S., Baeten, N., Dolan, M., Thorsnes, T., Bjarnadóttir, L., Ottesen, D. (2016). Seabed geomorphology: a twopart classification system. British Geological Survey, Open Report OR/16/001. 13 pages.

The dataset indicates the seasonal primary productivity hotspots of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and August 2014 are used to identify the primary productivity hotspots of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The value (between 0 and 1.0) of the dataset represents the likelihood of the location being a primary productivity hotspot. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.