Franklin and Zeehan Marine Park fine-scale seafloor substrate mapping

Fine-scale bathymetry mapping was conducted in the Franklin and Zeehan Australian Marine Parks (AMPs) located off the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The primary objective of this mapping exercise was to map seafloor features of the shelf areas of these AMPs for the first time and to understand the distribution of benthic habitats and key sessile invertebrate species within these areas. Characterisation of the seafloor was undertaken in two phases. The first stage used multibeam sonar to comprehensively map the study areas, extracting bathymetry and backscatter products. This was followed by extensive ground validation undertaken by a panoramic stereo drop-camera system that also recorded the presence of dominant sessile invertebrate fauna as well as benthic/demersal fish species. This record describes and provides data access to the fine-scale substratum mapping extracted from the combination of multibeam bathymetry and video ground-truthing data. Access to the (1) bathymetry survey data; and (2) annotated seafloor imagery, are provided through the 'Download and Links' section of this record.