Between 2009-2012, Geoscience Australia conducted three surveys to Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and the Timor Sea on the R.V. Solander, in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Science and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The study areas overlapped the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve and the carbonate banks and terraces within it. The surveys were conducted as part of the Australian Government's Energy Security Program (2007-2011) and the National Environment Research Program (2011-2015). On the surveys, a benthic sled was deployed to collect biological samples from the seafloor. Samples were sorted onboard according to phylum, photographed and then sent to taxonomists for species-level identifications. This dataset provides a list of all identified sponge species. The associated image catalogue of collected sponges can be accessed here: https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/1216e0f4-099c-49f6-96f7-ed3eadc0cd15

Geoscience Australia has completed the first phase of an areal map of Australia's coastal geomorphological units. Utilising pre-existing GIS datasets procured from local, state and federal government agencies, this national scale map conforms to a coastal geomorphology classification scheme developed at Geoscience Australia. Phase one consists of a geodatabase containing a series of state wide feature datasets that have been reclassified into the national coastal geomorphology classification scheme.

The data set provides outlines for the maximum extent of geomorphic units for Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone, including the offshore island territories, but not the Australian Antarctic Territory. These data were compiled as part of Geoscience Australia's integrated digital information system to provide improved accessibility and knowledge relating to the environmental management of Australia's oceans resources. The geomorphic units are to be used as surrogates for benthic habitats and can be best applied to the construction of bioregionalisations of the seabed. The data set also includes the name of units in the attribute table, where known, the source(s) of the names, feature codes and province codes as well as the area and perimeter of each unit. The data are accompanied by Geoscience Australia Record 2003/30. Updated October 2006.

This data presents the results of seabed mapping and habitat classification surveys completed in Darwin Harbour during 2011 and 2013 as part of the Northern Territory Government's marine habitat mapping program. This research is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM) and the Darwin Port Corporation. Key objectives are to: - Produce detailed maps of the bathymetry and derived parameters such as slope and rugosity, - Classify the seabed into areas of hard and soft substrate, and, - Produce seabed habitat maps (or seascapes). Key outcomes from the surveys include: 1. Improved understanding of the seabed of Darwin Harbour. The main seabed geomorphic features identified in Darwin Harbour include banks, ridges, plains and scarps, and a deep central channel that divides into smaller and shallower channels. Acoustically hard substrates are found mostly on banks and are associated with rocky reef and sponge gardens, and are often overlain by a thin veneer of sandy sediment. In contrast, plains and channels are characterised by acoustically soft substrates and are associated with fine sediments (mud and sand). 2. Classification of physical seabed properties to produce a Seascape Map for Darwin Harbour. Six seascape classes (potential habitats) were derived using an Iterative Self Organising (ISO) unsupervised classification scheme. These six classes are related to statistically unique combinations of seabed substrate, relief, bedform and presence of sediment veneer (quite often inferred from presence of epibenthic biota).

This record describes a single aggregated dataset of the geomorphic habitat environment (facies) for Australia's 7 states and territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia. The classification system contains 12 easily identifiable and representative environments: Barrier/back-barrier, Bedrock, Central Basin, Channel, Coral, Flood- and Ebb-tide Delta, Fluvial (bay-head) Delta, Intertidal Flats, Mangrove, Rocky Reef, Saltmarsh/Saltflat, Tidal Sand Banks (and Unassigned). These types represent habitats found across all coastal systems in Australia. For the New South Wales region, 134 coastal waterways are described. Most of the estuaries of New South Wales are under intense land use pressure with approximately 80% of the State's population living near an estuary (NSW Dept of Land and Water Conservation) For the Victorian region, 54 coastal waterways are described. Most of the 54 coastal waterways have a "Modified" environmental condition (as opposed to "Near Pristine"), according to the National Land and Water Resources Audit definition. For the Tasmanian region, 88 coastal waterways are described. The majority of near pristine estuaries in Tasmania are located in the south and west of the State and on Cape Barren Island, according to the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. For the Queensland region, 213 coastal waterways are described. Southern and central Great Barrier Reef lagoon coasts have a broad spectrum of river, tide and wave- dominated estuaries. For the Northern Territory region, 63 coastal waterways are described. Estuaries on the northern Arnhem Land, Gulf of Carpentaria coasts are predominantly tide-dominated estuaries, which vary greatly in size and floodplain characteristics. For the South Australia region, 36 coastal waterways are described. Most of the 36 coastal waterways have a "Modified" environmental condition (as opposed to "Near Pristine"), according to the National Land and Water Resources Audit definition. For the Western Australia region, 103 coastal waterways are described. Western Australia has a diverse range of Estuaries due to different climates. Ranging from mostly "near pristine" and tide influenced estuaries in the north to "near pristine" wave dominated estuaries in the southwest region.