AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
NESP MaC Project 1.12 - Mapping critical habitat in Yanyuwa Sea Country, 2021-2022 (CDU)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Mapping critical habitat in Yanyuwa Sea Country". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

Marra and li-Anthawirriyarra rangers seek to build on existing partnerships with CDU and JCU to map the intertidal habitats of the Yanyuwa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) and coastal areas connected to it, an area of profound importance to these communities and the marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC). Significant co-funding will be provided by the Mabunji Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and DAWE Migratory Species Section to conduct a large-scale mapping project that will inform Marra and Yanyuwa community decisions that underpin sustainable management and facilitate continued connection with sea country. Co-funding from NESP2 is sought to provide salary for data processing and reporting for these surveys. This project also leverages existing funding allocated to training, capacity building, community consultation and communication products committed to by the rangers, CDU, JCU, the Australian and the NT Governments.

Planned Outputs
 • Benthic survey data and habitat maps [spatial dataset]
 • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Tags: National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal (NESP MaC) hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NESP TWQ Project 4.2 - Oceanographic drivers of bleaching in the GBR: from observations to prediction, 2018-2020 (AIMS)

This project seeks to understand how local, regional and global oceanographic and meteorological processes influence the severity and spatial variability of thermally driven coral bleaching for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Torres Strait. All available relevant environmental observations of the recent bleaching events will be gathered to be more easily discoverable to researchers and managers via a gateway/summary webpage. The data will be used to assess how well the eReefs models are modelling the recent warming during bleaching events and then analyse the reasons behind the variations of bleaching response. 3D versions of remotely sensed bleaching products by NOAA and BoM will be produced and a seasonal prediction capability for marine heatwaves will be developed.

Tags: National Environmental Science Programme Tropical Water Quality (NESP TWQ) hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
A quantitative PMA-16S rRNA gene sequencing workflow for absolute abundance measurements of seawater microbial communities

This data collection consists of microbial count data from seawater microbiomes based on both flow cytometry and 16S rRNA copy numbers from droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) that were used to validate a framework for quantifying absolute abundance of microbial communities for use in downstream ecotoxicology modelling. Seawater was collected from the AIMS jetty (19&deg;16&prime;38.4&rdquo;S, 147&deg;03&prime;32.1&rdquo;E) and the relationship between cell counts and absolute 16S rRNA gene copy numbers was determined by preparing varying proportions of natural seawater and artificial seawater suspensions (natural seawater proportions of 100, 80, 60, 40, 20, and 0% of a total 500 mL sample, with ASW making up the remaining proportion).

For full methodological details please refer to the full research publication, Thomas et al. 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00741-2) its supplementary materials and the associated GitHub repository (GitHub - MarieCThomas/Quantitative-PMA-16S-rRNA-Gene-Sequencing-Workflow). Additionally, raw sequencing data can be found in the NCBI Sequence Read Archives under BioProject number PRJNA1176196.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Video surveys of long spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) barrens habitat, Bicheno, eastern Tasmania

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Bicheno region, and its 3 subsites: Denison, Governor  Island and Lodi.

Tags: 25 211001, Algal coverage, Centrostephanus rodgersii, Substratum type, Temperate Reef, Urchin barren coverage
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Mapping of selected areas of Cockburn Sound, Western Australia

In 2002, aerial photography of the Perth metropolitan coastal waters was purpose-flown to obtain high quality imagery of the benthic habitats. This imagery was used to map the coverage of vegetated areas in two selected areas of Cockburn Sound: Southern Flats and Eastern Shoal. Areas of relatively poor visibility, such as the Eastern Shelf, are difficult to map with confidence using these techniques. A ground-truthing survey was undertaken in 2004 to map the seagrass and reef habitats on the Eastern Shelf utilising sidescan sonar, towed video and spot dives.

Tags: Benthic habitat, Edgetech 272T 100kHz sidescan sonar, Halophila sp., Posidonia sp.
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Sights and soundings from the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Geoscience Australia's collaborative Antarctic Geoscience program provides scientific and strategic leadership on key national priorities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.&nbsp;&nbsp;

From February to April 2024 one of our scientists participated in an international marine expedition to the East Antarctic Ice Shelf along Australia's Antarctic Territory coast. The expedition aboard the Research Vessel <em>Polarstern</em> entitled "East Antarctic Ice Sheet Instability and its interaction with changes in Southern Ocean circulation - Part 3" (EASI-3), was the third of the EASI expeditions to investigate ocean–ice sheet interactions along the East Antarctic margin.&nbsp;



This talk presents the voyage highlights, including scientific exploration, seabed mapping, sonars, sediment sampling, ship life and wildlife, by inviting the audience into the world of an Antarctic expeditioner.&nbsp;



Tags: Antarctica, EASI-3, Earth Sciences, Outreach, Published_External, Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), Wednesday Seminars
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Merchant Vessel Xutra Bhum : a platform of the IMOS Ships of Opportunity – Sea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels Sub-Facility

The Merchant Vessel Xutra Bhum is a platform of the Sea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels Sub-Facility.
The vessel is a container ship (callsign HSB3402 ), 196 m length (beam 32 m, draught - 10 m). It performed regular transects around Australian coasts up to Singapore, with use of this ship for data collection now discontinued (April 2013).

SST data are processed from the hull-contact sensor SBE48 which is located in the bow thruster room at 8.5 m depth.

Observed data are 1-minute median SST values and are retrieved from the vessel once an hour and quality controlled at the Bureau of Meteorology. A daily file is available after 0100 UTC. High-resolution 1-minute median data are available in the delayed mode approximately every 3 months.

Tags: IMOS Platform | HSB3402 | Xutra Bhum, Oceans | Ocean Temperature | Sea Surface Temperature
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Bathymetry of Bremer Marine Park

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 data. This includes compiling existing bathymetry datasets for select marine parks. This dataset includes a compilation of multibeam sonar bathymetry (gridded to 100 m spatial resolution) for Bremer Marine Park, in the South-west Marine Park Network. The park incorporates Bremer Canyon and adjacent smaller canyons that incise the continental slope and outer shelf. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, bathymetry, bathymetry grid, marine, marine data
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Seabed Biodiversity Richness on the Continental Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: Fish communities using Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVS), 2003 - 2006 (MTSRF 1.1.5, AIMS, Source: AIMS)

This very large study is part of the Seabed biodiversity study, published in Pitcher et al. (2007). Its purpose was to quantify patterns in seabed biodiversity and inter-reefal environmental conditions throughout the GBR.

The study had three aims: (1) Assessment of seabed biodiversity on the continental shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and assessment of the use of biophysical data as environmental correlates of biodiversity and benthic communities; (2) Mapping bycatch and seabed benthos assemblages in the GBR Region for environmental risk assessment and sustainable management of the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery, and (3) Assessment of the performance of acoustic remote sensing for seabed mapping and as a surrogate for biodiversity on the continental shelf of the GBR.

These data are based on fish counts of 1150 baited remote underwater video system (BRUVS) sequences.

As part of the Reef Atlas project (now the eAtlas) the fish observations were interpolated over the whole GBR by Glenn De'ath using Generalized Additive Models with a Quasibinomial fit. This produced a gridded version of the dataset and is available as a KML.

Data unit:

Richness: number of species per BRUVS or per reef?

Tags: marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
KOMBI 001 2021 Long-term Passive Acoustic Data

This dataset contains long-term passive acoustic data (i.e. underwater sound recordings) collected from Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations (KOMBI) seafloor lander platforms and Mooring for Epipelagic Echo-sounding of Krill (MEEK) platforms. In 2021 an AAD Moored Acoustic Recorder was integrated into each of the three KOMBIs deployed during the TEMPO voyage. MARs contained a factory calibrated HTI hydrophone and AAD-calibrated electronics that recorded continuously producing hour-long wav files at 12 kHz sample rate 16-bit depth. The start date and time of each recording is embedded in the file name of each wav file (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd_HH-MM-SS). Passive acoustic recorders recorded low and mid-frequency sounds that may be used for investigation of physical environment (e.g. ice, wind, waves, earth), biological environment (e.g. animal vocalisations and sounds) and anthropogenic noise (e.g. sounds produced by ships, construction, and other human activities).

These data are for recorder 001 - also see the metadata records for recorders 002 and 003.

Tags: AMD, AMD/AU, CEOS, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > BIOLOGICAL AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > PHYSICAL AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > TOTAL AMBIENT NOISE, GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR, HYDROPHONES, KOMBI, MOORINGS, OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN, Passive Acoustic Recorder
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Temperate Australian quantitative spatial and temporal abundance data for rocky reef biota (biodiversity): Encounter Bay (SA)

The data is quantitative abundance of fish and megafaunal invertebrates and algal % cover derived from transect based counts at a wide range of locations across Temperate Australia. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. Methods were initially developed for research on temporal changes following protection in Tasmanian MPAs (Maria Is, Tinderbox, Ninepin Point, Governor Island). The data represented by this record was collected in MPA studies and surveys interstate, and was collected from Encounter Bay (SA). In many cases the dataset involved temporal replication (year scale).

Tags: Abundance - fish, Abundance - invertebrates, Carapace length - rock lobster, Fish size class, Percentage cover algal species, Shell length - abalone
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
East Antarctic Polynyas: Seal's data

This is a collection of data in East Antarctica from Southern Elephant seal's between 2004 and 2009. The monthly data set has been further classified by polynya and year. Additionally, we provide a dataset of the polynyas contours defined following a criteria of 75% of sea-ice concentration for each individual month between 2004 and 2019. Data are provided in .mat format

Tags: Antarctic data, Antarctic science, Marine ecology, Physical oceanography
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Beagle Marine Park bathymetry data 2018

This resource includes bathymetry data for Beagle Marine Park (Bass Strait) collected by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Institute for Marine &amp; Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania; UTAS) during the period 17 - 26 June 2018 on the RV Bluefin. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by GA and UTAS. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats in the Beagle Marine Park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the South-east Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2013-2023). Data acquisition for the project was completed during three separate voyages: Phase 1 - Seabed mapping by multibeam sonar; Phase 2 - Seabed imagery acquisition by Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, and sediment sampling; Phase 3 - Survey of demersal fish communities using Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs).  This dataset from Phase 1 comprises 11 bathymetry grids derived from multibeam sonar data gridded at 1 m spatial resolution, covering a combined area of 364 km2. A detailed report on the survey is provided in: Falster, G., Monk, J., Carroll, A., Siwabessy, J., Deane, A., Picard, K., Dando, N., Hulls, J., Nichol, S., Barrett, N. 2019. Australian Marine Park Baseline and Monitoring Survey: Post Survey Report, Beagle Marine Park South-east Marine Park Network. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, bathymetry
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Torres Strait Dugong distribution and relative density - Spatial model of aerial surveys from 1987 - 2011 (NERP TE 2.1, JCU)

This dataset shows a raster spatial model of the distribution and relative density of dugongs (Dugong dugong) in the Torres Strait region based on an aggregate of 24 years (1987 - 2011) of systematic aerial surveys. 

Aerial surveys were conducted using the strip transect method described by Marsh and Sinclair (1989). The survey region was divided into blocks containing systematic transects of varying length, which were typically perpendicular to the coast across the depth gradient. Tandem teams with two observers on each side of the aircraft independently recorded sightings of dugongs, including information on group size and calf numbers. Transects were 200 m wide at the water’s surface on either side of the aircraft. 

The spatial data from all the aerial surveys in the region (1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2006, and 2011) were corrected for differences in sampling intensity and area sampled between surveys. The corrected data was then interpolated using universal kridging over the spatial extent of the aerial surveys.

The modelled abundance and distribution show the relative density of dugongs (areas where there are more or less dugongs) and NOT the absolute dugong density as corrections for perception bias (animals that are available to, but missed by, observers) and availability bias (animals that are unavailable to observers because of water turbidity) can only be applied at the spatial scale of entire surveys (thousands of square kilometres), making them inappropriate for the spatial scale for this dataset. Nonetheless, the relative densities among regions should be approximately comparable (H. Marsh, personal communication).

Planning units were classified as low (1), medium (2), high (3) and very high (4) dugong density on the basis of the relative density of dugongs estimated from the models and a frequency analysis. Low density areas: 0 dugongs per square km; medium density areas 0.0015 - 0.25 dugongs dugongs per square km; high density areas 0.25 - 0.5 dugongs per square km; very high density areas &gt; 0.5 dugongs per square km.

The spatial model is 134x118 pixels with a pixel size of 2kmx2km and a spatial reference of WGS84 UTM Zone 54S. The original dataset is stored in ESRI GRID format (60 KB), which was converted to a GeoTiff for use in the eAtlas (26 kB). Both datasets are available under a creative commons attribution license.

Tags: Oceans | Marine Biology | Marine Mammals, Torres Strait, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Seagrass and associated benthic community data derived from field surveys at Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef 1997

The distribution of seagrass and associated benthic communities was mapped between the 29 July and 29 August 1997 on the reef and lagoon at Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef. For this survey, a total of 349 benthic survey points were examined by observers walking or free‐diving at survey points positioned approximately 50 m apart along a series of transects. To assist with mapping meadow boundaries, an additional 177 points were assessed and a 1:12,000 rectified aerial photo was commissioned (26th August 1997). A differential handheld global positioning system (GPS) was used to locate each point assessed. 127.8 ±29.6 hectares of seagrass was mapped.

Tags: Benthic habitat, Great Barrier Reef, reef, seagrass
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NESP MaC Project 1.14 - The role of dugong and turtle grazing in Torres Strait seagrass declines, 2021-2022 (JCU)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "The role of dugong and turtle grazing in Torres Strait seagrass declines". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

Dramatic declines in seagrass meadows in the Torres Strait Western Cluster were recorded in 2019 and 2020. These meadows are culturally important and represent significant foraging grounds for green turtles and dugongs. This project will use a short-term field study to investigate the role of megaherbivore grazing in two key locations where seagrass declines have been most dramatic. This project has been co-developed with the TSRA, Sea Rangers and Goemulgaw PBC in response to community concerns about seagrass declines and the implications for the totemic megaherbivores they support. The results will inform Traditional Owner led dugong and turtle management plans and help direct actions for remediation as required. 

Outputs
 • Field experiment assessing the whether reductions in seagrass cover at Mabuyag and Orman Reefs is due to grazing from Turtles and Dugongs. The experiment consists of cages over patches of seagrass that exclude grazers. The seagrass canopy and biomass is then compared with control patches [spreadsheet data].
 • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Tags: National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal (NESP MaC) hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Selective breeding and larval heat tolerance

Seeding reefs with heat tolerant corals could enhance reef resilience under climate change. Selective breeding is an intervention that might be used to generate heat tolerant corals for reef restoration. 

We estimated thermal thresholds for gravid colonies of two Acropora species from Moore Reef and Davies Reef on the Great Barrier Reef using the Sea Simulator In A Box experimental system on AIMS research vessel, the Cape Ferguson. Rankings of photochemical efficiency thermal thresholds were used to select broodstock and selectively breed offspring in the National Sea Simulator. We then tested the heat tolerance of the offspring using the laboratory facilities at AIMS. 

The collected data was analysed to evaluate: 1) whether a rapid heat stress assay can be used to identify heritable heat tolerance in coral populations and 2) whether there is a trade-off between coral heat tolerance and fecundity that could impact the efficacy of selective breeding.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
KOMBI 002 2021 Long-term Passive Acoustic Data

This dataset contains long-term passive acoustic data (i.e. underwater sound recordings) collected from Krill Observational Mooring for Benthic Investigations (KOMBI) seafloor lander platforms and Mooring for Epipelagic Echo-sounding of Krill (MEEK) platforms. In 2021 an AAD Moored Acoustic Recorder was integrated into each of the three KOMBIs deployed during the TEMPO voyage. MARs contained a factory calibrated HTI hydrophone and AAD-calibrated electronics that recorded continuously producing hour-long wav files at 12 kHz sample rate 16-bit depth. The start date and time of each recording is embedded in the file name of each wav file (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd_HH-MM-SS). Passive acoustic recorders recorded low and mid-frequency sounds that may be used for investigation of physical environment (e.g. ice, wind, waves, earth), biological environment (e.g. animal vocalisations and sounds) and anthropogenic noise (e.g. sounds produced by ships, construction, and other human activities).

These data are for recorder 002 - also see the metadata records for recorders 001 and 003.

Tags: AAD MOORED ACOUSTIC RECORDER (MAR), AMD, AMD/AU, CEOS, CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > BIOLOGICAL AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > PHYSICAL AMBIENT NOISE, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN ACOUSTICS > AMBIENT NOISE > TOTAL AMBIENT NOISE, GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR, HYDROPHONES, KOMBI, MOORINGS, OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN, OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > EAST ANTARCTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF, Passive Acoustic Recorder
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network