Relevant Guidelines

Australian Multibeam Guidelines

Version 2 of the Australian Multibeam Guidelines, published in July 2020, merged the content of the original National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Multibeam field manual. This process eliminated duplication and reduces future maintenance of guidelines. The Guidelines are available online through the NESP Marine Sampling Field Manual Portal, presented below.

The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Field Manuals

The NESP Field Manuals for Marine Sampling to Monitor Australian Waters provide national standards for data acquisition. Version 2 of the manuals, published in July 2020, was developed to ensure that data collected by marine sampling platforms at different times and places across Australia are directly comparable. The manuals covers a number of key marine survey techniques including:

You can either browse the field manuals through the webpages, download discrete manuals as pdfs, or download a full version pdf.

AusSeabed Marine Data Portal User Guide

The AusSeabed Marine Data Portal User Guide provides users with information on commonly used functions in the AusSeabed Marine Data Portal (the Portal). The Portal is managed by Geoscience Australia and provides access to publicly available seabed-related datasets, such as bathymetry, backscatter, side scan sonar data and other marine-related or derived products (e.g. geomorphology), as well as a suite of analytical assessment tools to maximise the value of the data. The Portal allows users to explore and interrogate seafloor mapping products across Australia’s marine jurisdiction prior to downloading.

Satellite Derived Bathymetry Guidelines

The Satellite Derived Bathymetry (SDB) guidelines are intended to provide users of SDB sourced from the AusSeabed portal with the required knowledge to appropriately use SDB datasets. This is not a guide on how to produce SDB, rather a summary of the reliability and risks involved when using SDB for individual use cases.

The Hydrographic Standards Working Group (HSWG) of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) is currently (2022) developing a set of best practice SDB Guidelines. This guideline should be referend to in conjunction with these guidelines once available.

The guidelines have been developed by members of the AusSeabed community, and have undergone reviews by experts in the field. They are published with the endorsement of the AusSeabed Steering Committee.

ASB Product Specifications

The ASB Product Specifications can be found here.

Australian Sub-bottom Profiling Guidelines

The Australian Sub-bottom Profiling (SBP) Guidelines are intended to establish a standardised approach to the acquisition of SBP data in an Australian context. Developed by the AusSeabed community, the aim is to provide data acquirers and contributors with a guide to standardise quality and consistency in the collection and description of data, that will enable rapid publication and open access use of datasets by a range of end-users. The guidelines also include specific requirements for data and metadata formats for submission of SBP data to the AusSeabed program.

The Sub-bottom Profiling Guidelines complement a suite of Ocean Best Practice field manuals and guidelines developed with the AusSeabed community which include the Australian Multibeam Guidelines and the Australian Satellite Derived Bathymetry Guidelines.