Towed Video transects + Digital StillsSloVid Digital StillsCTDBRUVSSBRUVSEcho SounderDrone ImagerySediment Samples (CSIRO) ARP7 Reefs Trip 6684To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital Stills SloVid Digital Stills CTD BRUVS SBRUVS Echo Sounder Wave Glider Sediment Samples (CSIRO) ARP7 Reefs Trip 6823 To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital Stills SloVid Digital Stills Shallow and Deepwater BRUVs CTD casts Multibeam sonar ARP7 Reefs Trip 6903 To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas around Browse Island and its deeper waters. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated seasonally for two years, for the status of key biodiversity indicator habitats around Browse Island.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsCTDSBRUVS ARP7 Shoals Trip 6429To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas on the two named shoals in the Browse Basin closest to the Prelude/Ichthys operational wells. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated annually, for the status of key biodiversity indicators habitats at Echuca and Heywood Shoals.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsCTDSBRUVS ARP7 Shoals Trip 6079To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas on the two named shoals in the Browse Basin closest to the Prelude/Ichthys operational wells. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated annually, for the status of key biodiversity indicators habitats at Echuca and Heywood Shoals.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsStereo BRUVSMultibeamSmith And McIntyre sediment grabsPanda Cam (drop cam)CTD A seabed biodiversity survey was conducted north of Darwin during an 18 day voyage, 13 September -1 October 2015, on the RV Solander. Areas identified for assessment included two mid-shelf regions and three submerged shoals. Multibeam and towed video were used at all locations to map the seabed and classify seabed habitats. At the shoals additional sampling of biodiversity, specifically the fish communities, was undertaken using sBRUVS.The mid-shelf locations were separate areas along a potential cross-shelf pipeline route from the Barossa field to Darwin. The southernmost of these was to the west of Cape Helvetius, at the southwest corner of Bathurst Island. The second area was midway to the shelf break, adjacent to and off the western side of Goodrich Bank. Evans and Tassie Shoals, lying further northwest on the outer shelf, were selected for investigation as larger submerged shoals, closest to the Barossa field. An initial towed video inspection was also undertaken at the much smaller Blackwood Shoal, lying a few kilometres to the west of Evans Shoal. In total the survey sampled in five principle locations, consisting of Evans, Tassie and Blackwood Shoals, open shelf adjacent to Goodrich Bank and open shelf adjacent to Cape Helvetius.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsStereo BRUVSMultibeamCTD This biological survey will provide targeted benthic habitat and fish biodiversity information for six key areas associated with a) potential pipeline routes b) potential sensitive receptor habitats outside the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Protected Area c) potential sensitive receptor habitats within the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Protected Area. The biological survey will use standardised methods so that data collected can be referenced to, and compared with, other survey data collected on this shelf by AIMS, ConocoPhillips and Geoscience Australia.

Geoscience Australia carried out marine surveys in southeast Tasmania in 2008 and 2009 (GA0315) to map seabed bathymetry and characterise benthic environments through observation of habitats using underwater towed video. Data was acquired using the Tasmania Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) Research Vessel Challenger. Bathymetric mapping was undertaken in seven survey areas, including: Freycinet Pensinula (83 sq km, east coast and shelf); Tasman Peninsula (117 sq km, east coast and shelf); Port Arthur and adjacent open coast (17 sq km); The Friars (41 sq km, south of Bruny Island); lower Huon River estuary (39 sq km); D Entrecastreaux Channel (7 sq km, at Tinderbox north of Bruny Island), and; Maria Island (3 sq km, western side). Video characterisations of the seabed concentrated on areas of bedrock reef and adjacent seabed in all mapped areas, except for D Entrecastreaux Channel and Maria Island. freycinet_4m is an ArcGIS layer of the backscatter grid of the Freycinet Peninsula survey arae produced from the processed EM3002 backscatter data of the survey area using the CMST-GA MB Process This dataset is a contribution to the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub.

The coral and fish communities at the AIMS Long Term Monitoring (LTM) sites at Mermaid, Clerke and Imperiuse reefs were re-surveyed, following periodic surveys since 1994. To inform the design of future monitoring programs, communities at different habitats at the Rowley Shoals were surveyed at Clerke and Mermaid Reefs. In particular, coral and fish communities were surveyed at the reef slope in 9m, 6m, 3m and reef flat habitats, and at the base and top of three replicate bombies within the lagoon and false lagoon (Clerke Reef only). Additionally, Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUVS - single)) were deployed at the reef slope at 9m and 3m, and at the bombie habitats within the lagoon, to investigate their use as a remote monitoring method for certain fish and shark populations. Several coral species were also sampled opportunistically to investigate whether their participation in the predicted mass spawning at the end of October differs from that documented previously at Scott Reef, and samples of the dominant brooding coral Isopora brueggemanni were collected to add existing samples of several species from Scott Reef and the Rowley Shoals for genetic analyses, when funding becomes available. This project is a co-investment between Woodside Petroleum Limited (WEL) and AIMS, in order to build scientific knowledge at the Rowley Shoals and was undertaken between 11th October - 2 December 2013.

The Tasmanian Shelf survey was conducted on the Challenger in collaboration with the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute between the 13-16th June, 2008 and 23rd February to the 14th March, 2009 (GA survey #0315). The survey was operated as part of the Surrogates Program of the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub. The objective was to collect co-located physical and biological data to enable the robust testing of a range of physical parameters as surrogates of benthic biodiversity patterns. A total of 55 video transects were surveyed from five study areas (Tasman Peninsula, Freycinet Peninsula, The Friars, Huon river, and Port Arthur channel) in water depths ranging from 15-110 m. Video was recorded to mini DV tapes, and copied to digital format. For further information on this survey please refer to the post-survey report (GA Record 2009/043 - Geocat #69755).