The Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL) is a compilation of benthic habitat datasets obtained from various sectors including research, government, industry and community sources, across Australia. Disparate datasets are integrated into a single national-scale benthic habitat database, and classified uniformly under a national classification scheme implemented as a controlled vocabulary (https://vocabs.ardc.edu.au/viewById/129). For acceptance into the 'formal' (validated_ Seamap Australia NBHL (see https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a), source habitat datasets must meet a set of Acceptance Criteria (documented in https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SeamapAustraliaDataAcceptanceGuidelines.pdf). Broadly speaking, for inclusion in the Seamap Australia NBHL, datasets must: (1) be well-described by metadata or associated documentation; (2) employ a single, consistent classification scheme which avoids non-deterministic or ambiguous terms; (3) bequality-controlled by the provider prior to contribution; (4) beacquired using an established and community-endorsed form of data collection (eg satellite, aerial or acoustic remote sensing); and (5) have documented evidence of ground-truthing validation at the time of data collection (e.g. drop camera, towed video, benthic grabs). This record describes habitat datasets that meet Acceptance Criteria 1-4, but have not been validated/ground-truthed and are therefore ineligible for inclusion in the formal Seamap Australia NBHL. They have been synthesised and uniformly classified using an identical methodology to the NBHL, but represent an intermediate collection of habitat datasets that would benefit from field ground-truthing in order to validate the habitat classifications. The Seamap Australia synthesis of unvalidated habitat datasets can be viewed, analysed and downloaded from the Seamap Australia data portal (https://seamapaustralia.org/map). This dataset should be considered a “live” asset and will continue to develop as more unvalidated habitat datasets are collected or made available. The most current (2024) version of the data is available from the following endpoints: WMS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wms WFS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wfs Layer name: SeamapAus_NBHL_unvalidated Various download options are supplied in the “Online resources” section of this record.

The Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL) is a compilation of benthic habitat datasets obtained from various sectors including research, government, industry and community sources, across Australia. These disparate datasets have been integrated into a single national-scale benthic habitat database, and classified uniformly under a national classification scheme implemented as a controlled vocabulary (https://vocabs.ardc.edu.au/viewById/129). Creation of this classification scheme complements work undertaken by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub (Theme D). For acceptance into the Seamap Australia NBHL, source habitat datasets must meet a set of Acceptance Criteria (documented in https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SeamapAustraliaDataAcceptanceGuidelines.pdf). Broadly speaking, for inclusion in the Seamap Australia NBHL, datasets must: (1) be well-described by metadata or associated documentation; (2) employ a single, consistent classification scheme which avoids non-deterministic or ambiguous terms; (3) bequality-controlled by the provider prior to contribution; (4) beacquired using an established and community-endorsed form of data collection (eg satellite, aerial or acoustic remote sensing); and (5) have documented evidence of ground-truthing validation at the time of data collection (e.g. drop camera, towed video, benthic grabs). The Seamap Australia NBHL can be viewed, analysed and downloaded from the Seamap Australia data portal (https://seamapaustralia.org/map) – a national repository of seafloor habitat data and a decision support tool for marine managers. All habitat datasets in the Seamap Australia data portal, including the NBHL and all local- to regional-scale contributing datasets, are available for download. The Seamap Australia NBHL is a data collection of national importance and highlights the diversity of benthic habitats across Australia’s marine estate. This is the first Australian habitat dataset that seamlessly consolidates data from each of Australia’s state and territory providers. This dataset should be considered a “live” asset and will continue to develop as more suitable validated habitat data becomes available for inclusion, and improvements in data collection and analysis techniques enhance its resolution and currency. The most current (2025) version of the data is available from the following endpoints: WMS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wms WFS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wfs Layer name: SeamapAus_National_Benthic_Habitat_Layer A download link for the full dataset is supplied in the 'Download and Links' section of this record, along with download links to older versions of the dataset. Note that data is now only available in Geodatabase (.gdb) format as it exceeds Shapefile size limits.

The Seamap Australia spatial data layer is a nationally synthesised data product of seafloor marine habitat data. Australian continental shelf benthic habitat layers in GIS format were collected from various stakeholders around the country. Through compiling all of these data sets, we established a controlled vocabulary, reviewed by ANDS and external independent assessors, to produce a national classification of marine habitats. This national marine habitat classification scheme complements work undertaken by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub (Theme D). The Seamap Australia product is of national importance and highlights the diversity of benthic habitats around our marine estate. This is the first edition of a seafloor marine habitat data layer that seamlessly brings together data from each of Australia’s state and territory marine habitat databases. Seamap Australia is a constantly evolving product as we continuously improve our skills in standardising, collating and sharing marine spatial data. This record describes a static version of the Seamap Australia national data layer as of 28/11/2018. The most current version of the data is available from the Seamap Australia website [http://seamapaustralia.org/map]. We envisage that the 'live' product will be constantly developed and updated as future surveys continue to improve our knowledge of our vast marine estate.

An environmental classification developed in conjunction with the NSW Marine Parks Authority Research Committee. For more information see: Breen D.A. and R.P. Avery. (2002). Broad-scale biodiversity assessment of the Manning Shelf marine bioregion. Draft final report for the NSW Marine Parks Authority. Copies of the report may be borrowed from the library: Environment Australia, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia. This coverage is intended for used in regional level marine conservation assessment. It was prepared using very low cost techniques (ie. unrectified API) and should not be relied upon for navigation purposes. This represents an historic dataset providing transparency on the 2002 marine park systematic planning process. This product is one of three related datasets used in the assessment process: "NSW Ocean Ecosystems 2002", "NSW Estuarine Ecosystems 2002" & "NSW Marine Habitats 2002" This record describes classes for each of the five major estuary ecosystems. The full study also describes the environmental classification of the four ocean ocean ecosystems classified by depth, and nine habitat surrogates.

Marine benthic habitat data for Tasmanian coastal waters from the LWM (Low water mark) to 40 metres in depth or 1.5 kms from shore. See 'Lineage' section of this record for full methodology and data dictionary. This data is also available via the Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer - a nationally consolidated benthic habitat map. https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a

An environmental classification developed in conjunction with the NSW Marine Parks Authority Research Committee. For more information see: Breen D.A. and R.P. Avery. (2002). Broad-scale biodiversity assessment of the Manning Shelf marine bioregion. Draft final report for the NSW Marine Parks Authority. Copies of the report may be borrowed from the library: Environment Australia, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia. This coverage is intended for used in regional level marine conservation assessment. It was prepared using very low cost techniques (ie. unrectified API) and should not be relied upon for navigation purposes. This represents an historic dataset providing transparency on the 2002 marine park systematic planning process. This product is one of three related datasets used in the assessment process: "NSW Ocean Ecosystems 2002", "NSW Estuarine Ecosystems 2002" & "NSW Marine Habitats 2002" This record describes the environmental classification of nine habitat surrogates (mangrove, seagrass, saltmarsh, subtidal sediment, beach, intertidal rocky shore, subtidal reef and island). The full study also describes classes for each of the five major estuary ecosystems, and the four ocean ecosystems classified by depth.

This database contains information about the distribution of 10 different types of sea floor sediment in the Australian region. It was derived from data collected and mapped by the Ocean Sciences Institute, University of Sydney.

An environmental classification developed in conjunction with the NSW Marine Parks Authority Research Committee. For more information see: Breen D.A. and R.P. Avery. (2002). Broad-scale biodiversity assessment of the Manning Shelf marine bioregion. Draft final report for the NSW Marine Parks Authority. Copies of the report may be borrowed from the library: Environment Australia, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia. This coverage is intended for used in regional level marine conservation assessment. It was prepared using very low cost techniques (ie. unrectified API) and should not be relied upon for navigation purposes. This record describes the environmental classification of the four ocean ocean ecosystems classified by depth. The full study also describes classes for each of the five major estuary ecosystems, and nine habitat surrogates.

An environmental classification developed in conjunction with the NSW Marine Parks Authority Research Committee. For more information see: Breen D.A. and R.P. Avery. (2002). Broad-scale biodiversity assessment of the Manning Shelf marine bioregion. Draft final report for the NSW Marine Parks Authority. Copies of the report may be borrowed from the library: Environment Australia, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia. This coverage is intended for used in regional level marine conservation assessment. It was prepared using very low cost techniques (ie. unrectified API) and should not be relied upon for navigation purposes. This record describes the environmental classification of the four ocean ocean ecosystems classified by depth. The full study also describes classes for each of the five major estuary ecosystems, and nine habitat surrogates.