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High Seas Marine Protected Areas: Benthic environmental conservation priorities from a GIS analysis of global ocean biophysical data

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

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In order to design a representative network of high seas marine protected areas (MPAs), an acceptable scheme is required to classify the benthic bioregions of the oceans. Given the lack of sufficient biological information to accomplish this task, we used a multivariate statistical method with 6 biophysical variables (depth, seabed slope, sediment thickness, primary production, bottom water dissolved oxygen and bottom temperature) to objectively classify the ocean floor into 11 different categories, comprised of 53,713 separate polygons, that we have termed "seascapes". Validation of the seascape classification was carried out by comparing the seascapes with an existing map of seafloor geomorphology, and by GIS analysis of the number of separate polygons and perimeter/area ratio. We conclude that seascapes, derived using a multivariate statistical approach, are biophysically meaningful subdivisions of the ocean floor and can be expected to contain different biological associations, in as much as different geomorphological units do the same. Our study illustrates how the identification of potential sites for high seas marine protected areas can be accomplished by GIS analysis of seafloor geomorphic and seascape classification maps. Using this approach, maps of seascape and geomorphic heterogeneity were generated in which heterogeneity hot-spots identify themselves as MPA candidates. The use of computer-aided mapping tools removes subjectivity in the MPA design process and provides greater confidence to stakeholders that an unbiased result has been achieved.

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Field Value
Title High Seas Marine Protected Areas: Benthic environmental conservation priorities from a GIS analysis of global ocean biophysical data
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/d506b106-13d8-452d-9689-e87af0e8bd7a
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        110.0,
        -60.0
      ],
      [
        170.0,
        -60.0
      ],
      [
        170.0,
        -8.0
      ],
      [
        110.0,
        -8.0
      ],
      [
        110.0,
        -60.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "High Seas Marine Protected Areas: Benthic environmental conservation priorities from a GIS analysis of global ocean biophysical data". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/high-seas-marine-protected-areas-benthic-environmental-conservation-priorities-from-a-gis-analy