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Seabed geomorphology and habitat mapping to support the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy in Australia

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

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Australia’s vast marine estate offers high-quality offshore wind resources that have the potential to help produce the renewable energy that Australia will need to achieve its net zero emissions targets. Mature offshore renewable industries in Europe have demonstrated that marine geoscience is critical for supporting the sustainable development, installation, operation and decommissioning of offshore wind farms. Geoscience information is used to design targeted seabed surveys and identify areas suitable for offshore infrastructure, thereby reducing uncertainty and investment risk. These data also provide important regional context for environmental impact assessments and informs evidence-based decisions consistent with government policies and regulations. Effective geomorphic characterisation of the seabed requires a standardised, multi-scalar and collaborative approach to produce definitive geomorphology maps that can support these applications. These maps synthesise interpretations of bathymetry, shallow geology, sedimentology and ecology data, to illustrate the distribution and diversity of seabed features, compositions and processes, including sediment dynamics and seabed stability. We present mapped examples demonstrating the utility of a nationally consistent seabed geomorphology mapping scheme (developed in collaboration with European agencies), for application to a broad range of geographic settings and policy-needs, including the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy in Australia.

Presented at the 2024 AMSA-NZMSS Conference Hobart Tas

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Field Value
Title Seabed geomorphology and habitat mapping to support the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy in Australia
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/c9f4f8ca-bd91-4ec9-a78f-7ed52b4ed342
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 26/03/2024
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        112.92,
        -54.75
      ],
      [
        159.11,
        -54.75
      ],
      [
        159.11,
        -9.2402
      ],
      [
        112.92,
        -9.2402
      ],
      [
        112.92,
        -54.75
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Seabed geomorphology and habitat mapping to support the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy in Australia". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/seabed-geomorphology-and-habitat-mapping-to-support-the-sustainable-development-of-offshore-ren