Map Gallery

The RV Southern Surveyor was a 66.1 m research vessel operated by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 2003-2013 (take a virtual tour).

The RV Southern Surveyor was a 66.1 m research vessel operated by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 2003-2013 (take a virtual tour).

Australia is the fifth largest user of shipping in the world with more than 11,000 vessels from 600 overseas ports visiting Australia's 65 major ports each year. This creates the potential for hazardous spills of various types (most notably oil spills - such as the Montara spill of 2009), which could damage key coastal and marine ecosystems.

The type, size and distribution of sediments on the seabed plays an important role in determining the suitability of a given area for settlement by benthos.  For example, filter feeders like sponges must attach themselves to a rocky substrate or get swept away by tidal currents.  

Australia is the fifth largest user of shipping in the world with more than 11,000 vessels from 600 overseas ports visiting Australia's 65 major ports each year. About 98 per cent of Australia's exports are carried by ships. Understanding where shipping occurs over time is important because it can harm coastal and marine ecosystems and their inhabitants.

Submerged reefs and shoals are important features of the North West Marine Region of Australia due to their diverse and often unique benthic (e.g., corals, sponges) and fish biodiversity. In 2009, reefs and shoals near the Montara oil field were exposed to an uncontrolled release of oil and gas that lasted for 74 days.

Find out where scientists have surveyed the Oceanic Shoals Australia Marine Park in detail, and what they have learned.

This map shows the extent of the seagrass meadows on the Great Barrier Reef based on two datasets. It shows the inshore seagrass distribution and the deep water seagrass mapping by the Seabed Biodiverity project.

This map shows the number of large (> 40 cm) Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) removed by the AMPTO run control program (culling of COTS) during their first visit to each of the control sites. This map shows the first visit to each site as this is the visit when typically the most COTS are detected. In subsequent visits the number of COTS is typically reduced as a result of the culls from previous visits.