Biography
Dr Robin Beaman
My role as a marine geologist and ocean mapping scientist is to reveal Australia’s underwater landscape. Ocean mapping helps to improve understanding of the geological origin of the seafloor, and explain the distribution of seabed habitats and marine life.
My research goal is to understand the long-term geological and physical processes that have influenced key geomorphic features of the seabed, particularly for the deep Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea.
Research projects range from submarine canyons, underwater landslides, submerged reefs, paleo-channels, algal bioherms, cold-water corals, mesophotic (twilight) coral ecosystems, seamounts and habitat mapping.
These projects use GIS, multibeam and singlebeam echo sounders, lidar, sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profilers, photogrammetry, underwater camera imagery, satellite imagery and sediment sampling techniques.
I want to share with you the excitement of scientific discovery in the ocean, and help to promote a more ocean-aware community through this website. Please contact me directly if you want more information about our research projects.
Rob’s Blog
Recent ocean mapping events within Australia’s marine region.
New Torres Strait 3D depth map
A new 3D bathymetry (or depth) model for the Torres Strait has been released. We can now see the seabed in unprecedented detail, where islands and reefs drop off into the deeper waters to the east. Again, I am proud to have led the team that developed this 3D depth...
New Australian 3D depth map
This new release of an Australian bathymetry (or depth) map in 250m resolution, reveals a continental-scale 3D picture of our marine environment. I am proud to have led the team that developed this fundamental spatial product, including Geoscience Australia, James...
Fly-through of Williams Ridge
A fly-through of new bathymetry (depth) models for the Kerguelen Plateau and Williams Ridge. Includes the sub-Antarctic Heard Island and McDonald Island - Australia's only active volcanoes. Most of source data for these models were crowdsourced bathymetry data...