Rob’s Blog
Recent ocean mapping events within Australia’s marine region.
SI 1047 survey in Queensland Plateau
Protecting our shores - congratulations to the Australian Hydrographic Office and EGS Survey for commencing the survey SI 1047, in Australia’s Coral Sea Marine Park. This SI 1047 multibeam survey was proposed following the mapping by the Schmidt Ocean Institute's RV...
Crowdsourced bathy data from Spoilsport
Another successful batch of crowdsourced bathymetry data from adventure dive vessel MV Spoilsport, collected over 100s of line km on the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Next steps: remove tidal component and 'no bottom detection' soundings, then revise 3D...
20 years of ocean mapping
Reflecting on 20 years of ocean mapping, strategically targeting the deep Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea marine parks. I have been involved with some 40 expeditions, many at sea but also remotely, resulting in 305 thousand sq km of new map data within Australia's...
Report for expedition: Pinging in the New Year
What does one month of continuous mapping with Schmidt Ocean Institute’s RV Falkor look like? Try 40,000 sq km of new map data in Australia’s Tasman and Coral seas, and contributing to the global Seabed 2030 Project. Link to final report below.3D view of map in Tasman...
HMAS Melville Decommissioning
I was privileged to attend the HMAS Melville Decommissioning Ceremony in Cairns today. The Melville was a workhorse of the Australian hydrographic surveying fleet and in other operations for over two decades. During that period, I was invited three times to searide...
New Torres Strait 3D depth model
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. I am proud to have led the team that developed this 3D depth model,...
Back Ashore – Australia
Was fun to participate in the Schmidt Ocean Institute 'Back Ashore - Australia' discussion, together with RV Falkor shipmates Nerida Wilson and Jeremy Horowitz. Thanks to Allison Miller and Hannah Nolan from SOI for hosting on YouTube.'Back Ashore -...
Crowdsourced bathy data from Jack 1
Crowdsourced bathymetry can be as simple as attaching a data logger to a chart plotter/sounder and storing to a USB stick. This example shows 2-sec interval depth soundings from a Garmin Echomap UHD 95sv on the vessel 'Jack 1' out of Cairns, Australia. The new CSB...
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...