In January 2005 a multi-parametric international experiment was conducted that encompassed both Deception Island and its surrounding waters. This experiment used as main platforms the Spanish Oceanographic vessel 'Hesperides', the Spanish Scientific Antarctic base 'Gabriel de Castilla' at Deception Island and four temporary camps deployed on the volcanic island. This experiment allowed us to record active seismic signals on a large network of seismic stations that were deployed both on land and on the seafloor. In addition other geophysical data were acquired, such as: bathymetric high precision multi-beam data, and gravimetric and magnetic profiles. During the whole period of the experiment a multi-beam sounding EM120 was used to perform bathymetric surveys. The characteristic of this sensor permitted to reach up to 11.000 m b.s.l. In table 2 we provide some of its main characteristics. During the experiment different bathymetric profiles were performed with this equipment outside of Port Foster. Some of these images already have provide an accurate vision of the region, and were used to estimate the real size of the water column locate below each shoot. Additional information of these data could be found in the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at IEDA Marine Geoscience Data System (http://www.marine-geo.org/). It is possible to access the summary of downloads that were made of these data and documents at http://www.marine-geo.org/about/downloadreport/person/Ibanez_Jesus/2016A.

From December 2014 to February 2015, Geoscience Australia conducted a multibeam sonar survey (GA-0348) of the coastal waters around Casey station and the adjacent Windmill Islands. The survey utilised GA's Kongsberg EM3002D multibeam echosounder, motion reference unit and C-Nav differential GPS system mounted on the Australian Antarctic Division's (AAD) science workboat the Howard Burton. The survey was a collaborative project between GA, the AAD and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). During the survey a total of approximately 27.3 square kilometres of multibeam bathymetry, backscatter and water-column data were collected, extending coverage of a RAN multibeam survey (survey number HI545) conducted the previous season (approximately 7 square kilometres). The regions covered extended seaward of Newcomb Bay and Clark Peninsula northwest of Casey Station, and seaward of Shirley and Beall Islands to the southwest. Complimentary datasets were also collected, including 18 drop video deployments to assess the benthic ecosystem composition and 39 sediment samples to ground-truth the seafloor substrate. Macroalgae spectral analyses were also collected to develop a spectral library for possible future satellite bathymetry investigations. The new high-resolution bathymetric grid (1 metre resolution) reveals seafloor features in the Casey area in unprecedented detail.

A high resolution bathymetric grid of the nearshore area at Casey station, Antarctica was produced by Geoscience Australia by combining data from two multibeam hydrographic surveys: 1) A survey conducted by the Royal Australian Navy in 2013/14. Refer to the metadata record 'Hydrographic survey HI545 by the RAN Australian Hydrographic Service at Casey, December 2013 to January 2014' with ID HI545_hydrographic_survey. 2) A survey conducted by Geoscience Australia and the Royal Australian Navy in 2014/15. Refer to the metadata record 'Hydrographic survey HI560 by the RAN Australian Hydrographic Service at Casey, December 2014 to February 2015' with ID HI560_hydrographic_survey and the metadata record 'Seafloor Mapping Survey, Windmill Islands and Casey region, Antarctica, December 2014 - February 2015' with ID AAS_3326_seafloor_mapping_casey_2014_15. The grid has a cell size of one metre and is stored in a UTM Zone 49S projection, based on WGS84. Further information is available from the Geoscience Australia website (see a Related URL).

This metadata record is a modified child record of an original parent record originating from custodians of data associated with Geoscience Australia (The identifier of the parent record is ANZCW0703009248, and can be found on the Australian Spatial Data Directory website - see the URL given below). Taken from the report: A bathymetric grid of the Heard Island-Kerguelen Plateau Region (Longitudes 68 degrees E - 80 degrees E, Latitudes 48 degrees S - 56 degrees S) is produced. In doing so, the individual datasets used have been closely examined and any deficiencies noted for further follow up or have been rectified immediately and the changes documented. These datasets include modern multibeam data, coastline data obtained from the World Vector Shoreline, echosounder data from research, fishing and Customs vessels and satellite derived bathymetric data. A hierarchical system was employed whereby the best and most extensive datasets were gridded first and applied as a mask to the next best dataset. A new masking grid would be formed from these datasets to pass non-overlapping data in the next best dataset. This procedure was employed until finally the satellite data were masked. All the various levels of masked data were then brought together by the gridding algorithm (Intrepid - Desmond Fitzgerald Associates) and an ERMapper format grid produced. A grid cell size of 0.005 degrees (nominal 500m) was used with many iterations of minimum curvature gridding and several passes of smoothing. The final grid is available in ERMapper, ArcInfo and ASCII xyz formats.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has developed a proposal for the establishment of seven Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) located around east Antarctica for the purposes of marine ecosystem conservation. As seafloor morphology is a key component of marine ecosystems, this bathymetry compilation for the proposed MPAs was produced to support the AAD proposal. All bathymetry data available to Geoscience Australia at the time of compilation were used. This included multibeam and singlebeam acoustic data which were verified and processed to ensure the data were as accurate as possible. Processing included sound velocity corrections, navigation verification and the rejection of erroneous data points. Once processed, the data were gridded to 100m resolution and projected into suitable WGS84 UTM zones. The gridded data was exported into several formats to facilitate ease of use. The formats include xyz files, ESRI rasters, geoTIFs, CARISTM image files and soundings. The data and the technical report are available for download from URLs below.

The Davis Coastal Seabed Mapping Survey, Antarctica (GA-4301 / AAS2201 / HI468) was conducted on the Australian Antarctic Division workboat Howard Burton during February-March 2010 as a component of Australian Antarctic Science (AAS) Project 2201 - Natural Variability and Human Induced Change on Antarctic Nearshore Marine Benthic Communities. The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between Geoscience Australia, the Australian Antarctic Division and the Australian Hydrographic Service (Royal Australian Navy). The survey acquired multibeam bathymetry and backscatter datasets from the nearshore region of the Vestfold Hills around Davis Station, Antarctica. These datasets are described by the metadata record with ID Davis_multibeam_grids. This dataset comprises an interpreted geomorphic map produced for the central survey area using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter grids and their derivatives (e.g. slope, contours). Six geomorphic units; basin, valley, embayment, pediment, bedrock outcrop and scarp were identified and mapped using definitions suitable for interpretation at the local scale (nominally 1:10 000). Polygons were created using a combination of automatic extraction and manual digitisation in ArcGIS. For further information on the geomorphic mapping methods and a description of each unit, please refer to OBrien P.E., Smith J., Stark J.S., Johnstone G., Riddle M., Franklin D. (2015) Submarine geomorphology and sea floor processes along the coast of Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, from multibeam bathymetry and video data. Antarctic Science 27:566-586. This metadata record was created using information in Geoscience Australia's metadata record at http://www.ga.gov.au/metadata-gateway/metadata/record/89984/

This metadata record is a modified child record of an original parent record originating from custodians of data associated with Geoscience Australia (The identifier of the parent record is ANZCW0703006701, and can be found on the Australian Spatial Data Directory website - see the URL given below). A bathymetric grid of the Macquarie Island Region (Longitudes 151 E and 167 E, Latitudes 48 S and 62 S) was produced. In doing so, the individual datasets used were closely examined and any deficiencies noted for further follow up or were rectified immediately and the changes documented. These datasets include modern multibeam data, coastline data obtained from georeferenced SPOT imagery, hydrographic quality data, echosounder data from research and fishing vessels and satellite derived bathymetric data. A hierarchical system was employed whereby the best and most extensive datasets were gridded first and applied as a mask to the next best dataset. A new masking grid would be formed from these datasets to pass non-overlapping data in the next best dataset. This procedure was employed until finally the satellite data were masked. All the various levels of masked data were then brought together by the gridding algorithm (Intrepid and Desmond Fitzgerald Associates) and an ERMapper format grid produced. A grid cell size of 0.00225 (nominal 250m) was used with many iterations of minimum curvature gridding and several passes of smoothing. The final grid is available in geotiff, ArcInfo ascii and xyz text formats. A detailed report of the work completed is also available.

From February to March 2010, Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted a multibeam sonar survey of the coastal waters of the Vestfold Hills in the Australian Antarctic Territory. The survey was conducted jointly with Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the Deployable Geospatial Survey Team (DGST) of the Royal Australian Navy. The survey was aimed primarily at understanding the character of the sea floor around Davis Station to better inform studies of the benthic biota and the possible impacts of the Davis sewage outfall. DGST were involved to ensure that the bathymetric data could be used to update and extend the nautical charts of the Davis area. The survey was conducted using GA's Kongsberg EM3002D multibeam echo sounder and C-Nav Differential GPS system mounted on the AAD work boat Howard Burton. Sixteen under water videos were also collected using the GA Raytech camera system and 3 grabs were also collected to compliment an intensive sampling program by AAD divers and a sampling program conducted in the 1990's by University of Tasmania (Franklin, 1996). An area of 42 km2 was surveyed intensively immediately off Davis and additional survey lines were run to Long Fjord in the north and to Crooked Fjord and the Sorsdal Glacier in the south. The main survey area had between 150% and 200% coverage as the seabed was esonified from opposing angles to resolve and provide detail to the numerous features of the seafloor such as rocky reefs, iceberg scours, boulders, anchor chain drag marks and grounded icebergs. The new high resolution data provided detailed maps of sea bed morphology and texture classification to complement sample data. Sixteen video transects were collected and 3 grab samples collected in water too deep for the Australian Antarctic Division Diving program. New high resolution bathymetric grids have been prepared for scientific use and further processing for hydrographic charting is ongoing. A new sea floor geomorphic map has been prepared using the multibeam data, preliminary video and sampling data. The project was a component of Australian Antarctic Science (AAS) Project 2201 - Natural Variability and Human Induced Change on Antarctic Nearshore Marine Benthic Communities. In 2011, Dr Phil O'Brien provided to the Australian Antarctic Data Centre the following interim data: 75 cm multibeam data in CARIS format; and a 4 metre resolution bathymetric grid and an image of the sea floor, both derived from the 75 cm multibeam data. This data was made available for download from this metadata record. In August 2013, Geoscience Australia released 2 metre resolution bathymetric and backscatter grids after further processing of the multibeam data. The bathymetry and backscatter data have now been fully processed checked and validated by Geoscience Australia and supersede the interim data. The interim data has been archived by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre. The 2 metre resolution grids and final report are available for download from the Geoscience Australia website.