50 metre bathymetry of the Lord Howe Marine Park

Bathymetry is one of the most significant influences on the abundance, biomass and biodiversity of marine life. The depth of the seabed defines the habitat for bottom-dwelling (or benthic) organisms, as many of these (such as seaweeds, corals and seagrasses) rely on light to grow and survive. These benthic habitats attract certain fish and invertebrate communities that depend on them for food, shelter and recruitment grounds, and generate highly productive and biodiverse ecosystems. In a similar way different species are highly adapted to survive in deeper regions of the ocean, and in different depth ranges where conditions of light, temperature and salinity levels might vary. Bathymetry maps are an important tool for marine management, helping to predict and infer different habitat types and where fish and other marine life will feed, live and breed.

Bathymetry data can be collected at various resolutions depending on a combination of the capabilities of the mapping equipment and the depth of the seafloor. High resolution data is more useful because smaller seafloor features such as knolls, pockmarks and troughs can be seen. Although small, these features are still important and can influence the flora and fauna that exist as well as informing us about different physical and biological processes that might occur in a given region. Today, bathymetry data range from 250 m resolution to just 1 m resolution. Visit the Latest Maps gallery to see where finer scale bathymetry is available for Australia Marine Parks.