This voyage provides an opportunity to test and refine optimal techniques to map and assess seabed habitat developed in a previous CMR project (NOO OP2000-SE02). Importantly, this voyage will use the National Facility's high-resolution EM300 swath mapper for its first program of biological and physical habitat mapping. The sampling locations are a number of submarine canyons and their immediately adjacent flanks on the west coast of Tasmania and east of Bass Strait. These are prime targets for our methods development because each canyon area is characterised by a great variety of seabed topography and benthic communities concentrated in a relatively small area (< 300 sq km). This voyage is also an opportunity to apply the data collected to marine resource management planning in the South East Region. Submarine canyons represent a type of habitat unit ("Level 3 biogeomorphic units") having a strong influence on the location of offshore Marine Protected Areas on the continental slope and rise, and many are likely to be biodiversity "hotspots". Several canyons are also the locations of the largest known aggregations of feeding and spawning fishes in the South-East Fishery region, and these support a range of intense, increasing and, in places, conflicting fishing activities. Given the immediate and increasing relevance of submarine canyons to conservation and fishery managers, it is then surprising to realize that virtually all those in the SE region remain unsampled by scientists, and are named only by commercial fishers. For these reasons, sampling on this voyage will focus on the "Big Horseshoe Canyon" mapped previously with the EM1002 and EM12 swath instruments (to enable comparison of data types, and to investigate temporal persistence of features), and several "new" areas. Sediment samples were taken for analysis by Geoscience Australia.

This record describes the sediment collection and derived grainsize and composition data from two Marine National Facility charter voyages conducted under the Benthic Characterisation Project (3.1) of the Great Australian Bight Research Program (GABRP): SS2013_C02 and IN2016__C02. The GABRP aims to describe the key elements of the GAB marine ecosystem. This understanding of the structure and function of the ecosystem will be used to inform future integrated and sustainable ocean management and assessment/mitigation of potential future impacts. An overarching objective of the voyages was to contribute to developing models of ecosystem-level structure and function for the GAB. Sediments were collected primarily using the Integrated Coring Platform (ICP) and supplemented with the Smith-MacIntyre grab. The Integrated Coring Platform ( ICP) combines a number of technologies to maximise sampling in a single deployment. The ICP is built around a 6 barrel corer (KC, Denmark) and together with its central electronics module integrates cameras (cable, seafloor and corer views), CTD (SBE37IDO), altimeter, 120KHz scientific echo-sounders, Niskin bottles and hydrocarbon sensor suite. Sensor data is delivered in real time to the surface via fibre optic deployment cable. The Smith-MacIntyre grab is a comparatively simple tool collecting sediments. This metadata record describes the sediment collection using the grab and ICP taken on 5 transects in the central and eastern GAB at 6 depth strata (200m, 400m, 1000m, 1500m, 2000m and 3000m).

This record describes the geological sample collection and derived analysis data from two Marine National Facility charter voyages conducted under Project (5.1) of the Great Australian Bight Research Program (GABRP): SS2013_C02 and FUGRO charter of the same year. The GABRP aims to describe the key elements of the GAB marine ecosystem. This understanding of the structure and function of the ecosystem will be used to inform future integrated and sustainable ocean management and assessment/mitigation of potential future impacts. An overarching objective of the voyages was to contribute to developing models of ecosystem-level structure and function for the GAB. Waters were collected primarily with the CTD rosette of Niskin Bottles. Sediments were collected primarily using the Integrated Coring Platform (ICP) and supplemented with the Smith-MacIntyre grab. The Integrated Coring Platform ( ICP) combines a number of technologies to maximise sampling in a single deployment. The ICP is built around a 6 barrel corer (KC, Denmark) and together with its central electronics module integrates cameras (cable, seafloor and corer views), CTD (SBE37IDO), altimeter, 120KHz scientific echo-sounders, Niskin bottles and hydrocarbon sensor suite. Sensor data is delivered in real time to the surface via fibre optic deployment cable. The Smith-MacIntyre grab is a comparatively simple tool collecting sediments. This metadata record describes the sample collection using the CTD, grab and ICP taken on 5 transects in the central and eastern GAB at 6 depth strata (200m, 400m, 1000m, 1500m, 2000m and 3000m).

Process Study 2 was undertaken between 20-22 September 2005 in the Huon Estuary offshore from Hideaway Bay. During this Process Study, two sediment traps were deployed at each of two sites (near sites P3 and P4 from the spatial survey) on the bottom for 24 hours.Prior to the deployment of the traps surface sediment samples were collected with a benthic grab from each site. Each sediment trap consisted of three collection tubes, material from each tube was filtered on 47 mm GFF filters, with several filters required to filter all of the particualte matter from each tube. Combined filters from each of two tubes labeled A and B (typically 3 filters for each tube) were extracted for lipid analysis. Tube C was used either for isotopes or Fauna indent.

Process Study 3 was undertaken between 03-05 October 2006 in North West Bay. Sediment traps were deployed and sediment samples taken at five sites in NWB. The primary aim was to investigate the composition of material being deposited to the sediments from the water column at these times and to compare this organic matter with that found in the sediments at the same sites. Additionally, we wished to see whether any organic matter of obvious fish farm origin could be detected. One sediment trap was deployed at each North West Bay (NWB) site in water varying in depth from 10 m (site 9) to 20 m (site 2). The trap sites were numbered 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9. Traps were deployed at their respective sites and left for at least one hour before the caps were removed in order to eliminate sediment re-suspended during deployment from entering the traps. The traps were left in place for 48 hours and then retrieved, capped and returned to Hobart for recovery of the samples. Each trap had 3 tubes, each of these tubes was split into three. One litre was taken and filtered for lipids using pre-weighed 47 mm GFF filters, one litre for pigments and the rest was split in two and stored in 500ml bottles, one for zooplankton analysis and the other for microalgal samples. Several filters were required to filter the lipid sample depending on the amount of particles in the tube. Selected filters were then analysed for lipid biomarkers. Organic matter from selected filters was also analysed for stable isotope 13C and 15 N values and carbon content. The contents of one tube from each trap was inspected for identification of zooplankton remains and faecal pellets using light microscopy. Sediments were collected at each of the above trap sites using a Wilco box corer.

Process Study 1 was undertaken between 12-14 April 2005 in the Huon Estuary offshore from Hideaway Bay. During this Process Study, two sediment traps were deployed at each of two sites (near sites P3 and P4 from the spatial survey) on the bottom for 24 hours.Prior to the deployment of the traps surface sediment samples were collected with a benthic grab from each site. Each sediment trap consisted of three collection tubes, material from each tube was filtered on 47 mm GFF filters, with several filters required to filter all of the particualte matter from each tube. Combined filters from each of two tubes labeled A and B (typically 3 filters for each tube) were extracted for lipid analysis. Tube C was used either for isotopes or Fauna indent.

Data was collected on Southern Surveyor voyage SS 04/2003. The voyage took place in Northern Queensland coastal waters and the Gulf of Carpentaria during May - June 2003. The data was culminated in a Post cruise report. Access to this report is available via the links below.

The scientific objectives for the survey were split across two voyages (SS07/2005 for leg 1 and SS10/2005 for leg 2). The first leg was to map and visually survey (video) the upper continental slope (and at selected sites transects from the outer shelf to the mid-slope) at regular intervals of 1 deg latitude; the second leg was to targeted sample the surveyed locations to document the benthic biodiversity. Sediment samples were divided into two samples: an elutrition sample for macroinvertebrates that was sent to Robin Wilson at MV for analysis and a sediment sample to be analysed by Geoscience Australia.