Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

Acquisition and application of seafloor mapping data along the Victorian coast     (#402)

Mary A Young 1 , Daniel Ierodiaconou 1
  1. Deakin University, WARRNAMBOOL, VIC, Australia

For over a decade, the Marine Mapping Lab at Deakin University has been involved in the acquisition, dissemination, and application of seafloor mapping data along the coast of Victoria. This presentation will provide an overview of how these datasets are collected and how they are being used to inform the management of Victoria’s marine and coastal environment through three examples. First, as part of the Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program (VCMP), seafloor datasets are collected to help quantify offshore sediment budgets and inform wave models to determine the effects of climate change on coastal infrastructure and resources, driving management actions. Second, we are using these seafloor maps to develop predictive models to classify the benthic habitat across the subtidal environment to map out biological resources in relation to protected areas. And, thirdly, these maps are being used to help inform species distribution models that are also combined with oceanographic information to determine species-habitat relationships, which are then used to map out where those species may be at risk in the future due to climate change. These case studies show only a small subset of the ways that seafloor mapping data can be used to aid in marine spatial management.