From Australian Oceans Data Network
JSON format icon JSON RDF format icon RDF ISO19115-3 XML

Southern Ocean Benthic Classification (SOBC) - ecoregions, bathomes and environmental types

Created 23/06/2025

Updated 23/06/2025

JSON format icon JSON RDF format icon RDF ISO19115-3 XML

This dataset is intended for general use in spatial planning and management to identify areas where benthic marine assemblages are likely to differ from each other in the Southern Ocean. We achieve this by using a hierarchical spatial classification of ecoregions, bathomes and environmental types. Ecoregions are defined according to available data on biogeographic patterns and environmental drivers on dispersal. Bathomes are identified according to depth strata defined by species distributions. Environmental types are uniquely classified according to the geomorphic features found within the bathomes in each ecoregion. This circum-Antarctic map of environmental types can be used to support spatial management aimed at conserving benthic biodiversity across the entire Southern Ocean. The study area spans the region managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The northern boundary of this region is a line approximating the location of the Polar Front. The southern boundary was defined as the northern edge of the permanent ice shelf of the Antarctic continent. The shapefile can be used to identify three levels of the hierarchical classification (see Fig. 1 of Douglass et al., 2014): 1) Level 1: Ecoregions 2) Level 2b: Geomorphic features nested in each ecoregion 3) Level 3: Environmental Types The dataset cannot be used to analyse a level 2a nesting since for some geomorphic features (e.g. seamounts and canyons) the nested bathomes were combined when generating environmental types. If a level 2a nesting is required please contact douglass.lucinda@gmail.com The shapefile contains ten fields: EcoID- Abbreviated Level 1 benthic ecoregion names Ecoregion- Level 1 benthic ecoregion names Geomorph2- Geomorphic features BathID- Bathome identification number which can be used to sort the depth classes Bathome2 - Bathome EcoGeo- Level 2b nesting of geomorphic features in each ecoregion EnvTyp- Level 3 environmental types GeoClsID- Geomorphic class identification number GeoCls- Geomorphic classes Sqkm- Area in square kilometers

Files and APIs

Tags

Additional Info

Field Value
Title Southern Ocean Benthic Classification (SOBC) - ecoregions, bathomes and environmental types
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/f4bc32ba-23b7-4902-9d41-e7c2e478868e
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
metadata@aad.gov.au
Reference Period 01/01/1992 - 31/12/2013
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        180.0,
        -80.0
      ],
      [
        -180.0,
        -80.0
      ],
      [
        -180.0,
        -45.0
      ],
      [
        180.0,
        -45.0
      ],
      [
        180.0,
        -80.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Southern Ocean Benthic Classification (SOBC) - ecoregions, bathomes and environmental types". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/southern-ocean-benthic-classification-sobc-ecoregions-bathomes-and-environmental-types