Bathymetric elevation models of the Southern Hikurangi Subduction Margin, New Zealand

Multibeam bathymetric data compiled by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), New Zealand, are presented for the southern Hikurangi Subduction Margin, New Zealand. These datasets cover the eastern continental slope of southern Wairarapa, North Island, and Marlborough, South Island, the adjacent northwestern slope of the Chatham Rise, and the southern Hikurangi Trough. The data were collected for scientific research purposes, primarily for the study of continental margin active tectonics and sedimentary systems associated with NIWA SSIF Programme Marine Geological Processes (and its predecessors). Prominent features of the data are: the numerous submarine canyons and gully systems that incise the continental slopes and deliver sediment from the shelf to the southern Hikurangi Trough. These include the Kaīkoura, Hurunui, Pegasus, Okains, and Pūkākī canyons of NE South Island, the Cook Strait Canyon and its numerous tributaries, and the Opouawe, Pahaua, Honeycomb, and Madden canyon systems of SE North Island; Elongate bathymetric ridges along the Marlborough and Wairarapa continental slopes that result from seafloor uplift associated with tectonic thrust faults propagating beneath them; The flat basin floor of the 2500-3000 m deep Hikurangi Trough, incised by the meandering Hikurangi Channel; and Mernoo Bank on the crest of the Chatham Rise. Bathymetric Data Two separate bathymetric data sets are provided, covering northern and southern regions. The northern dataset is presented at a 50 m grid resolution, and the southern at 25 m grid resolution. Both datasets are compilations of available multibeam bathymetric data collected on multiple voyages. Primarily, the bathymetric data was collected by NIWA on the RV Tangaroa using Kongsberg 30 kHz (EM300 and EM302) multibeam echo sounders, with some additional data collected by German and US vessels using 12 kHz multibeam echo sounders. List of data sets 32-bit float GeoTIFF grid of offshore Marlborough bathymetry, New Zealand, at 25 m cell size. (WGS 84 / Mercator 41 EPSG:3994 projection) 32-bit float GeoTIFF grid of offshore Wairarapa bathymetry, New Zealand, at 50 m cell size. (WGS 84 / UTM zone 60S EPSG:32760 projection)