Sydney Harbour Sediment Sampling Results: Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway - Management (Coastal CRC) - Coastal Water Habitat Mapping Project Milestone Report CG1-03 for the Coastal Geomorphology and Classification Subproject

This Milestone Report documents the results of the analysis of sediment samples collected during the survey of Sydney Harbour in August, 2003. The samples were collected by Geoscience Australia (GA) and Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). The sediment sampling programme was undertaken as part of the coastal geomorphology and classification sub-project of the Coastal CRC - Coastal Water Habitat Mapping Project. Samples were collected to assess the physical character of the sediments and map their
distribution for comparison with the geomorphology of the estuary floor using new and existing swath bathymetry data.

The analysis of the sediment samples will be used to groundtruth the areas surveyed with the Coastal CRC's Reson SeaBat 8125 multibeam sonar mapping system. Approximately one third of the targeted area was covered by the Seabat 8125 in the first survey, due to problems with the survey boat. The remaining area will be surveyed in the second Sydney Harbour survey, which is planned for September/October 2004. The sediment data will be used to assess how the physical properties of the benthos vary spatially and how they influence acoustic backscatter waveforms to classify benthic habitats. The study builds upon the existing knowledge of the geomorphology of the seabed in Sydney Harbour.

The report also discusses issues of interpretation and equipment selection for the toolkit as well as other completed work.

本里程碑报告记录了2003年8月悉尼港勘测期间采集的沉积物样本分析成果。样本由澳大利亚地质调查局（Geoscience Australia，GA）与国防科学与技术组织（Defence Science and Technology Organisation，DSTO）采集。本次沉积物采样计划作为海岸合作研究中心（Coastal CRC）“近岸水域生境制图项目”下属的海岸地貌学与分类子项目的一部分实施。采集样本的目的在于评估沉积物的物理特性，并绘制其分布图谱，结合新旧条带测深数据，与河口底床地貌开展对比分析。

沉积物样本分析将用于对海岸合作研究中心的Reson SeaBat 8125多波束声呐测绘系统所勘测区域进行实地验证。受勘测船故障影响，首次勘测仅覆盖了约三分之一的目标区域，剩余区域将在计划于2004年9月/10月开展的第二次悉尼港勘测中完成。沉积物数据将用于评估底栖生境的物理特性如何随空间变化，以及其如何影响声学反向散射波形，以实现底栖生境分类。本研究基于悉尼港海底地貌的既有研究成果展开。

本报告还讨论了该工具包的解译与设备选型相关问题，以及其他已完成的工作。