A new bathymetric grid for the Gulf of Papua and northern Australia was produced for
the area 140–150E, 6–14S, with a 3.600 (110 m) cell size. New multibeam sonar
surveys have added much needed detail to a region of the seabed where previously little
was known. In shallow Australian waters, bathymetry derived from Landsat satellite
imagery was used to supplement traditionally acquired bathymetric data. For onshore areas,
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data were used for topographic control. The final grid
revealed numerous features not observed in previous compilations of bathymetric data for
the region. Bathymetric surveys on the continental shelf revealed an incised shelf with
highly variable valley morphology. Prograding clinoforms are infilling valleys on the
continental shelf and mark the seaward extension of the Fly River delta. A linear, relict
shelf-edge barrier marks the shelf break in the northern Ashmore Trough region, elsewhere
the shelf break is scalloped and incised by canyons. Large mass transport deposits are
widespread on the continental slope and indicate regions where mass wasting is common.