A total of 335 sediment samples were collected over the 2006/2007 surveys providing broad coverage of Ningaloo Marine Park. Sampling sites were chosen to include geomorphic provinces across the shelf from the base of the fore reef slope/inner shelf to the outer continental shelf/upper slope. A widely spaced systematic grid of samples was used in order to characterise each region and these were stratified by depth contours across the shelf up to the edge of Ningaloo Marine Park State boundary. Positions were fixed using a Global Positioning System (GPS) and imported directly into ArcGISTM for live onboard spatial analysis. Grabs were dropped at or close to towed video stations to obtain habitat linkages to surficial sediment facies, and infer biological activity and sediment transport pathways from sedimentary bedforms identified on the towed video data. Physical factors including geomorphology, sediment composition, mobility of substrate, bathymetry, the hardness and roughness of the seabed and water depth will be significant in describing the distribution of benthic biota and classifying habitat types over the region. The relationships determined at this scale will improve our understanding of habitat variability and be used to aid in the production of offshore habitat maps for Ningaloo Marine Park.The sediment/substrate data will provide ground-truthing and add value to the acoustic backscatter data from the single and multi beam surveys completed in 2006/2007. The van Veen grab sampler collects surface and subsurface material to a depth of ~10 cm.Sediment fractions were separated for; grain size, component analysis, taxonomy of main biological constituents, and X - ray diffraction (XRD) for the determination of ratios of carbonate mineralogy.

In 2006, two areas in the Cloates Sanctuary Zone (SZ) (mid and north), one area in the Mandu SZ, one reference area outside the Cloates SZ and a reference area outside the Osprey SZ, in the Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP), were surveyed in transects, using a Simrad EQ60 Single beam echo-sounder, providing cross and along shelf profiles for each surveyed area.In 2007, surveys were extended from the southern boundary of the Ningaloo Marine Park at Red Bluff to south of Cloates SZ and from north of Mandu SZ to Point Murat. Preliminary onboard processing of single-beam acoustic backscatter data displayed differences in seabed acoustic roughness (irregularities in topography) and hardness (type of substrate) aiding in the identification of broad-scale habitats for sampling. The backscatter (Sv) values from the transect data were examined using Nearest Neighbour Interpolation within ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Tool. Future detailed analysis will aid in the preparation of marine habitat maps of the areas surveyed, and provide surrogate information for additional broad-scale biodiversity assessments. Surveys were undertaken to aid in the identification of any features of interest on the seafloor. Although this is a course method of acoustic survey, it is cost effective and provides a baseline bathymetry, which has not been achieved previously in Ningaloo Marine Park.