Ultra-high resolution maps of the Great Barrier Reef sea floor released

New ultra-high resolution maps of the entire sea floor of the Great Barrier Reef have been released.

Scientists are hopeful the maps will prove an invaluable tool in managing the natural wonder.

The structure and underwater geography of the 1.5 million square kilometre reef have been illuminated in unprecedented detail in an enormous dataset released by the federal government on Friday.

The data is the result of a joint four-year project between Geoscience Australia, James Cook University (JCU) and the Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS).

"This is a treasure trove of data and it will be put to a range of uses, including research into marine ecosystems and oceanographic and tidal modelling, which among other things helps better predict storm surges along the Queensland coast," Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said.