Australian Coastal Spectral Library for Aquatic Substrates

The Aquatic Substrate Library contains spectral data for marine and coastal features from the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study. It is part of the Australian National Spectral Database, sourced from a 2007 technical report by Blackburn Environmental Pty Ltd and CSIRO Land and Water. This dataset supports remote sensing analysis of natural and anthropogenic changes in aquatic environments.

Use Cases

• Calibrating satellite or airborne remote sensors using field-measured spectral signatures of aquatic substrates.
• Conducting end-member studies to identify and map different materials on the seafloor.
• Analyzing temporal changes in coastal features by comparing spectral data against baseline measurements.
• Modeling the impact of natural processes and human activities on marine ecosystems.

Strengths

• Data is part of the structured Australian National Spectral Database, indicating a degree of curation.
• Spectral data is directly linked to a detailed, peer-reviewed technical report providing methodological context.
• Cross-platform presence on data.gov.au suggests institutional recognition and stability.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• License information is not stated, which restricts clarity on reuse permissions.
• The primary data collection date (2003) is old, though the metadata was updated in 2026.

Provenance

Source

Blackburn, D. T, and Dekker, A. G. (2007). ACWS Technical Report No.6 for the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study Steering Committee.

Collection Method

Field spectroscopy measurements for remote sensing study.

Time Range

Primary data collected in 2003, as indicated in the dataset title.

Freshness

Metadata last updated on 2026-04-04 according to the most reliable platform entry.

Geography

Adelaide Coastal Waters, Australia.