ASDST Coastal Middens Current Model: Aboriginal Site Likelihood in NSW

A 2020 geospatial model predicts the likelihood of coastal midden features across New South Wales on a 50-meter grid. The Aboriginal Sites Decision Support Tool (ASDST) Version 7.5, produced by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, generates raster layers with cell values from 0 to 1000 indicating relative likelihood. The model suite covers nine other Aboriginal site feature types and includes derived impact and reliability layers.

Use Cases

• Prioritize field survey areas for coastal middens based on predicted likelihood scores.
• Assess cumulative impacts on Aboriginal heritage by analyzing the derived 'drvd_imp' impact layer.
• Compare pre-colonial and current landscape likelihoods for cultural site features.
• Evaluate model prediction reliability using the 'drvd_rel' environmental distance algorithm.

Strengths

• Model covers the entire state of New South Wales at a 50-meter spatial resolution.
• Provides separate predictive layers for 10 distinct Aboriginal site feature types.
• Includes both pre-colonial (p1750) and current (curr_) landscape likelihood versions.
• Cell values use a standardized 0-1000 scale for likelihood comparison across features.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic and source bias inherent to the underlying AHIMS records.

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Collection Method

Predictive GIS modelling extending the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS).

Time Range

Model reflects current landscape conditions as of 2020 (Version 7.5).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-13 05:43:03.371384; freshness should be verified.

Geography

State of New South Wales, Australia.