Australian Coastal Ecosystem Maps From Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery

DEA Coastal Ecosystems is the first national dataset to simultaneously map Australia's mangrove, saltmarsh, intertidal, and intertidal seagrass ecosystems. It uses annual time-series of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10-meter resolution for continental-scale analysis. The dataset is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Monitor annual changes in mangrove and saltmarsh extent using the time-series of Sentinel-2 imagery.
• Identify priority areas for coastal protection by analyzing the spatial distribution of intertidal ecosystems.
• Assess carbon storage potential by mapping the continental coverage of seagrass meadows.
• Fill spatial and temporal gaps in higher-resolution expert surveys by integrating this consistent 10m resolution mapping.
• Model coastal hazards by combining ecosystem maps with other terrestrial and ocean datasets like land cover.

Strengths

• First national dataset to map four key coastal ecosystem types simultaneously for Australia.
• Provides consistent continental-scale mapping at 10-meter spatial resolution.
• Uses annual time-series of publicly available Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for repeatable analysis.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, sample sizes, and geographic coordinates for individual features are not provided in the description.
• The dataset's accuracy relative to ground-truth field surveys is not quantified in the available description.
• The description does not specify the exact temporal range covered by the annual time-series.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, via the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) product suite.

Collection Method

Generated using Earth Observation (EO) from annual time-series of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.

Time Range

Annual time-series, but specific start and end years are not provided.

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Continental scale, covering Australia's coastline.