Annual Australian Shoreline Positions and Change Rates from 1988

Digital Earth Australia Coastlines provides annual shoreline positions and rates of coastal change for the entire Australian coastline from 1988 to the present. The dataset combines satellite data from Geoscience Australia's Digital Earth Australia program with tidal modelling to map the typical coastline location at mean sea level each year. It is produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Calculate rates of coastal erosion or growth by analyzing annual shoreline positions.
• Model coastline response to drivers like extreme weather events by correlating historical shoreline change with event data.
• Prioritize coastal management interventions by evaluating historical coastline change at local and regional scales.
• Support geomorphological studies by examining patterns of how and why coastlines have changed across time.

Strengths

• Covers the entire Australian coastline, over 30,000 km in length.
• Provides annual data from 1988 to the present, enabling long-term trend analysis.

Limitations

• Specific sample size, row count, and data volume are not provided.
• The dataset is limited to the Australian coastline, which may limit global applicability.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, utilizing Geoscience Australia's Digital Earth Australia program.

Collection Method

Combines satellite data with tidal modelling to map the typical coastline location at mean sea level for each year.

Time Range

1988 to present.

Freshness

Updated regularly as new satellite data is acquired; last metadata update was April 2026.

Geography

Entire Australian coastline.