Annual Shorelines and Coastal Change Rates for Australia from 1988 to Present

Over 30,000 km of Australian coastline is monitored in this continental dataset. Digital Earth Australia Coastlines provides annual shoreline positions and rates of coastal change from 1988 onward, combining satellite data from Geoscience Australia with tidal modelling. The dataset is maintained by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Monitoring and mapping annual rates of coastal erosion and growth based on historical shoreline positions
• Prioritizing coastal management actions based on trends of coastal change observed over decades
• Modeling how coastlines respond to drivers like extreme weather events or sea level rise
• Supporting geomorphological studies of long-term shoreline dynamics and change patterns

Strengths

• Covers the entire Australian coastline, over 30,000 km in length
• Provides annual data from 1988 to the present, enabling multi-decadal trend analysis
• Combines satellite data with tidal modelling to map the coastline at mean sea level

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Combination of satellite data and tidal modelling

Time Range

1988 to present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 16:35:38.462477; freshness should be verified

Geography

Entire Australian coastline