NESP A12: Satellite-Based Mapping of Seven Northern Australian Estuaries

A report analyzing over three decades of Landsat satellite imagery from the Digital Earth Australia archive for seven northern Australian estuaries. The work, part of the NESP A12 Northern Seascapes Scoping Project, demonstrates methods for mapping intertidal areas, mangrove extent, and habitat change. The analysis focuses on Darwin Harbour and the Keep, Daly, Roper, Macarthur, Flinders, and Gilbert River estuaries.

Use Cases

• Mapping intertidal extent and morphology based on tide-tagged Landsat imagery.
• Detecting mangrove expansion or dieback over time using a multi-decade satellite time series.
• Assessing the impact of tidal dynamics on coastal habitats in regions with large tidal ranges.
• Developing habitat monitoring tools by combining Landsat with newer satellite data streams like Sentinel-2.

Strengths

• Utilizes a three-decade long Landsat time series from the Digital Earth Australia platform.
• Focuses on seven specific estuaries in northern Australia, providing regional specificity.
• Employs advanced methods like geometric median composites and tide-tagging to mitigate cloud and tidal interference.

Limitations

• Data is presented as a PDF report; underlying raw imagery or processed data layers are not directly accessible.
• The analysis is limited to seven selected estuaries, which may not represent all northern Australian coastal systems.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred from the report.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Analysis of the Australian Landsat archive within the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) platform.

Time Range

Covers approximately three decades of Landsat imagery (specific years not stated).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:33:48.172504; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Seven estuaries in northern Australia: Darwin Harbour, Keep, Daly, Roper, Macarthur, Flinders, and Gilbert River estuaries.