NESP A12: Satellite Analysis of Seven Northern Australian Estuaries

Seven northern Australian estuaries were examined using the Digital Earth Australia Landsat archive to map intertidal and mangrove habitats. The report demonstrates a cloud-free composite method using the geometric median of surface reflectance and tide-tagged imagery to analyze changes over a three-decade time series. This work, part of the A12 Northern Seascapes Scoping Project, was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Monitoring mangrove expansion or die-back over time based on the three-decade Landsat time series mentioned.
• Mapping intertidal extent and morphology using the Intertidal Extent Model and tide-tagged imagery described.
• Assessing habitat change for species management by analyzing the dynamic island growth and mangrove changes reported for specific estuaries.
• Developing habitat monitoring tools by leveraging the continuous addition of Landsat and Sentinel-2 data streams to the DEA platform.

Strengths

• Analysis covers a three-decade long Landsat time series.
• Focuses on seven specific estuaries: Darwin Harbour, Keep, Daly, Roper, Macarthur, Flinders, and Gilbert River.
• Employs advanced methods like geometric median composites and tide-tagging to mitigate cloud interference and tidal dynamics.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The primary file format is PDF, which may limit direct machine-readability of the underlying analysis data.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing analysis using the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) platform and the Landsat archive.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:55:13.981204; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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