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

Geoscience Australia Data produced a report analyzing coastal habitats in northern Australia using satellite remote sensing. The work utilized the Digital Earth Australia Landsat archive to map intertidal areas and mangrove extent across seven estuaries, examining changes over a three-decade period. The report demonstrates methods for creating cloud-free composite images and tide-tagging to detect habitat change.

Use Cases

• Mapping intertidal habitat extent and morphology based on the Intertidal Extent Model mentioned in the description
• Detecting coastal habitat change over time based on the three-decade long Landsat time series
• Analyzing mangrove expansion or dieback patterns based on the results for estuaries like the Keep, Gilbert, Flinders, and Roper Rivers
• Monitoring tidal dynamics and their effects on habitats based on the tide-tagging methodology described

Strengths

• Analysis covers seven specific estuaries: Darwin Harbour and the Keep, Daly, Roper, Macarthur, Flinders and Gilbert River estuaries.
• Utilizes a three-decade long Landsat time series from the Digital Earth Australia archive.
• Employs specific methodologies like geometric median composites for cloud-free images and tide-tagging to isolate habitat change.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary data format is a PDF report, which may not contain structured, machine-readable data.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing analysis using the Digital Earth Australia Landsat archive.

Time Range

Covers approximately three decades of Landsat imagery.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:20:23.568102; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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