Northern Australian Estuary Habitats from Landsat Satellite Time Series

NESP A12 project report analyzes coastal habitats in seven northern Australian estuaries using the Digital Earth Australia platform. The work utilized a three-decade-long Landsat satellite imagery archive to map intertidal areas, mangrove extent, and habitat changes. The Australian Ocean Data Network published this scoping study for the A12 Northern Seascapes Project.

Use Cases

• Mapping mangrove expansion and dieback over time using the Landsat time-series change detection.
• Modeling intertidal extent and morphology by applying the Intertidal Extent Model to tide-tagged satellite imagery.
• Analyzing tidal dynamics' effects on habitats using geometric median composites to depict maximum observed tidal extent.
• Monitoring key coastal landforms for threatened species management using derived maps of habitat extent and condition.

Strengths

• Analysis spans a three-decade-long Landsat time series.
• Covers seven distinct estuaries across northern Australia.
• Employs advanced methods like tide-tagging and geometric median composites to mitigate cloud interference.

Limitations

• Scope is limited to a preliminary assessment of seven selected estuaries.
• Report format (PDF) limits direct data access and computational analysis.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and quantitative accuracy metrics are not provided.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network for the NESP A12 Northern Seascapes Scoping Project.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Covers approximately three decades of Landsat data.

Freshness

Report metadata last updated in April 2026.

Geography

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