NESP A12 Report: Satellite Mapping of Seven Northern Australian Estuaries

Seven northern Australian estuaries were examined using a three-decade Landsat archive to map intertidal areas and mangrove extent. The Australian Ocean Data Network utilized Digital Earth Australia to produce cloud-free composite images and detect habitat change. Results show large-scale mangrove expansion in some estuaries and recent dieback in others, information important for species management.

Use Cases

• Monitoring mangrove expansion and dieback based on the multi-decade Landsat time series.
• Mapping intertidal extent and morphology based on the Intertidal Extent Model applied to satellite imagery.
• Analyzing the effects of tidal dynamics on coastal habitats based on tide-tagged satellite imagery.
• Developing habitat monitoring tools for northern Australia based on the integration of Landsat and Sentinel-2 data streams.

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 for change detection.
• Employs geometric median composites to mitigate cloud interference common in northern Australia.

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.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

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 data.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 07:35:23.942141; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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