Spatial datasets mapping reef boundaries and habitats across the northern Australian seascape from central Western Australia to western Cape York in Queensland. The project was conducted by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Queensland (UQ) between 2023 and 2025. Outputs include marine-optimised satellite imagery, reef boundary maps, and improved geomorphic and benthic habitat maps derived from the Allen Coral Atlas.
Use Cases
- Planning coastal development projects based on mapped reef boundaries and high-value habitat locations.
- Evaluating environmental impact by overlaying development proposals with geomorphic and benthic habitat maps.
- Conducting marine conservation research using satellite imagery optimised for the marine environment.
- Updating global coral reef reference data with improved shallow water habitat datasets for the Timor and Arafura Seas.
Strengths
- Project uses satellite imaging techniques consistent with established mapping of the Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait, and the Coral Sea.
- Outputs include multiple specific, citable datasets with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for reef boundaries and marine-optimised imagery.
- Data products are targeted for a concrete application: assisting in the planning and evaluation of coastal development.
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 imaging techniques and improvements to the Allen Coral Atlas.
- Time Range
- 2023-2025
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-17 11:59:17.408750; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Northern Australian seascape, from central Western Australia to western Cape York in Queensland.