NESP TWQ Project 5.10: High-Resolution Gully Maps from LiDAR for the Great Barrier Reef

NESP TWQ Project 5.10 developed automated tools for mapping gullies from LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to aid in managing erosion affecting the Great Barrier Reef. The project, associated with the Australian Ocean Data Network, aimed to create high-resolution maps with gully classification attributes. The dataset was last updated on 2026-07-16.

Use Cases

• Prioritizing gully rehabilitation sites based on automated gully location and classification data.
• Improving catchment erosion models by integrating high-resolution gully maps and their key attributes.
• Designing targeted management plans for the Great Barrier Reef using landscape-scale gully type differentiation.

Strengths

• Focuses on a critical environmental issue, with gully erosion contributing to at least 40% of accelerated erosion affecting Great Barrier Reef water quality.
• Uses LiDAR data, which the description states is widely recognized as the best method for accurate, landscape-scale gully mapping.
• Aims to provide gully classification, moving beyond the low-resolution, overly simple maps described as currently available.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• File formats listed are PNG and HTML, suggesting the primary data may be visual or report-based rather than raw structured data.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Automated extraction and classification from airborne LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).

Time Range

Project period 2019-2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 00:53:55.535853; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef catchment areas