Coastal Upwelling Frequency Along South-eastern Australia from 14 Years of MODIS Data

14 years of monthly MODIS sea surface temperature data were used to generate this GIS layer mapping the frequency of coastal upwelling. The data distinguishes areas of persistent, semi-persistent, and seasonal upwelling along the south-eastern Australian coast. It was produced by researchers at Geoscience Australia and is documented in a 2019 Remote Sensing of Environment publication.

Use Cases

• Identifying persistent upwelling zones for marine ecosystem studies based on the frequency data.
• Analyzing seasonal oceanographic patterns based on the classification of upwelling intensity.
• Modeling the impact of upwelling on coastal fisheries or climate based on the spatial and temporal variability.
• Validating regional ocean circulation models based on the satellite-derived upwelling maps.

Strengths

• Derived from 14 years of satellite observations, providing a multi-year climatology.
• Based on peer-reviewed methodology published in Remote Sensing of Environment.
• Spatially explicit data differentiating between persistent, semi-persistent, and seasonal upwelling.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and specific data format details within the ZIP are unknown.
• Freshness should be verified as the underlying MODIS data covers a historical period.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Generated using 14 years of monthly MODIS sea surface temperature data, as per the cited publication.

Time Range

Covers a 14-year period (specific years not stated in input).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:34:10.624978; freshness should be verified

Geography

South-eastern coast of Australia.