Bonney Coast Upwelling MODIS Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a Imagery 2002-2016

Geoscience Australia Data provides a study using over 170 MODIS satellite images of Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a from July 2002 to December 2016. The research maps the spatial and temporal variability of the seasonal Bonney Coast upwelling system along Australia's southern shelves, with imagery at approximately 1km spatial resolution.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial extent and intensity of upwelling events using extracted Sea Surface Temperature anomaly signatures.
• Investigate inter-annual variability in upwelling seasonality by examining monthly Chlorophyll-a concentration time-series.
• Model relationships between upwelling dynamics, indicated by SST and Chlorophyll-a, and regional climate events like ENSO.
• Quantify the surface area influenced by intensive upwelling events using mapped spatial extents from image segmentation.

Strengths

• Over 170 satellite images provide a 14.5-year time-series from 2002 to 2016.
• Data includes two key oceanographic variables: Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a concentrations.
• Imagery has a high spatial resolution of approximately 1 kilometer.
• Study quantifies upwelling impact, such as influencing over 10,000 km2 during intensive events.

Limitations

• Dataset is derived from a single conference abstract; the underlying raw image data may not be directly provided.
• Temporal coverage ends in 2016, making the data stale for analyzing recent oceanographic conditions.
• Methodology relies on specific processing techniques (TPI and segmentation) which may not be reproducible without full documentation.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, presented at the 2017 Australian Marine Science Association Conference.

Collection Method

Analysis of time-series MODIS satellite imagery using Topographic Position Index and image segmentation techniques.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2016.

Freshness

Data collection ended in December 2016; the record was last updated on the platform in March 2026.

Geography

Bonney Coast, Australian southern shelves from Cape Jaffa, South Australia to Cape Nelson, Victoria.