Murray-Darling Basin Wetland Extent Map 1983-1993

1983 to 1993 mapping project identifying wetlands greater than 5 hectares across the Murray-Darling Basin. The dataset was created by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority using Landsat MSS imagery and ancillary data, with verification by state agencies in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the ACT.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of floodplain wetlands, freshwater lakes, saline lakes, and reservoirs for habitat conservation planning.
• Use the wetland extent polygons as a baseline layer for comparing modern satellite imagery to assess changes over time.
• Model hydrological connectivity by integrating wetland locations with river network and floodplain geospatial data.
• Calculate the total area and count of wetlands exceeding the 5-hectare threshold for regional environmental reporting.

Strengths

• Decadal temporal coverage from 1983 to 1993 provides a historical baseline.
• Data verified by multiple state agencies across five Australian jurisdictions.
• Includes multiple wetland information classes (e.g., Floodplain wetlands, saline lakes).

Limitations

• Data represents maximum extent over a ten-year period, not continuous change.
• Mapping is limited to wetlands larger than 5 hectares, omitting smaller features.
• Based on 1980s-1990s Landsat MSS imagery, which has lower spatial resolution than modern sensors.

Provenance

Source

Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Collection Method

Unsupervised classification of Landsat MSS spectral classes combined with ancillary wetland information.

Time Range

1983-1993

Freshness

Metadata last updated in 2026, though the underlying data's temporal coverage ends in 1993.

Geography

Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.