Articles

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This presentation provides an introduction to the concepts needed by content editors of eAtlas.  

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This technical presentation provides an introduction to the aim of the eAtlas as well as a comphensive overview of the design and architecture of the eAtlas systems.
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This poster map shows satellite and aerial imagery of Torres Strait. It also shows the Australia Maritime Boundariers in the region. This region neighbours with Papau New Guinea resulting in complex maritime boundaries.
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This map shows the density of shipping traffic as measured by the Automatic Identification System (AIS). Each black dot on the map represents a reading of a vessel location taken each hour over a 3 month period in 2013. AIS is fitted to all large ships (cargo ships, container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, etc) and ferries (more than 12 passengers) and is optional for smaller recreational vessels.
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The Winds of Zenadth Cultural Festival takes place every two years on Thursday Island. The festival is a community event that brings people together and showcases the strength and diversity of the Torres Strait people’s culture and customs.

The eAtlas information stall at the festival in September 2014, provided an opportunity for the community to try out the mapping and visualisation tools and to get familiar with the look and feel of the site. The most important message for the community was that the Torres Strait eAtlas is an internet site that is free for everyone to use.

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This presentation provides a technical overview of the e-Atlas. It outlines a brief introduction to the e-Atlas, a demonstration of the mapping system and an outline of each of the software systems that make up the architecture of the e-Atlas.
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This presentation provides a general overview of the e-Atlas, its background, role, what you will find in the e-Atlas and the value of bring spatial data together in one platform. This was presented to the Department of the Environment in April 2014.
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The eAtlas Image Metadata Editor application is a Java program that allows information about the photos such as title, description, attribution, location, etc. to be recorded and saved in the images. When these images are then uploaded to the eAtlas this metadata is then maintained and displayed on the site. A web page is created for each image using the metadata added to the photo by the Image Metadata Editor. This application is intended to be used by eAtlas content administrators and those wishing to submit lots of photos to the eAtlas.
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Over the life of the NERP TE program each project is required to complete a metadata describing the project itself and metadata records describing each of the dataset produced by the project.

This guide describes the creation and supplying of metadata describing just the project itself (referred to as the 'project metadata record') and not the datasets produced by this project; these will come later as each dataset is developed. These subsequent dataset records will be attached and linked to the project metadata record being described here.

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Seagrass meadows in Torres Strait are abundant and widespread. Seagrass/algal beds have been rated as the third most valuable ecosystem globally for ecosystem services. Their value is due to their diverse roles within marine coastal ecosystems. Like other plants seagrass harvest the sun’s energy and thus are a source of primary productivity; energy that can be passed through the marine food chain. Seagrass is a major food source for dugong, a marine mammal of high importance culturally and as food throughout the region.
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A plethora of recreational and commercial vessels operate within or transit Torres Strait. They unite the island communities and are a key transport mechanism for all kinds of goods and services. While shipping offers many benefits to the Torres Strait there are also associated risks, especially in event of an accident. These include threats to water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem health, physical or chemical damage from groundings and the introduction of pests.
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Dugong (Dugong dugon) are air-breathing marine mammals of global conservation significance, that can grow up to three metres, weigh up to 400kg and live for at least 70 years. Females reach sexual maturity at six years, and produce a calf only once every 2.5-5 years thereafter. Gestation period is 14 months, but calves suckle milk from their mothers for 18 months after birth. Dugongs’ main food source is seagrass, but they also eat invertebrates such as worms, sea squirts, and shellfish.
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The Torres Strait marine environment contains a relatively shallow (<20m) and highly productive stretch of seawater between the tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea. It straddles the juncture of the Indian Ocean (Arafura sea) with the Pacific Ocean (Coral Sea), resulting in complex patterns of influence from the two ocean systems, including complicated tides and currents, and high biodiversity. Torres Strait contains over 100 islands, and a diversity of marine habitats including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and rich benthic garden communities.