Environmental research, maps and data for tropical Australia
Recent articles
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The Sensitive Data Access Control Plan is an eAtlas form for documenting how restricted research datasets should be managed, discovered and accessed over time.
Use this form when a dataset cannot be published openly, but still needs to be described, governed and made discoverable through public metadata. The form helps project teams record why the data is sensitive, what kinds of use may be acceptable, who should be consulted about access, and how the dataset should be managed after the original project team has moved on.
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This article outlines the new NESP MaC 3.17 Sentinel-2 composite imagery for tropical Australia. It explains how thousands of Sentinel 2 images were combined to create satellite imagery optimised for studying the shallow marine environments. It covers how the composites were built, how deep they reach, and how to view or download the imagery for research or management.
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Ocean Infinity completed drone photogrammetry at seven sites representing various areas of the Norfolk Island coastline. High-resolution digital elevation models and 3D imagery were produced to analyse the geomorphology of the coastline.
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Ever wondered what the weird and wonderful inhabitants of Australia’s Marine National Parks look like?
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A second survey of the fish, lobster and non-mobile seafloor organisms in shelf waters within the Tasman Fracture Marine Park (TFMP) was conducted in 2021, following initial surveys in 2014/15. The broad aim was to look at changes in the no-take National Park Zone (NPZ) following protection, relative to adjacent fished locations both within the park and in nearby areas. The 2021 surveys reinforced the status of the TFMP as a biodiverse Marine Park within the SE Marine Park Network.
Recent datasets
Mapping Australia’s tropical shellfish reefs June 2026 – spatial data (NESP MaC 4.13, Griffith University)
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12 October 2026
This dataset consists of all spatial products developed for NESP MaC project 4.13 Mapping Australia’s tropical shellfish reefs. It includes maps and shapefiles (point) of historical and present-day shellfish reefs across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, a shapefile (polygon) of a majority of shellfish reefs in Queensland, and all associated spatial attribute tables. This dataset is currently under embargo.
Benthic habitats of the Kurtijar Indigenous Protected Area 2023 (NESP MaC 3.5, JCU, CDU, ECU)
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08 October 2026
This dataset summarises intertidal and subtidal benthic surveys of the Kurtijar IPA, Gulf of Carpentaria, in 2023 into 3 GIS layers. (1) The point (site) shapefile describes features for 431 survey intertidal and subtidal sites. (2) The meadow shapefile describes seagrass features for the individual meadows. (3) The interpolation raster describes variation in seagrass biomass across sites within each meadow. Data access: Public access to this dataset is restricted.
Masig Island Seagrass Survey, Torres Strait, September 2025 (TropWATER, James Cook University)
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09 September 2026
This dataset summarises intertidal benthic surveys of Masig Island Island, Torres Strait, in September 2025 into 2 GIS shapefiles and 1 GIS raster. (1) The point (site) shapefile describes (a) seagrass presence/absence and (b) seagrass species composition across 156 sites. (2) The meadow (polygon) shapefile describes seagrass communities for the intertidal meadow. (3) The interpolation raster describes variation in seagrass biomass across sites for the intertidal meadow.
Dungeness Reef Seagrass Survey, Torres Strait, January 2026 (TropWATER, James Cook University)
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07 September 2026
This dataset summarises intertidal benthic surveys of Dungeness Reef, Torres Strait, in January 2026 into 3 GIS shapefiles. (1) The point (site) shapefile describes (a) seagrass presence/absence and (b) species composition across 109 sites. (2) The meadow (polygon) shapefile describes the seagrass community for the intertidal meadow. (3) The interpolation shapefile describes variation in seagrass biomass across sites for the intertidal meadows.
Fish communities and benthic mapping and monitoring of West Cape York Marine Park and Angkamuthi Sea Country, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia - 2024 (JCU, Angkamuthi, CDU)
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31 August 2026
This dataset summarises a subtidal benthic survey of Angkamuthi Sea Country, including the eastern side of West Cape York Marine Park, in 2024. Data is presented as 3 GIS layers: (1) A point (site) shapefile that describes (a) seagrass presence/absence, (b) seagrass species composition, (c) algae cover and (d) benthic macro-invertebrate cover and (e) coral cover at 129 sites surveyed by vessel. (2) A point (site) shapefile that describes (a) fish species abundance, (b) fish species richness, (c) and cumulative MaxN of each species at 83 sites surveyed by vessel.
eAtlas Partners
This project is jointly funded through Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program.