AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Mission Beach - Habitat quality, canopy cover, tenure type (6 months after cyclone Larry), 2006 (MTSRF 4.9.3, JCU)

This dataset consists of an atlas of the habitat quality of the urbanized and agricultural landscapes of the Mission beach region in August 2006, 6 months after cyclone Larry. This analysis and classification includes habitat quality, canopy cover, vegetation quality, vegetation types, tenure type and aerial photography at a resolution of 0.5m.

These maps of habitat quality highlight potential priority areas for maintenance and/or restoration of connectivity and is a tool for natural resource managers to implement restoration goals at Mission beach.

All the PDF maps for this atlas can be accessed from the "Mission Beach - Habitat Quality Atlas page".
https://eatlas.org.au/mission-beach_jcu_habitat-quality-2006_atlas

This work was undertaken as part of MTSRF Project 4.9.3. The remote sensing analyses used a novel computerized Anaglyph technique for stereoscopic classification of aerial photographs flown 6 months after Category 4 cyclone Larry. Vegetation polygons of canopy cover and vegetation type were digitized. GIS-based rapid assessment of habitat quality combined vegetation quality with remnant area or riparian width, an analysis providing an excellent surrogate of field-determined habitat quality in rural areas unaffected by cyclones. Field-truthing of the remotely sensed data at 44 sites in coastal Mission beach included rapid transect assessments of vegetation structure, disturbance and microclimate parameters. Repeated bird surveys over 2 years provided an indicator of faunal habitat quality.

Data Units:

Each map consists of a 1 km x 1 km section of the Mission beach region with the following classifications:
* Habitat Quality: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor, Cleared
* Percentage Canopy Cover
* Shape/Size index
* Vegetation Quality Index: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor, Cleared
* Vegetation Types: Rainforest, Sclerophyll Rainforest, Sclerophyll Open Forest, Sclerophyll Woodland, Sclerophyll Open Woodland, Melaleuca Woodland, Melaleuca Swamp Open Forest, Melaleuca Swamp Woodland, Melaleuca Swamp Open Woodland, Grassland, Beach Ridge &amp; Swale, Mangrove, Samphire, Plantation, Cleared
* Aerial Photography (0.5 m resolution)
* Tenure: Freehold Land, Reserve State Lease, State Land

References:
- Goosem, M., Habitat quality and potential improvements to connectivity in the Mission Beach area, MTSRF Conference 2010

Tags: marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NESP MaC Project 1.29 d – Barriers to using UAVs in conservation and environmental management (2022) (JCU)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - Barriers to using UAVs in conservation and environmental management. 

Environmental managers are embracing technology to assist with monitoring and evaluating coastal wetlands. Drones are being used routinely for fauna tracking and water sample collection; however, barriers in broader application still remain for adoption in environmental management. This research will survey conservation professionals about the barriers preventing drone adoption. 

Tools available for conservation and environmental research are becoming more advanced and accessible to scientists, community and managers (Isosevic et al., 2021). The ability to mobilise science and technology has become increasingly more important for governments that are faced with balancing development and protection of the environment (Cash et al., 2003, Waltham and Sheaves, 2015). With the proliferation of UAV usage in research (Shahbazi et al., 2014, Hardin et al., 2019, Tmušić et al., 2020) and innovative ways in which they can be used to collect data, it is important to investigate whether these have a place in the conservation toolbox for conservation management. Managers need data on ecosystems to manage and protect them (Dale et al., 2019, Di Stefano, 2004), therefore the potential advantages of UAVs means that data collection using these tools could be more representative and cost-effective (Joyce et al., 2019). However, current management structures do not always leverage data or innovations effectively (Cash et al., 2003). 

Planned Outputs
 • manuscript publication
 • summary information sheet

Tags: Coastal Waters (Australia), MARINE, National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Project - Torres Strait Sustainable Land Use Plan (SLUP) 2010 (TSRA, RPS)

This project seeks to ensure that planning for the future development of the Torres Strait Islands is sustainable and capable of taking into account ecological and social information, assets, risk and existing infrastructure.

This Plan provides the following information for each island:
•identification of key environmental assets;
•identification of key land management issues;
•identification of key infrastructure needs;
•land use mapping identifying land suitable for development and conservation; and
•land use for the future sustainable management.

Methodology
In 2007 the TSRA invited 15 of the Torres Strait Island community to participate in the Sustainable  Land Use Study, funded by the NHT (now Caring for the Country). Based on submissions received, the communities of Boigu, Dauan, Erub, Iama, Masig and Saibai were accepted to be involved in the project as stage 1 pilot project. In 2009 the TSRA, via funding from the major infrastructure project, requested the Land Use Plans be extended to the remaining 9 communities of Hammond, Kubin, St. Pauls, Badu, Warraber, Poruma, Mabuyag, Ugar and Mer. Stage 1 occurred between 2007 and 2008. Stage 2 occurred between 2009 and 2010.

Preliminary Consultation
The project team met with all Community Council (prior to amalgamation) and Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBC) to discuss the project objectives and methodology.

Phase 1 - Fauna and Habitat Assessment.
Field Study
The project team undertook field studies on the islands to identify key environmental assets and associated land management issues, identify areas of conservation importance and undertake fauna identification.

Phase 2 - Information Gathering &amp; Research.
The project team collated all available data for the islands to order to produce a compressive collection of information on the islands. Data included plans and surveys from major infrastructure projects, data collected as part of other TSRA projects (e.g. regional ecosystem mapping, tide levels) and well as existing State government data. Also during this phase, the project team undertook a literature review of natural resource management issues in the context of the Torres Strait. This research, along with local knowledge obtained by Community in Phase 5, provided the foundation for the best practice principles outlined in the Plan.

Phase 3 - Constraints and Information Mapping.
The project team produced a series of constraints and information mapping. This included:
•analysis of the data collected in Phases 2&amp;3;
•analysis of existing spatial datasets, including
aerial photographs, maps and satellite imagery;
•analysis of Commonwealth and State legislation, policies, strategies, reports and community plans;
•development and sourcing of relevant GIS data layers;
•preparation of base mapping showing satellite imagery, slope analysis, coastal impacts and inundation, fauna and habitat values, bushfire risk, limited cultural heritage information, extent of service infrastructure.

Tags: Land Surface | Land Use/land Cover | Land Management, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australian Onshore and Offshore Boreholes WFS

This OGC conformant web service delivers data from Geoscience Australia's Boreholes database (borehole header and directional survey data) and associated geological observations (lithostratigraphic data). The data includes records of boreholes drilled by Geoscience Australia and its predecessor organisations (BMR, AGSO), all boreholes drilled in Australian Commonwealth offshore marine jurisdictions, and a selection of onshore boreholes drilled by government and private entities. Where possible this service conforms to the GeoSciML v4.1 data transfer standard.

Geoscience Australia is not a reporting or regulatory authority for borehole drilling.  Borehole information in Geoscience Australia's Boreholes database is sourced from various regulatory authorities in the States, Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments for Geoscience Australia research purposes.  Where Geoscience Australia is not the custodian of borehole data provided in this web service, the custodian agency provided with the data should be consulted as the authoritative source.

The data dictionary for this web service is at https://d28rz98at9flks.cloudfront.net/144577/144577_00_3.pdf. For information on borehole status definitions, refer to https://db-content.ga.gov.au/data_dictionary/Borehole_Status_vocabulary_2021.pdf

Tags: Published_External, WFS, borehole, borehole logging, borehole logs, borehole samples, geology, lithology, lithostratigraphy, stratigraphy, web service
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NESP MaC Project 4.18 - Indigenous Ranger-led monitoring of threatened sawfish in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, 2024-2026 (CSIRO, CLCAC)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project Indigenous Ranger-led monitoring of threatened sawfish in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

This project will partner scientists with First Nations Ranger groups to assess population abundance, distribution and by-catch survival for sawfish species in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria.  This project will develop capability in First Nations Ranger Groups that will directly assist with developing baseline status and trends for sawfish species in Australia (including the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis, which is a priority species: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/threatened-species-action-plan-2022-2032.pdf). Developing sampling and monitoring capability within First Nations Ranger groups in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria will increase the number of tissue samples for close kin mark recapture (CKMR) population estimates, potentially reducing the present reliance on the fishing industry to collect samples, and ultimately enable sawfish population trajectories to be measured. 

The CSIRO project team will facilitate capacity building of four Ranger teams within the CLCAC Normanton, Gangaliida and Garawa (Burketown), Wellesley Islands and Ngumari Waanyi (Gregory) to undertake sawfish surveys in the Southern Gulf.  The training will build the skills of the Rangers to undertake sawfish surveys to collect tissue samples, distribution data and satellite tagging on CLCAC sea country. Tissue samples collected will contribute directly to the current NESP Sawfish project 3.11 “Multi-fishery collaboration to assess population abundances and post-release survival of threatened sawfish in northern Australia”, which is focused on working with the commercial fishing industry. These samples will be used to obtain baseline estimates of sawfish population status required to monitor population trends. 

Planned Outputs
 • Catch data from research surveys and/or indigenous ranger programs (Tabular data)
 • Tissue samples collected by research and or indigenous ranger programs
 • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Tags: National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal (NESP MaC) hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australian Openstreetmap Major Roads December 2011 (NERP TE 13.1 eAtlas, source:Cloudmade)

This dataset contains the major roads for Australia, extracted from the OpenStreetMap project on December 2011 by CloudMade.

From the complete set of roads in the OpenStreetMap shapefile only major roads were extracted. This created a smaller high performance shapefile.

In ArcMap loaded the AU_CloudMade_OpenStreetMap-Dec-2011 shapefile then used the Analysis Tools/Extract/Select tool to extract the major roads.

Input Feature Class: australia_highway.shp
Output Feature Class: AU_OSM_MajorRoads.shp

"TYPE" = 'trunk' OR "TYPE" = 'trunk_link' OR "TYPE" = 'tertiary' OR "TYPE" = 'tertiary link' OR "TYPE" = 'tertiary; primary_link' OR "TYPE" = 'tertiary_link' OR "TYPE" = 'secondary_link' OR "TYPE" = 'secondary link' OR "TYPE" = 'secondary' OR "TYPE" = 'primary_link' OR "TYPE" = 'primary' OR "TYPE" = 'motorway' OR "TYPE" = 'motorway_link'

Tags: Human Dimensions | Infrastructure | Transportation
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
GBR - Coral mass bleaching extent in 1998 and 2002 by aerial surveys (MTSRF 1.1.5, AIMS)

The purpose of this study was to provide a large-scale documentation of the extent of bleaching, for comparison against SST and other bleaching events.

The data record the large-scale bleaching event on the GBR in 1998, mapped by aerial survey method. Surveys were conducted at a flying height of 160 m and covered a total of 654 reefs. Data are estimated bleaching status of whole reefs, conducted by one experienced observer (RB). The surveys were conducted soon after the hottest period was over, a compromise between ensuring that bleaching on reefs was as advanced as possible but before major mortality had set in. Approximately 42% of reefs bleached to some extent in 1998, with ~18% strongly bleached.

Aerial surveys of the 2002 large-scale (2,000 km) bleaching event on the GBR. Surveys were conducted at a flying height of 160 m over 11 days between 3 March and 20 March 2002 and covered a total of 641 reefs. Data are bleaching status of whole reefs. The surveys were conducted soon after the hottest period was over, a compromise between ensuring that bleaching on reefs was as advanced but before major mortality had set in. 

The data allowed to compare GBR-wide spatial patterns of bleaching between 1998 and 2002. In both events, more inshore than offshore reefs bleached. In 2002, ~54% of reefs bleached to some extent with 18% strongly bleached (compared with ~42% of reefs bleached to some extent in 1998 with ~18% strongly bleached). These statistics and the fact that nearly twice as many offshore reefs bleached in 2002 compared to 1998 (41 vs. 21%, respectively) makes the 2002 event the worst bleaching event on record for the GBR.

The data is presented with five-point rating:
5 (&lt;1% bleached)
4 (1–10% bleached)
3 (10–30% bleached)
2 (30–60% bleached)
1 (&gt;60% bleached).

As part of the Reef Atlas project (now the eAtlas) the bleaching observations were interpolated over the whole GBR by Glenn De'ath using Generalized Additive Models with a Quasibinomial fit. This produced a gridded version of the dataset and is available as a KML.

Data format:

As part of the Reef Atlas project (now the eAtlas) the bleaching observations were interpolated over the whole GBR by Glenn De'ath using Generalized Additive Models with a Quasibinomial fit. This produced a gridded version of the dataset and is available as a KML.

Also available is the original bleaching observation data as a shapefile.

References:
- Berkelmans R, De’ath G, Kininmonth S, Skirving WJ (2004) A comparison of the 1998 and 2002 coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef: spatial correlation, patterns, and predictions. Coral Reefs 23: 74–83

Data Location:

This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\MTSRF\GBR_MTSRF-1-1-5_AIMS_Death-G_e-Atlas-maps-code\geomap\reef-data-eric\Coral_Bleaching

Tags: marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Coastal seagrass habitat suitability model (wet and dry season) in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (MTSRF, JCU)

This dataset is consists of modelled habitat suitability of coastal seagrass distribution in the wet and dry seasons along the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area coastline. 

A Bayesian belief network was used to quantify the relationship (dependencies) between seagrass and eight environmental drivers: relative wave exposure, bathymetry, spatial extent of flood plumes, season, substrate, region, tidal range and sea surface temperature.

We found that at the scale of the entire GBRWHA, the main drivers of inshore seagrass presence are tidal range and relative exposure. The outputs of our analysis included a probabilistic GIS-surface of inshore seagrass presence and distribution for both the wet and dry seasons, and across four regions at the scale of 2km*2km planning units. The model can be used by managers in the GBRWHA to delineate seagrass ecological units, and assist them in marine planning at broad spatial scales.

For more information about methods see: Grech, A. and Coles, R.J. 2010, An ecosystem-scale predictive model of coastal seagrass distribution, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20: 437-444

Data Location:

This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\MTSRF\QLD_MTSRF-1-1-3_JCU_Grech-A_Seagrass-coastal-model-2007

Tags: marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NERP TE Project 6.3 - Critical seabird foraging locations and trophic relationships for the Great Barrier Reef, 2011-2014 (JCU)

The program aims to identify key foraging locations and biophysical characteristics for shearwaters and boobies in the GBR and Coral Sea, assess prey availability and its climate-driven variations, and understand the conditions necessary for viable reproduction and potential anthropogenic interactions.

Overall the key objectives of this program are to:



Identify and map the principal foraging locations for shearwaters and boobies breeding at the most important colonies of the GBR, both within and between breeding seasons, using a combination of different Geolocation, GPS and Satellite PTT data loggers;

Obtain detailed information on the biophysical oceanographic characteristics of these foraging habitats in both the GBR and Coral Sea regions using a range of biophysical parameters derived from satellite and in situ data;

Quantify how prey availability at these sites varies with climate driven changes in biophysical oceanography;

quantifying the level of prey availability and associated oceanographic conditions required to maintain viable reproduction at significant breeding colonies; and

establish potential linkages and interactions between these areas/processes and other anthropogenic activities.


Tags: National Environmental Research Program Tropical Ecosystems Hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NESP MaC Project 3.8 - Carbon abatement and biodiversity enhancements through controlling feral ungulate disturbance in wetlands, 2023-2025 (UQ)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - Project 3.8 – Carbon abatement and biodiversity enhancements through controlling feral ungulate disturbance in wetlands. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

Feral ungulates (e.g., cattle, pigs, buffalo) damage wetlands, reducing biodiversity, water quality and cultural heritage values, but funding for management has been inadequate. Feral ungulates may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through their disturbance of soils and vegetation, but the levels of carbon abatement achieved with their control is not well characterised across Australia. This project will work with Traditional Owners, academics and governments to characterise the benefits of feral ungulate control in wetlands, providing science that will underpin development of an Emission Reduction Fund method, where payments for carbon credits and biodiversity enhancements would fund management of feral ungulates on Country.

Planned Outputs
• Environmental habitat surveys [tabular dataset]
• Greenhouse gas and soil carbon data [tabular data]
• ungulate damage assessments [tabular data]
• Remote sensing vegetation condition [scripts]
• Wetland topology assessments [spatial]
• Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Tags: National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal (NESP MaC) hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Mapping of temperate subtidal seagrass beds in Tayaritja Sea Country (Furneaux Group of Islands), Lutruwita (Tasmania)

This record contains a subset of benthic habitat data from https://doi.org/10.25959/E4S6-GE74 (NESP MaC Project 3.6) rehosted for the purposes of the Seamap Australia collaborative project.

Seagrass beds are a dominant marine ecosystem of Tayaritja (the Furneaux Group of Islands) in the north-eastern waters off Tasmania. Historical coarse mapping has indicated extensive beds of Posidonia, Amphibolis, Heterozostera, and Zostera species, potentially comprising some of the largest and deepest seagrass extents found in temperate Australian waters. However, limited data on the distribution and ecological value of these seagrass habitats represents a significant knowledge gap in understanding Australia's wetland natural assets.

This project mapped the extent, ecological composition, population structure, and blue carbon value of seagrass beds around Tayaritja, in partnership with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, as part of NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 3.6. The study area focused on the coastal waters surrounding Flinders Island in the western Furneaux Group, with mapping extending from the high tide line to the depth limit of reliable optical detection (approximately 30 m), based on analysis of field data and satellite imagery capabilities in the region. This metadata record specifically describes the benthic mapping component of the study.

A combination of close-range remote sensing methods was used to map the extent and ecological values of seagrass beds. High-resolution satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 (10 m) sensors, combined with bathymetric LiDAR data and oceanographic variables, was used to map baseline seagrass extent and composition. A field campaign deployed a Benthic Observation Survey System (BOSS) and unBaited Remote Underwater stereo-Video system (stereo-uBRUV) at approximately 400 locations to validate remote sensing outputs, collecting field photo quadrats and rhizome cores. From these data, maps were produced showing the extent and coverage of seagrass, sand, and macroalgae, and where possible, seagrass species composition, subject to water depth and clarity constraints.

See the "Lineage" section of this record for full methodology.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
NERP TE Project 1.3 - Characterising the cumulative impacts of global, regional and local stressors on the present and past biodiversity of the GBR, 2011-2014 (UQ)

This project will investigate how coral communities along the Great Barrier Reef have historically responded to acute (e.g. cyclones) and chronic (e.g. water quality) disturbances using pioneering high-precision geological dating and palaeoecological techniques, combined with high-resolution geochemical analysis of coral records.

This project will determine high resolution chronological records on different time scales over the past 1-2 millennia of parameters such as: 





Sea-level based on high-precision dating and elevation survey of well-preserved microatolls; 




Salinity and pH value based on high-precision boron isotope analyses of selected coral cores in conjunction with back-reef sediment cores; 




Cyclone frequency based on precise dating of transported reef blocks, cyclone ridges and lagoon sediment cores; 




Sea-surface temperature based on geochemical proxy analyses (Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, 18O/16O) of U-series-dated coral cores. 




Variation in coral reef community structure and coral calcification rates.



Tags: National Environmental Research Program Tropical Ecosystems Hub, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network