REMOTE SENSING OF SHALLOW WATER MARINE BENTHIC HABITATS:
APPLICATION TO MARINE & COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN WA
WORKSHOP REPORT
Ewan Buckley (DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch)
Additional notes supplied by Andrew Buchanan and Brendon McAtee (Landgate
Satellite Remote Sensing Services)
Date
Thursday 13th November 2008
Time
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Acacia Room, DEC Crawley
Australia II Drive, Crawley
Venue
This project is funded through South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc and South West Catchments Council, with
the support of Western Australian and State Governments, through the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action
Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
Background
As part of the South Coast Regional Marine Planning process, a joint project was formed
between the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), South Coast Natural
Resource Management (South Coast NRM) and South West Catchments Council (SWCC) to
assemble all available marine information for the south coast and, where possible, fill gaps in
knowledge.
In order to address gaps in marine habitat mapping, a marine remote sensing project (to be
undertaken by CSIRO Environmental Earth Observation Group) was initiated to capture
broadscale coastal marine benthic habitat information over large unsurveyed areas of the south
coast. A component of this project included the organisation of a workshop to provide a forum for
discussion on the use of marine remote sensing products for marine management and planning.
This Marine Remote Sensing Workshop was organised by DEC Marine Policy and Planning
Branch with funding from South Coast NRM and South West Catchments Council, held at DEC
Crawley on the 13th November 2008.
Invitees were primarily from state government agencies, natural resource management groups or
research organisations involved in the production or consumption of marine remote sensing
products. See the attached list of participants (Appendix 1).
Workshop Objectives
The main objectives of the workshop were to provide a forum for the discussion of:
1) requirements of WA marine management organisations for remote sensing of shallowwater coastal, marine and estuarine habitats at a range of spatial, temporal and thematic
scales of mapping;
2) the applicability of the variety of available image sources and processing methods for
delivering the above requirements;
3) presentation of preliminary results of the South Coast Marine Remote Sensing Project
(CSIRO/DEC/South Coast NRM/SWCC), and case studies from other projects (CSIRO,
Murdoch, Curtin, Landgate);
4) where to from here? including outline of available state and national
projects/resources/archives, discussion on the coordination of projects;
5) technical demonstration of CSIRO image processing methods (SAMBUCA);
6) practical demonstration of field spectrometers available from Geoscience Australia
(CSIRO).
Main Outcomes

Core remote sensing data infrastructure exists (storage on iVEC) and some delivery
methods of GIS products are available (e.g. via a SLIP Marine Portal), but there is a need
for a linkage facility, to process raw data into user-friendly, GIS-ready products. This
facility could also serve as ‘brokers’ of remote sensing products – forming the link
between the high-end technical aspects of data procurement, calibration and processing,
and the eventual application for management purposes.

There is a large, growing and diverse marine remote sensing community in WA state
government agencies, research institutions, private industry and non-government natural
resource management organisations.

There are a significant number of marine remote sensing requirements, primarily for
benthic and water column baseline mapping/characterisation, and subsequent
monitoring.

There are a range of sensors readily available, becoming more accessible/affordable.

Local and interstate research organisations are delivering many remote sensing methods
and products.

Processing methods are ready to be made operational, and with high-quality imagery,
can deliver reliable results with minimal groundtruthing.

Currently, there is little coordination of remote sensing capabilities, requirements and
research needs within and between state government agencies.

There is a risk that a lack of coordination/standardisation can make comparisons
between different projects difficult or impossible due to differences in sensors, methods
or other specifications used (e.g. flying heights, data resolution, classification schema,
etc).
Workshop Summary
The workshop was divided into two sessions. In the morning session participants discussed the
range of marine remote sensing projects undertaken in WA, including presentations of some
results and the variety of methods and resources available. The afternoon session was more
technical in nature, with presentations by Dr Arnold Dekker and Hannelie Botha of the CSIRO
Environmental Earth Observation Group describing their latest research and methodologies,
including preliminary results of work being undertaken on the south coast.
Whilst some structure was provided, the workshop was intended to allow open discussion on any
topics of interest to the participants. Thus, whilst the original agenda (Appendix 2) was generally
followed, not all topics were covered and others were added as the workshop progressed.
Morning Session – 9:00am to 1:00pm
The morning session of the workshop aimed to satisfy Objectives 1 – 4 listed above – to provide
an opportunity to discuss the various projects being undertaken, their management applications,
methods/outcomes and the coordination and linkage of projects.
General discussion of marine remote sensing in WA
In the first part of the morning session, participants outlined the variety of management needs
and projects that have been, are currently, or are proposed to be undertaken in WA coastal
waters. Study areas were drawn on a map, with notes taken briefly describing the projects. Figure
1 summarises this part of the session.
Figure 1: project areas noted during the workshop – see Appendix 3 for descriptions.
The number and diversity of marine remote sensing projects, using various sensors and
information sources was apparent from this exercise. The ensuing discussion brought forward a
number of points, summarised below:


Accurate GPS/DGPS coordinates are essential for any field data collected – any kind of
observational or measured information can be useful in calibration of remote sensing
results, but the spatial accuracy of that information is crucial to it’s useability
o it is more useful to swim/tow transects and/or the extent of homogenous
substrate patches than capturing a single point (regardless of the accuracy of
that point), as this allows direct comparison of different substrate boundaries with
features identifiable from results of remote sensing processing;
Field programs ought to be coordinated to include capturing information for future remote
sensing, even if none are planned, thus value-adding to original investment in field work.
o Standards/methods need to be coordinated
o Data/metadata need to be made available

Multibeam/LiDAR data are fundamental datasets for marine planning
o For example, Marine Futures work (http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/mf/index)
 Fish/habitat associations appear consistent from fine to coarse resolution
DEM type data
o Southern Surveyor has swathe mapper
o Commonwealth will operate in State Waters if invited
o Boat work is limited to < 15 m depth
o Opportunity to add Digital Multi-Spectral Video (DMSV) to LiDAR tenders

The diversity of mapping methods and research providers can make comparisons
between results of different projects difficult or impossible, especially for change
detection and other kinds of monitoring applications
Most research and applications are being driven by Universities
o potential risks of loss of local knowledge as people move to other organisations,
places.
o Research directions should not always have to match management requirements
– this should be a function of the agencies involved
o Curtin, CSIRO and Murdoch inversion methods are becoming routine and now
need to be operational rather than a research function
o Currently no state agency is charged with this responsibility, linkage with similar
Commonwealth programs is ad hoc
 No state coastal authority to assume this role, and Commonwealth
jurisdiction ends at 3NM coastal waters limit


The iVEC facility is available for central storage of satellite imagery http://www.ivec.org/
o Need a pre- and post-processing ‘front end’ to deliver derived products to users –
potential for govt/university collaboration to achieve this
o Potential for SLIP to deliver selected GIS products

Need to align state government agency management objectives with remote sensing
image sources, methods and related data infrastructure.
Important role for remote sensing in monitoring
o Remote sensing as a baseline and context for site monitoring
o Mapping and management applications always come back to monitoring,
therefore it is crucial to develop consistent and comparable, standardised
methods, imagery used, etc
o Potential for un-manned aircraft to capture multi- or hyper-spectral imagery as a
monitoring tool

o
Potential for marine reserve and off-reserve monitoring, aquaculture impacts
monitoring, NRM targets for baseline mapping and Resource Condition Target
monitoring at local and regional scales
 Requires integration between state agencies and NRM groups to
develop common strategies, targets and methods.

Industry hold much remote sensing data (especially hyperspectral imagery in the Pilbara
and Kimberley regions), currently not readily accessible for management uses.
o EPA focus areas are driven by industry, so are endeavouring to collate all
collected data in one place as part of assessments
 Difficult to standardise and collate

WALIS and WAMSI operate as linkage organisations, leadership and coordination of
marine remote sensing are not their roles http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/ and
http://www.wamsi.org.au/
o State Government support and funding is required, possibly with a lead agency
to drive marine remote sensing coordination
 Potential for Landgate to assume this role
 Funding sources? Funding models?
o WALIS can provide a coordinating role
 Remote sensing delegate on the WALIS Marine Working Group
http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects_and_activities/WALIS_Marine_Grou
p/index.html/
 Potential for a dedicated WALIS Remote Sensing group?
Presentations
Presentations were then delivered by several invitees. Presentations were not collected, and
notes below are only a brief summary, for further information please contact the presenters:
Dr Arnold Dekker CSIRO Environmental Earth Observation Group
http://www.clw.csiro.au/research/sensing/remote/


CSIRO aim to develop a consistent and standardised national approach to remote
sensing for State of Environment reporting, NRM reporting, and other projects.
o Based on physics-based inversion modelling to standardise imagery to a
common base, by ‘removing’ atmospheric, sea surface, and water column
interference in imagery
o Developing a national, standardised spectral library of various biotic and abiotic
substrata for common use in remote sensing projects
o Cross-platform comparison between image sources and methodologies
o Future satellites will have high resolution hyperspectral sensors, so current
research into the use of field spectrometers, and using aerial hyperspectral
sensors will be a foundation for future work
o Merge water quality remote sensing/monitoring/research with benthic habitat
sensing/monitoring/research
 Water quality (nutrient/sediment loading, temperature, etc) influences
extent and condition of benthos
Several key research and demonstration projects presented (others underway)
o Mornington Peninsula
 intertidal habitat mapping
 CASI (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager) imagery, Spectral
Angle Mapper processing, establishment of spectral library of intertidal
biotic and abiotic substrata
 Comparison of different image resolutions
o
o
 Comparison with QuickBird
Wallis Lakes
 Habitat mapping and change detection from historical Landsat archive
 Cross-platform comparison
 Landsat TM, QuickBird, ALOS
 Report out – early 2000’s seagrass change detection using Landsat –
QuickBird can be difficult because of noise (due to high resolution), but
good images yield high quality results; ALOS quite stable, medium
resolution
Great Barrier Reef (and nation-wide?)
 Freely and readily available SST, chlorophyll, turbidity, etc
 Yearly averages
 MODIS
Kathy Murray DEC Remote Sensing
 Investigating rapid delivery of Landsat composite products
o Researching a ‘minimum’ algorithm which combines Geoscience Australia yearly
Landsat epochs (Non-optimal Landsat TM Historical Sequence), processing
pixel-by-pixel for minimum values
o Minimums thus ignore temporary maximum (‘light’) values such as sunglint,
waves/surf, clouds or turbidity and other such interference but highlight persistent
minimum (‘light’) patches, such as sandy areas. Maximum (‘dark’) patches are
also highlighted.
o Good for rapid production of a contextual layer over broad areas at moderate
resolution (25 m Landsat pixels).
o Completed composites over coastal waters of the Pilbara and Kimberley and
south coast from Eucla to Augusta.
o Resultant image is a mosaic of image dates from 1989 to 2005
o Assumes that the darkest pixel in the stack has the greatest water penetration
o Does not reflect change in distribution over time – gives the maximum extent of
‘dark’ benthos over the historical sequence
 Also investigating rapid change detection for benthic habitats across 3 images/years
o Using selected non-optimal imagery, display band 1’s as RGB
 ‘Stable’ areas display black/grey or white
 Areas where change occurred between the 3 years show as
combinations of red, green or blue.
o Provides rapid contextual results for identifying dynamic substrates such as
seagrasses, vs stable areas such as reefs.
Dr Halina Kobryn Murdoch University School of Environmental Science
http://www.marineresearch.murdoch.edu.au/


Research in to GIS, data management, mapping and modelling for marine planning and
management
Some project areas:
o Rottnest Island (Matt Harvey PhD and honours student)
o HyMap imagery, QuickBird imagery
 field validation, field spectrometry
 spectral library, habitat mapping, bathymetry from remote sensing
 comparison of field vs remote sensing with various image sources
o Bunbury area (Holly Smith PhD)
 QuickBird imagery
 benthic habitat mapping
o Peel-Harvey Estuary (Peel-Harvey Catchments Council)
 QuickBird imagery
 intertidal and fringe vegetation mapping



Ningaloo Collaboration (http://www.csiro.au/partnerships/NingalooCluster.html)
o HyMap imagery
o Worlds largest marine hyperspectral survey (3,400 km 2)
o Bathymetry, habitat mapping/modelling, habitat mapping classifications from
remote sensing data
o Mapping biotic and abiotic features/substrata/spectral members
o Establish an operational method
 What is spectrally measureable and ecologically relevant? e.g. coverforming biota, etc
o Overall 89.92% accuracy of modelling – not necessarily a lot of validation is
required to verify remote sensing results
Abrolhos Islands
o HyMap and QuickBird
o benthic habitat mapping
eastern Exmouth Gulf
o post-cyclone mangrove recovery monitoring, extent, condition, etc
o site specific calibration
Russell Teede Landgate Satellite Remote Sensing Services
http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/Satellite+Imagery


Landgate Oceanwatch http://oceanwatch.dli.wa.gov.au/index.asp
o Available through the Farm Channel to WASTAC members and the public
through subscriptions
o SST, Chlorophyll and light attenuation maps
o Daily, statewide coverage
o Some discussion/debate about the usage of NOAA algorithms for production of
these products in our region, however they are currently the best available to
Landgate.
SRSS services
o Have undertaken marine remote sensing services for external (private) clients
o Seagrass mapping from aerial photography
 Limited success due to low spectral resolution of aerial photography
o Seagrass mapping from ALOS imagery
 Much more success than aerial photography due to higher spectral
resolution
o Blackwood River algal bloom monitoring
 Success using Enhanced Landsat imagery
 Correlation of remote sensing with in situ sampling
 Seasonal analyses
o Have capacity to deliver marine remote sensing services to Govt and private
clients
Dr Peter Fearns Curtin University Imaging and Applied Physics
http://physics.curtin.edu.au/research/remotesense/index.cfm
http://cmst.curtin.edu.au/research/remote/index.html

Integration of WASTAC (Western Australian Satellite Technology and Applications
Consortium) and iVEC (WA’s advanced computing and storage facility)
o Receival and archival of NOAA-AVHRR, MODIS and SeaWiFS satellite data,
o Linked with Bureau of Meteorology, Landgate SRSS, CSIRO, Murdoch
University, Geoscience Australia
o Linkage with iVEC to store raw data and to process, deliver and store derived
products on demand
o Metadata creation and management
o Imagery quicklooks, gridded catalog to assist imagery purchase
o





Usage of iVEC for processing-on-demand, as a web portal, for input data into
models (such as ocean circulation models), primary production models, etc.
IMOS AO-DAAC (Integrated Marine Observing System – Australian Oceans Distributed
Active Archive Centre) http://www.eoc.csiro.au/aodaac
o Standardisation of networks, software, hardware, etc for the receival, storage and
delivery of remote sensing data for marine/oceanographic research.
o Access suited to different users
 Web-based for occasional users
 FTP for expert users and bulk data handling
 Semi-automated data access and processing
Swan River water quality monitoring (Swan River Trust)
o Purpose-built boat-mounted (above water) sensor
 senses light inputs (i.e. looking up) as well as water column reflectance
(i.e. looking down)
 measurement of water column properties
 in situ calibration of imagery/aerial remote sensing capture – available for
atmospheric calibration
Geraldton suspended sediment (dredge plume) mapping
o Landsat cross-calibrated with SeaWIFS
o Monitoring capability for dredging operations
o Depth + attenuation (suspended sediment load) can provide estimates of
environmental effects across broad/variable spatial areas
Jurien Bay hyperspectral mapping (Wojciech Klonowski
http://www.srfme.org.au/documents/SRFME_klonowski.pdf)
o Derived bathymetry and habitat mapping
o Relief/exposure/slope/aspect derived from bathymetry to assist habitat mapping
Ningaloo Collaboration (http://www.csiro.au/partnerships/NingalooCluster.html)
o iVEC used for hyperspectral image processing
o iVEC allowed iterative processing of very large datasets using varying model
parameters
o reliable depth mapping to 20m depths, RMS error of 6.9%, mean difference of
modelled to actual of 0.2m
Afternoon Session – 2:00pm to 5:00pm
The afternoon session of the workshop was delivered by Arnold Dekker and Hannelie Botha of
CSIRO Environmental Earth Observation Group, who presented an overview of the methods
being developed by CSIRO to operationalise standardised processing of imagery by
management authorities (and others).

Based on SAMBUCA (Semi-Analytical Model for Bathymetry, Un-mixing and
Concentration Assessment) optimisation methods.
o Research underway to operationalise the software and methods for non-experts
o Methods to remove sunglinting without significantly altering spectral information
were developed about 10 years ago, since then research has been directed at
inversion modelling
o SAMBUCA based on inversion modelling – various parameters affecting light
transmission, reflectance and absorption are modelled, thus providing estimates
of each component
 Chl-a
 CDOM (Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter)
 Depth
 Substratum – spectral ‘signatures’
o
o
once regional models are developed and accurately parameterised, little
groundtruthing is required for subsequent work (e.g. findings of Ningaloo
hyperspectral work using EOMAP demonstrated that little groundtruthing was
required – Halina Kobryn, Murdoch University)
bathymetry accuracy is reliably approx. ± 10% of actual water depth, depending
on image source and depth (better as spatial and spectral resolutions increase)

CSIRO inversion modelling research led to the development of the Bio-Opti Toolkit,
software to simulate the effect of various levels of the different parameters on sensed
reflectance. E.g. users can input known levels of chl-a or known depth or substrate types,
and view the resultant spectra, and so can compare with measured spectra.

Geoscience Australia have field spectrometers available for usage by state agencies
(and others) for usage in characterising spectral signatures of various substrata, to assist
in building a national spectral library for use in remote sensing.
o Factsheets and a field guide (‘cookbook’) are being developed to guide nonexperts in correct usage.
o Spectrometers will be available to hire for free.

SAMBUCA can also reject model solutions based on expert knowledge rules, for e.g. x
species doesn’t grow in waters less than y metres, etc.

Field methodology was tested during site visits to South Coast Remote Sensing Project
sites at Broke Inlet and Two Peoples Bay with good results (presentation by Hannelie
Botha)
o Suitable spectra were collected for fresh algal and seagrass samples as well as
wrack, coastal vegetation and intertidal substrata
o Important to note that terrestrial spectral samples are also useful, as they can
assist in the parameterisation of the inversion model
o The field work methods are being designed to be suitable for people with limited
training.
o Preliminary classifications across the study areas are promising, but in some
instances are limited by sunglinting effects, much work remaining to be done in
atmospheric correction and the inversion modelling, as well as incorporating
spectra collected in the field trip/s

One important research direction is in combining inversion modelling with object-oriented
image processing software such as eCognition (Definiens ®
http://www.definiens.com/binary_secure/825_definiens_in_earth_sciences.pdf-825.html).
o This will use pattern and texture recognition software, moving from pixel-by-pixel
analysis, to object-oriented analysis, informed or ‘supervised’ by the results of the
inversion.
o Such software recognises shapes and clusters of pixels as belonging to groups,
rather than rely on pixel-by-pixel analysis which misses such contextual
information
Post-workshop
A/Prof Merv Lynch (Curtin University Imaging and Applied Physics) has advised that his and
Peter Fearns’ research group have been awarded funding to build a marine purpose-built
hyperspectral scanner, to be housed on a National Aircraft Facility out of Flinders University, and
which will be available for use once completed (1-2 years). The instrumentation will also include
LIDAR and synthetic aperture RADAR.
Their group is part of a consortium of universities working on the project, receiving a $450,000
ARC LIEF grant to complete the work. The sensor will be the only hyperspectral scanner that is
dedicated to marine applications – the spectral range will target the wavelengths of most use in
marine applications – and will be amongst the most advanced of its kind in the world.
http://www.arc.gov.au/pdf/LIEF09/FlindersU_LIEF09.pdf
Dr Peter Fearns has suggested that a coordination and liason capability could be housed, with
state government agency support, at iVEC, to form a support group assisting with the processing
and delivery of GIS-ready information products from the raw image archives. This group would
also serve an important liason/brokerage role between technical operators and agency managers
or other clients/consumers of remote sensing products.
Some further reading/background information noted
through the workshop – note this list is not exhaustive!
WASTAC (Western Australian Satellite Technology and Applications Consortium)
http://www.wastac.wa.gov.au/
WASTAC/iVEC integration
http://wastac.ivec.org/
OzCoasts coastal water habitat mapping toolkit
General - http://www.ozcoasts.org.au/geom_geol/toolkit/index.jsp
Remote sensing - http://www.ozcoasts.org.au/geom_geol/toolkit/Tech_EO_satm.jsp
Coastal CRC Remote Sensing Toolkit
http://www.gpem.uq.edu.au/CRSSIS/tools/rstoolkit/default.html
UNESCO Remote Sensing Handbook for Tropical Coastal Management
http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/source/rs.htm
Inversion modelling
SAMBUCA - www.clw.csiro.au/publications/science/2006/sr22-06.pdf
EOMAP - http://www.eomap.de/
Geoscience Australia (Commonwealth Govt) remote sensing
http://www.ga.gov.au/remote-sensing/index.jsp
WA Landgate Oceanwatch
http://oceanwatch.dli.wa.gov.au/index.asp
Imagery sources
ACRES Digital Catalog (https://acres.ga.gov.au/intro.html) (note that Landgate are WA
distributors of ACRES imagery)
HyMap (www.hyvista.com)
QuickBird (http://www.digitalglobe.com/)
ALOS (http://www.alos-restec.jp/index_e.html)
MODIS (http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
Landsat (http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
Acknowledgements
This workshop was funded by South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc.
(http://www.southcoastnrm.com.au/), and South West Catchments Council
(www.swcatchmentscouncil.com) through the South Coast GIS Information and Resource
Compilation Project, a joint project with the Department of Environment and Conservation Marine
Policy and Planning Branch, in support of South Coast Regional Marine Planning
(http://rmp.dec.wa.gov.au/south-coast/regional-marine-planning-for-wa-s-south-coast.html).
Many thanks to all presenters and participants for their contributions.
Many thanks also to Andrew Buchanan and Brendon McAtee of Landgate for supplying their
notes for the writing of this report.
Appendix 1 - List of participants
Name
Arnold Dekker
Elizabeth Botha
Peter Fearns
Merv Lynch
Wojciech Klonowski
Eugene Chee
Bernadette Streppel
Ray Lawrie
Mark Sheridan
Ewan Buckley
Chris Nutt
Michael Higgins
Al Kendrick
Shaun Wilson
Kelly Waples
Mike Rule
Graeme Behn
Kathy Zdunic
Kathy Murray
Asha McNeill
Sam Bridgwood
Brendon McAtee
Andrew Buchanan
Russell Teede
Ross Dodds
Halina Kobryn
Lynnath Beckley
Organisation
CSIRO Environmental Earth Observation Group
CSIRO Environmental Earth Observation Group
Curtin University Imaging and Applied Physics
Curtin University Imaging and Applied Physics
Curtin University Imaging and Applied Physics
DEC EPA Spatial Services
DEC EPA Spatial Services
DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
DEC Marine Science Program
DEC Marine Science Program
DEC Marine Science Program
DEC Marine Science Program
DEC Remote Sensing
DEC Remote Sensing
DEC Remote Sensing
DEC Science
DOF Biodiversity and Biosecurity
Landgate - Satellite Remote Sensing Services
Landgate - Satellite Remote Sensing Services
Landgate - Satellite Remote Sensing Services
Landgate - Satellite Remote Sensing Services
Murdoch University Marine Management Research Group
Murdoch University Marine Management Research Group
email
arnold.dekker@csiro.au
elizabeth.botha@csiro.au
p.fearns@curtin.edu.au
m.lynch@curtin.edu.au
Curtin University
eugene.chee@dec.wa.gov.au
bernadette.streppel@dec.wa.gov.au
ray.lawrie@dec.wa.gov.au
mark.sheridan@dec.wa.gov.au
ewan.buckley@dec.wa.gov.au
christopher.nutt@dec.wa.gov.au
michael.higgins@dec.wa.gov.au
alan.kendrick@dec.wa.gov.au
shaun.wilson@dec.wa.gov.au
kelly.waples@dec.wa.gov.au
michael.rule@dec.wa.gov.au
graeme.behn@dec.wa.gov.au
katherine.zdunic@dec.wa.gov.au
kathy.murray@dec.wa.gov.au
asha.mcneill@dec.wa.gov.au
samantha.bridgwood@fish.wa.gov.au
brendon.mcatee@landgate.wa.gov.au
andrew.buchanan@landgate.wa.gov.au
teede@uranus.dli.wa.gov.au
ross.dodds@landgate.wa.gov.au
h.kobryn@@murdoch.edu.au
l.beckley@@murdoch.edu.au
Kristin Wouters
Florian Mayer
Holly Smith
Matt Harvey
Dylan Gleave
Heather Taylor
Jessica Meeuwig
Steve Blake
Nicole Pinnel
Murdoch University Ningaloo marine remote sensing
Murdoch University Ningaloo marine remote sensing
Murdoch University PhD Bunbury dolphins, habitat mapping
Murdoch University PhD Hyperspectral marine remote sensing, Rottnest Island
South Coast Natural Resource Management
UWA/Marine Futures
UWA/Marine Futures
WA Marine Science Institute
Woodside Energy
Murdoch University
Murdoch University
h.smith@murdoch.edu.au
matt@harves.net
dylang@southcoastnrm.com.au
heather.taylor@uwa.edu.au
jessica.meeuwig@uwa.edu.au
steve.blake@wamsi.org.au
nicole.pinnel@woodside.com.au
Appendix 2 – workshop agenda/invitation
REMOTE SENSING OF SHALLOW WATER MARINE BENTHIC HABITATS:
APPLICATION TO MARINE & COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN WA
WORKSHOP
Date
Thursday 13th November 2008
Time
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Morning Tea, Lunch and Afternoon Tea provided
Acacia Room, DEC Crawley
Australia II Drive, Crawley
Venue
Contact: Ewan Buckley – DEC Marine Policy and Planning Branch
ewan.buckley@dec.wa.gov.au ph: 9336 0110
This project is funded through South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc and South West Catchments Council, with
the support of Western Australian and State Governments, through the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action
Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the workshop are to provide a forum for the discussion of:
7) requirements of WA marine management organisations for remote sensing of shallowwater coastal, marine and estuarine habitats at a range of spatial, temporal and thematic
scales of mapping;
8) the applicability of the variety of available image sources and processing methods for
delivering the above requirements;
9) presentation of preliminary results of the South Coast Marine Remote Sensing Project
(CSIRO/DEC/South Coast NRM/SWCC), and case studies from other projects (CSIRO,
Murdoch, Curtin, Landgate);
10) where to from here? including outline of available state and national
projects/resources/archives, discussion on the coordination of projects;
11) technical demonstration of CSIRO image processing methods (SAMBUCA);
12) practical demonstration of field spectrometers available from Geoscience Australia
(CSIRO).
WORKSHOP AGENDA
The workshop will be divided into two sessions of semi-structured discussion. In the morning
session we will discuss requirements/needs and available techniques and resources. The
afternoon session will be a technical demonstration of one technique, CSIRO’s SAMBUCA
inversion algorithm, and a practical demonstration of Geoscience Australia’s field spectrometers,
which are available for usage in field work to help build the national spectral library of marine
substrates.
Participants may choose to attend one or both sessions – the afternoon sessions are designed
mostly for those involved in marine science field work, to learn about the instruments available for
gathering of spectral signatures of different substrates, and for those interested to gain an insight
into the steps involved in processing imagery for marine substrate detection, using the CSIRO
approach (SAMBUCA).
09:00 – 13:00: Morning session for Objectives 1 – 4 above.
09:00 – 10:15: Introduction to the workshop and participants.
Discuss the range of marine management needs for remotely sensed
marine information at a range of spatial, temporal and thematic scales of
mapping. State/Federal Govt agencies, NRM groups, industry, others.
10:15 – 10:30: Morning tea break
10:30 – 12:00: Short (15 min) presentations of recent projects around WA (Murdoch,
Curtin, CSIRO, Landgate, DEC) and interstate (CSIRO). Brief overviews
of image sources/methods used, results and project structures (funding
sources, management/research drivers, etc).
Discussion on benefits/limitations of the various image sources and
methods available. For example: What advances have been made?
What limitations exist? What is possible? What is routinely achievable?
What accuracies can be guaranteed?
12:00 – 13:00: Comparison of management needs with image sources/methods.
Discussion of available resources/archives/programs, including
NLWRA image acquisitions, iVEC, ACRES archives, etc.
Discussion on the coordination of projects/research around the state.
Role of WAMSI, State/Federal Govt. agencies, NRM, Universities etc.
13:00 – 13:45 Lunch (provided).
For those who need to leave early, lunch actually arrives at 12:30.
13:45 – 16:00 (including afternoon tea): Afternoon technical session for Objectives 5 & 6 above:
Practical demonstration in the usage of field spectrometers available for
use from Geoscience Australia.
Technical demonstration of CSIRO image processing techniques
(SAMBUCA).
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES
For remote sensing research providers to gain an understanding of the range of needs and
requirements of shallow-water remote sensing for marine management purposes in WA.
For marine managers/planners/scientists to learn about the state-of-the-art methods and image
sources that may be applicable for different habitat mapping requirements.
To identify and understand the various benefits and limitations of these techniques, and linkages
with other habitat mapping methods.
To provide a networking opportunity for potential providers and consumers of marine remote
sensing products for WA’s marine, coastal and estuarine management.
A brief workshop report outlining key discussion points of the day will be produced and
circulated to workshop participants and other interested parties..
Appendix 3 – list of current and past marine remote sensing projects noted during
workshop
Map
ID
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Organisation
Study Area
Imagery
Processing
Contact
joint project: DEC, South
Coast NRM, SthWst
Catchments Council,
CSIRO Environmental
Earth Observation Group
joint project: DEC, South
Coast NRM, SthWst
Catchments Council,
CSIRO Environmental
Earth Observation Group
joint project: DEC, South
Coast NRM, SthWst
Catchments Council
shallow waters west of
Broke Inlet, in the Fish
Creek area
QuickBird
processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Ewan Buckley/Ray Lawrie (DEC); Dylan Gleave
(SCNRM); Rhiannon Addams (SWCC); Arnold Dekker
(CSIRO)
Red Rocks Pt
QuickBird
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Ewan Buckley/Ray Lawrie (DEC); Dylan Gleave
(SCNRM); Rhiannon Addams (SWCC); Arnold Dekker
(CSIRO)
shallow waters between
WA/SA border, and Cape
Leeuwin
Landsat
Graeme Behn/Kathy Murray/Katherine Zdunic/Ewan
Buckley/Ray Lawrie (DEC)
joint project: DEC, South
Coast NRM, SthWst
Catchments Council,
CSIRO Environmental
Earth Observation Group
Landgate Satellite Remote
Sensing Services
Murdoch University and
Peel-Harvey Catchments
Council
Landsat scene 111/084
between Two Peoples Bay
and Broke Inlet
Landsat
Processing of 10 Landsat Epochs
(Geoscience Australia products)
using 'minimum' algorithm to
highlight dark areas and
persistent light areas in imagery
to produce enhanced composites
for contextual information
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Blackwood River
Enhanced Landsat
Russell Teede (Landgate SRSS)
Peel-Harvey Estuaries
QuickBird
Murdoch University
Bunbury area
QuickBird
Enhanced Landsat sensing of
algal blooms
remote sensing of saltmarshes
and other waterway flora, and
possibly some benthic habitat
mapping
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Ewan Buckley/Ray Lawrie (DEC); Dylan Gleave
(SCNRM); Rhiannon Addams (SWCC); Arnold Dekker
(CSIRO)
Halina Kobryn (Murdoch University); Amanda Wilmott
(Peel-Harvey Catchments Council)
Holly Smith (Murdoch University); Halina Kobryn
(Murdoch University)
7
8
various joint projects UWA, Oceanica Consulting,
CSIRO
Murdoch University
Cockburn Sound
Landsat, aerial
photography
9
Murdoch University
Perth Metropolitan coastal
waters- Two Rocks to
Warnbro
Rottnest Island
10
Curtin University; SRFME
collaboration - CSIRO
Coastal waters near Jurien
Bay
HyMap
11
Curtin University
Landsat
12
Murdoch University
Geraldton Port
dredging/spoil dumping
areas
study sites in the Abrolhos
Islands
QuickBird
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
Michelle Wildsmith (Murdoch University); Fiona Valesini
(Murdoch University)
QuickBird and HyMap
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Processing for suspended solids
monitoring, ploom monitoring, etc
from dredging operations
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
and bathymetry using inversion
algorithm
Processing for substrate
detection, habitat classification
proposed: processing for
substrate detection, habitat
classification
Matt Harvey (Murdoch University); Halina Kobryn
(Murdoch University)
13
joint project: Murdoch
University; Curtin
University; DEC; CSIRO
Ningaloo Marine Park
HyMap
14
Landgate
eastern Exmouth Gulf
aerial photography
15
DEC
Great Sandy Islands and
Mary Anne Islands area
ALOS
16
'The Long Mud'
Eighty Mile Beach
Landsat
17
WAMSI, for industry clients
Dampier Peninsula
18
WAMSI, for industry clients
Camden Sound
19
DEC
20
Industry
Degrey River area;
Mundabullangana; Cape
Keraudren
Scott Reef
Hyperspectral tri-colour
scanner, digital photos
Hyperspectral tri-colour
scanner, digital photos
ALOS
21
Industry
22
Industry
areas of Barrow,
Montebello and Lowendal
Islands
Mermaid Sound
HyMap and QuickBird
Hyperspectral
Hyperspectral
Hyperspectral
Gary Kendrick (University of Western Australia); Bruce
Hegge (Oceanica Consulting); Arnold Dekker (CSIRO)
Wojciech Klonowski/Mervyn Lynch/Peter Fearns (Curtin
University)
Peter Fearns (Curtin University)
Halina Kobryn (Murdoch University)
Halina Kobryn (Murdoch University); Peter Fearns
(Curtin University); Chris Simpson (DEC); Arnold Dekker
(CSIRO)
Russell Teede (Landgate SRSS)
Ray Lawrie (DEC)
Steve Blake (WAMSI)
Steve Blake (WAMSI)
proposed: processing for
substrate detection, habitat
classification
Ray Lawrie (DEC)
23
WAMSI, for industry clients
Regnard Bay
Hyperspectral
24
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Abrolhos Islands
Multibeam acoustic
25
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Jurien Bay
Multibeam acoustic
26
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Rottnest Island
Multibeam acoustic
27
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Geographe Bay / Cape
Naturaliste
Multibeam acoustic
28
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Broke Inlet
Multibeam acoustic
29
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Mt Gardener
Multibeam acoustic
30
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Pt Ann
Multibeam acoustic
31
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Middle Island
Multibeam acoustic
32
Securing WA's Marine
Futures
Middle Island
Multibeam acoustic
33
DEC
Shallow waters Broome to
Exmouth Gulf
Landsat
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
benthic substrate modelling, also
with drop, tow and BRUV, and
soft-bottom trawls
Processing of 10 Landsat Epochs
(Geoscience Australia products)
using ‘maximum’ and 'minimum'
algorithm to highlight dark areas
and persistent light areas in
imagery to produce enhanced
composites for contextual
information
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Heather Taylor (Securing WA's Marine Futures - UWA)
Graeme Behn/Kathy Murray/Katherine Zdunic/Ray
Lawrie (DEC)