Skip to main content
Overview

Theme Sponsor

Pin

Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)

Description

Imagery is derived from sensor technologies used to detect, locate, classify and record objects relative to the surface of the Earth. This includes data sourced from satellite, airborne sensors and terrestrial cameras. It includes but is not limited to orthorectified multispectral, hyper spectral and panchromatic sensors. Raw data is collected from a satellite or airborne mission and then processed and orthorectified to remove tilt, terrain, atmospheric and other image distortions

Committees

ICSM

Standards

  • AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)
  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Datasets

Low Resolution (>80 m), High Temporal Coverage: These datasets (spatial resolution > 80 m and providing close to weekly temporal coverage) are widely used for a range of applications in Australia.

Medium Resolution (>10–80 m), Medium Temporal Coverage (Weekly – Monthly): These datasets (spatial resolution 10–80 m and temporal coverage of weekly to monthly) are the most commonly used category of data.

High Spatial Resolution (>2.5–10 m), Low Temporal Coverage: These datasets (spatial resolution 2.5–10 m and providing national coverage every quarter) are primarily operated by the jurisdictions and/or commercial enterprises.

Very High Resolution (<2.5 m), Very Low Temporal Coverage: These datasets (spatial resolution <2.5 m) are primarily operated by the jurisdictions and/or commercial enterprises.

Theme profile

Description

Imagery is the output derived from the use of sensor technologies to detect, locate, classify and record objects relative to the surface of the Earth.

This includes data sourced from satellite, airborne and terrestrial sensors and cameras having a range of capabilities. It includes, but is not limited to, orthorectified multispectral, hyperspectral, laser and radar data. Land cover is derived from imagery.

Datasets

Low Resolution (>80m),High Temporal Coverage (>weekly) - This imagery has been collected at the National level since the 1970s and includes MODIS, AVHRR, VIIRS sensors carried on satellites which capture image data at specific frequencies across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Medium Resolution (>10–80m), Medium Temporal Coverage (Weekly-Monthly) - This imagery has been collected at the National level since 1979 and includes MSS, TM, ETM+, Aster and OLI sensors carried on satellites which capture image data at specific frequencies across the electromagnetic spectrum.

High Spatial Resolution (>2.5–10m), Low Temporal Coverage (>Quarterly) - This imagery has been collected at a Local / Regional level since 1998, Regional level since 2005 and National level since 2009 and includes data obtained from SPOT, ALOS and HyMap sensors carried on satellites which capture image data at specific frequencies across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Very High Resolution (<2.5 m), Very Low Temporal Coverage (>annual) - This is airborne imagery that has been collected at a National level from 1947–1988 and at Regional and Urban levels since the 1970s.

Purpose

Imagery provides an analytical source and contextual background for decision making and supports multiple applications including:

  • Mapping; topographic features, bathymetry, feature extraction for other fundamental datasets
  • Emergency Services; Monitoring active and/or recent fires, flood and storm events
  • Natural resource management; Biomass, native vegetation and agriculture, managing conservation areas
  • Geosciences; Geoscience resources,
  • Sustainable human and land use development; auditing urban

Current Status

Low resolution at high temporal coverage comprises data from MODIS, AVHRR and VIIRS sensors.

  • MODIS data (on Terra and Aqua satellites) covering the whole Australian continent since 2000, is collected four times daily.
  • AVHRR data also covers the whole Australian continent twice daily and a single continent coverage is collected using VIIRS.
  • Collectively there are seven snapshots of low resolution data being captured daily over the Australian continent. These can be sourced from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO, and in the case of AVHRR-VIIRS also from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Medium resolution data at medium temporal coverage consist of imagery from different generation of sensors on board of US, India, China satellites.

  • The Landsat series of satellites provides the longest and most comprehensive datasets since the late 1970’s, the earliest being ERTS, MSS, TM, ETM+ and latest OLI.
  • Data from the ETM+ and OLI sensors are currently still being acquired every sixteen days, covering the whole Australian continent every couple of months.
  • Historic MSS and TM imagery is available over Australia from Geoscience Australia.

Archival Aster imagery and close to 2500 scenes of hyperspectral Hyperion data is also available from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO. High spectral and spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery are available for multiple sites across Australia:

  • large area coverage in WA (Karlgoorlie, Pilbara), SA (Musgraves), QLD (Mt Isa, Broken Hill)
  • The data are acquired by the HyMap and various other sensors (SpecIm Eagle/Hawk, NEO-HySpex, etc.) and are available under various commercial licences
  • The TERN AusCover program in CSIRO has also collected airbone imagery over eight Supersites, which is freely available under creative commons with attribution licensing conditions
  • CSIRO is currently putting together a geo-database to capture available data and ownership/licencing agreements

There are currently no long-term programs to systematically acquire hyperspectral data. Data are collected as required for different projects..

Very high resolution at very low temporal imagery acquired by airborne sensors is available from different State government agencies, Geoscience Australia and the Australian Archives. This access depends on the geographic location of the imagery and the time frame it was captured. For example; NSW LPI and/or GA would be the agencies to inquiry with if you are looking for imagery acquired over a region in NSW 2010. If it is imagery between 1948 – 1988 then the Australian Archives would be the place to inquire.

Future Status

In the low resolution at high temporal imagery range the Himawari geostationary satellite will provide additional coverage over Australia every 10 minutes post 2015.

Additional medium resolution data will be available through the Sentinel satellites due to be launched by the European Space Agency as part of their Copernicus programme post 2014. The European Space Agency will launch the Sentinel-2 satellite in mid-late 2014, providing similar resolution multispectral data, as well as Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar data at these resolutions. The European Space Agency will launch the Sentinel-3 satellite in late 2014, providing similar resolution multispectral data.

In the next 5 years, at least 5 satellite hyperspectral sensors will be launched and at least another 5 in the next 10 years. Below is a table showing the different hyperspectral missions and status.

Standards

  • AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)
  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Access and Licensing

Low resolution and medium resolution imagery is available under Creative Commons licence 3.0 from Geoscience Australia.

High spatial SPOT and HyMap imagery is available under commercial End User Licencing Agreements.

  • SPOT imagery is available under Whole of Government (WoG) licence, for specificities of the WoG licence pertaining to SPOT imagery contact Geoscience Australia at earth.observation@ga.gov.au.
  • For information on HyMap imagery licensing arrangements contact CSIRO.
  • The licensing arrangement of very high resolution imagery/photography is dependent on the source and geographic coverage of the data.
  • Archival photography from the Australian Archives is available under CC BY licence.
  • In instances where Geoscience Australia has bought the IP of the data, normally this data is released under CC BY.
  • Data captured by State government agencies is subject to their licencing arrangements.
  • CSIRO owns some of the historical hyperspectral data. Others are under various licencing agreements. CSIRO are currently putting together a geo-database to capture available data and ownership/licencing agreements. Specs can be provided if required.
  • Airborne data supplied by State and Territory government bodies are provided under specific licence agreements listed on suppliers web sites.

Related Websites

Continuity of Earth Observation Data for Australia;

Coverage

Complete, current and continuous coverage of Australia

Sponsor

Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)

Key Users

Key users of the Administrative Boundaries data are Commonwealth, State and Territory and Local governments and the Research and Industry sectors.

Additional

Additional information

Version

1.0

Dataset profile

On this page:

Low Resolution (>80m), High Temporal Coverage (>weekly)

Low Resolution Example
Natural Colour Image acquired by the Terra satellite; MODIS sensor; acquired on 7 Jan 2013 ©Australian Government

Description

These data sets have a spatial resolution of no closer than 80 m and are collected on a close to weekly basis.

The AVHRR and MODIS sensors service most Australian needs for low resolution optical data. Data is derived from MODIS, AVHRR, VIIRS missions and includes the following spectral ranges, VIS, NIR, SWIR.

Purpose

Imagery provides an analytical source and contextual background for decision making and supports multiple applications including:

  • Mapping
  • Emergency Services
  • Natural resource management
  • Geosciences
  • Sustainable human and land use development

Dataset Uses

  • Disaster mitigation and management including: bushfires, earthquakes, floods, and storms
  • Monitoring land use, land cover, ecosystems, native vegetation, salinity, water resources, wetlands, grassland curing, crop production, pasture growth, dust
  • Managing fisheries, reefs, floodplains and environmental degradation
  • International agreements
  • Glaciology, oceanology, and climate studies
  • Carbon accounting

Current Status

Low resolution at high temporal coverage comprises data from MODIS, AVHRR and VIIRS sensors.

  • MODIS data covering the whole Australian continent is collected twice daily
  • AVHRR data also covers the whole Australian continent twice daily and a single continent coverage is collected using VIIRS

Collectively there are five snapshots of low resolution data being captured daily over the Australian continent. These can be sourced from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO.

Future Status

The European Space Agency will launch the Sentinel-3 satellite in late 2014, providing similar low-resolution multispectral data. In the low resolution but at high temporal imagery range the Himawari geostationary satellite will provide additional coverage over Australia every 10 minutes post 2015.

Standards

AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)

  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Access and Licensing

Products and Services relating to this dataset are made available under open access policy and guidelines. Creative Commons License 3.0

Coverage

Complete, current and continuous coverage of Australia spanning 1970s to Present.

Quality

Quality varies between sensors and with the age of the sensor

Metadata

Custodian Agency and Contact

Geoscience Australia

earth.observation@ga.gov.au

Aggregator

Geoscience Australia

Distributor(s) and Products

Geoscience Australia

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/earth-obs/accessing-satellite-imagery/ordering

Formats

There are multiple specific formats which are listed on the Geoscience Australia website:

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/earth-obs/accessing-satellite-imagery/technical-information/file-formats

Key Users

Federal, State and Territory Government Departments, industry and research communities.

Version

1.0 Draft for Consultation

 

 

Medium Spatial Resolution (>10-80m), Medium Temporal Coverage (weekly- monthly)

Medium Spatial Resolution Example
Enhanced Pseudo Natural Colour Image acquired by the Landsat 8 satellite; OLI sensor; acquired on 7 May 2013 with the image enha

Description

These data sets have a spatial resolution between 10–80 m and are collected on a weekly to monthly basis. They are the most commonly used category of imagery data.

For several decades the Landsat series of satellites have provided the majority of medium resolution optical imagery for operational programs in Australia. Data is derived from MSS, TM, ETM+, Aster, OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI missions and includes the following spectral ranges, VIS, NIR, SWIR, PAN.

Medium resolution optical sensors have traditionally been operated for public good, although the number of commercial sensors is increasing.

Purpose

Imagery provides an analytical source and contextual background for decision making and supports multiple applications including:

  • Mapping
  • Emergency Services
  • Natural resource management
  • Geosciences
  • Sustainable human and land use development

Dataset Uses

  • Emergency management of floods, earthquakes, bushfires and storms
  • Mapping and monitoring land use, natural resource mapping, biodiversity, water usage, drought, pollution, evapotranspiration, biomass, minerals, water quality, wetlands, groundwater dependent ecosystems, hydrocarbon seepage, land clearing, floodplains, crop acreage and growth, remnant vegetation, land degradation, irrigation, dry-land salinity, and vegetation dynamics
  • Management of forests, rivers, fisheries, catchments and agriculture
  • National inventories of forests, greenhouse gases, endangered species, maritime boundaries, land cover, topography, and carbon sinks
  • Verification of environmental compliance
  • Land cover data provides data to enhance geological understanding
  • Mineralogical information derived from EO data used as precompetitive data at Geological Surveys

Current Status

Medium resolution data at medium temporal coverage consist of imagery from different generation of sensors on board of the Landsat series of satellites (i.e., earliest being MSS, TM, ETM+ and latest OLI).

  • Data from the ETM+ and OLI sensors are currently still being acquired every eight days, covering the whole Australian continent every couple of months
  • Historic MSS and TM imagery is available over Australia from Geoscience Australia
  • Archival Aster imagery is also available from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO

Future Status

Additional medium resolution data will be available through the Sentinel satellites due to be launched by the European Space Agency as part of their Copernicus programme post 2014.

Standards

  • AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)
  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Access and Licensing

Products and Services relating to this dataset are made available under open access policy and guidelines. Creative Commons License 3.0

Coverage

Complete, current and continuous coverage of Australia spanning 1979 to Present.

Quality

Quality varies between sensors and with the age of the sensor

Metadata

http://www.ga.gov.au/earth-observation/accessing-satellite-imagery.html

Custodian Agency and Contact

Geoscience Australia

earth.observation@ga.gov.au

Aggregator

Geoscience Australia

Distributor(s) and Products

Geoscience Australia

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/earth-obs/accessing-satellite-imagery/ordering

Formats

There are multiple specific formats which are listed on the Geoscience Australia website:

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/earth-obs/accessing-satellite-imagery/technical-information/file-formats

Key Users

Federal, State and Territory Government Departments, industry and research communities.

Additional

Related Products:

ASTER mineral maps (http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/08/51400D6F7B335)

ASTER mineral maps available in GeoTIFF

Version

1.0 Draft for Consultation

 

 

High Spatial Resolution (>2.5-10m), Low Temporal Coverage (>Quarterly)

High Spatial Resolution Example
Levels of iron oxide dust produced using HyMap airborne hyperspectral data ©Australian Government

Description

These data sets have a spatial resolution of between 2.5-10 m and provide national coverage every quarter. They are primarily operated by Jurisdictions and/or commercial enterprises.

There are an increasing number of these sensors available for both satellite and airborne platforms and an ever-expanding range of applications that use them. The data derived from SPOT from 2005 to Present and ALOS from 2009/2010 is identified as the primary data within this data set.

Purpose

Imagery provides an analytical source and contextual background for decision making and supports multiple applications including:

  • Mapping
  • Emergency Services
  • Natural resource management
  • Geosciences
  • Sustainable human and land use development

Dataset Uses

  • Monitoring active and/or recent fires, floods, storms, and subsidence;
  • Estimating biomass for carbon accounting, native vegetation mapping, and agriculture;
  • Managing conservation areas (land and marine), environmental resources, estuaries and coastal waterways, marine jurisdiction, electoral boundaries, floodplains, and dry-land salinity;
  • Mapping geoscience resources, topographic features, shallow water bathymetry, wetlands, and plant stress; and
  • Auditing environmental compliance, urban water use, mining impact and urban development.
  • Mineralogical information derived from EO data used as precompetitive data at Geological Surveys

Current Status

  • High spatial resolution low temporal coverage comprises of SPOT, ALOS and hyperspectral imagery.
  • SPOT imagery is available under whole of government commercial licence from Geoscience Australia and different State government agencies.
  • The Australian Geographic Reference Image (AGRI), a static ALOS mosaic of the Australian continent, is available from Geoscience Australia.
  • CSIRO holds various collections of hyperspectral airborne data acquired by the HyMap and various other sensors (CASI-ITRES, SpecIm Eagle/Hawk, NEO-HySpex, etc.)

The licencing agreements vary. HyMap and other hyperspectral data providers also hold collects of hyperspectral data which are available under various commercial licence.

Future Status

Airborne hyperspectral data are currently available from various data providers; e.g. HyVista, DiMap, University Adelaide. There are currently no long term programs to systematically acquire hyperspectral data.

Data collected as required.

Standards

AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)

  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Access and Licensing

High spatial SPOT and HyMap imagery is available under commercial End User Licencing Agreements.

SPOT imagery is available under Whole of Government (WoG) licence, for specificities of the WoG licence pertaining to SPOT imagery contact Geoscience Australia at earth.observation@ga.gov.au.

For information on HyMap imagery licensing arrangements contact CSIRO.

The data are available under various commercial licences. CSIRO is currently putting together a geo-database to capture available data and ownership/licencing agreements.

Coverage

Regional coverage are available from 2005 to present using SPOT data. From 2009/2010, a national scale coverage can be derived from ALOS data.

Quality

Quality varies between sensors and with the age of the sensor

Metadata

http://www.ga.gov.au/earth-observation/accessing-satellite-imagery.html

Custodian Agency and Contact

Geoscience Australia

earth.observation@ga.gov.au

CSIRO holds various collections of hyperspectral airborne data acquired by the HyMap and various other sensors (CASI-ITRES, SpecIm Eagle/Hawk, NEO-HySpex, etc.)

Aggregator

Geoscience Australia

Distributor(s) and Products

Geoscience Australia

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/earth-obs/accessing-satellite-imagery/ordering

Formats

  • bil
  • bsq
  • GeoTIFF

Key Users

Federal, State and Territory Government Departments, industry and research communities.

Additional

Mineral composition and abundance maps (see M. Haest, T. Cudahy, C. Laukamp, and S. Gregory, "Quantitative Mineralogy from Infrared Spectroscopic Data. I. Validation of Mineral Abundance and Composition Scripts at the Rocklea Channel Iron Deposit in Western Australia," Economic Geology, vol. 107, pp. 209-228, 2012)

Various environmental information products such as dust maps, acid mine drainage secondary mineral, landscape function analysis indices, pH, etc.

Version

1.0 Draft for Consultation

 

 

Very High Spatial Resolution (<2.5m), Very Low Temporal Coverage (>annual)

Very High Spatial Resolution Example
Narrabri; Captured between: 24 Sep – 4 Oct 2013; Camera: Rollei AIC 80 mega pixel medium format; Resolution: 20cm 16 Bit RGB; ©A

Description

An orthophoto is an aerial photograph geometrically corrected (“orthorectified”) to ensure the scale is uniform: the photo has the same lack of distortion as a map. Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophotograph can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the Earth’s surface, having been adjusted for topographic relief, lens distortion, and camera tilt. The image has been corrected to ensure that horizontal scale is constant

These data sets have a spatial resolution of 2.5m or closer and are primarily operated by Jurisdictions and/or commercial enterprises.

There are an increasing number of these sensors available for both satellite and airborne platforms and an ever-expanding range of applications that use them.

Purpose

Imagery provides an analytical source and contextual background for decision making and supports multiple applications including:

  • Mapping
  • Emergency Services
  • Natural resource management
  • Geosciences
  • Sustainable human and land use development

Dataset Uses

  • Monitoring active and/or recent fires, floods, storms, and subsidence;
  • Estimating biomass for carbon accounting, native vegetation mapping, and agriculture;
  • Managing conservation areas (land and marine), environmental resources, estuaries and coastal waterways, marine jurisdiction, electoral boundaries, floodplains, and dry-land salinity;
  • Mapping geoscience resources, topographic features, shallow water bathymetry, wetlands, and plant stress; and
  • Auditing environmental compliance, urban water use, and urban development, Compliance with regulatory requirements and planning
  • Security situation awareness

Current Status

Very high resolution at very low temporal imagery acquired by airborne sensors is available from different State government agencies, Geoscience Australia and the National Archives of Australia.

Access depends on the geographic location of the imagery and the time frame it was captured. E.g, NSW LPI and/or GA would be the agencies to inquiry with if you are looking for imagery acquired over a region in NSW in 2010.

If it is imagery from between 1948 – 1988 then the National Archives of Australia would be the place to inquire.

Future Status

Available under open access at zero cost via web services.

Standards

AS/NZS ISO 19115 - ANZLIC Metadata Profile Version 1.1 (implemented using ISO/TS 19139:2007, Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation)

  • National Mapping Council of Australia, Standards of Map Accuracy (1975)
  • Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) 2013

Access and Licensing

Products and Services relating to this dataset are made available under

Airborne imagery derived from the National Archives of Australia is open and available under a CC-By licence.

  • Imagery derived from jurisdictions has licence agreements and restrictions related to the jurisdictional distributor.
  • Each State and Territory has individual licence and access agreements that can be found on jurisdictional web pages.

Coverage

A panchromatic national coverage exists from 1947 to 1988 based on data held in the National Archives of Australia.

From the 1970s to present various jurisdictions have carried out a variety of airborne surveys over regional and urban areas. Generally urban areas have higher resolution data.

Quality

Quality varies between sensors and with the age of the sensor

Metadata

Custodian Agency and Contact

National Archives of Australia, Head Office, Canberra

Tel: + 61 2 6212 3600, Email: archives@naa.gov.au

Each jurisdiction provides contact details on their individual web pages.

Aggregator

Geoscience Australia for national data sets, each jurisdiction is responsible for aggregation of its own State or Territory data set.

Distributor(s) and Products

Geoscience Australia, each State and Territory have individual web pages and portals for data catalogues and access.

Formats

This varies between Jurisdictions

  • Aerial photographic products are generally available in digital format - in all common image formats
  • Contact prints (from the whole photo)
  • Enlargements to a specific scale - eg 1:50 000; or by ratio, eg 2x, 4x (from the whole photo or part of it)
  • Diapositives - transparencies on stable based film
  • Photos taken on colour film can be reproduced as black and white
  • Photo mosaics involve joining together several aerial photos to form a single non-rectified image. Generally, the mosaic is re-photographed and enlarged to your specifications. This enables large areas to be covered by one image similar to a satellite image
  • Orthophotos are photo mosaics with some text annotation, over selected areas
  • Prints may be ordered individually or in blocks to give either plain or stereoscopic cover
  • Both black and white and colour photos can be scanned and provided at 150, 300 and 600 dpi in a variety of formats

Key Users

Federal, State and Territory Government Departments, industry and research communities.

Version

1.0 Draft for Consultation

Roadmap

Roadmap for Imagery

Preview sample

Purpose:

The roadmap outlines the development goals for the following three years, for all national foundation datasets within each theme. The goals are to be achieved in order to meet the defined end-state for the theme.

Owner:

Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)

Click here for full version of the roadmap

Details:

  • Goals are owned by the theme sponsor to achieve within the FSDF governance framework
  • Goals are designated as funded/unfunded
  • The roadmap is approved by ANZLIC annually
  • The roadmap will be referenced as a benchmark in work plans and updates to ANZLIC
  • The roadmap is updated annually or on a major change as required

Notes:

1. The roadmaps (and goals) are agreed by ANZLIC and FSDF sponsors. An unfunded goal indicates that the sponsor is actively seeking to resolve the funding issue. Where this cannot be resolved the sponsor may elevate the issue for the attention of ANZLIC.

2. Dataset custodians are identified in the Dataset Profiles available on this website and their role in the delivery of the roadmaps is critical. State/Territory jurisdictions are also integral to the implementation of the roadmaps.

3. Engagement with custodians and/or jurisdictions in the FSDF and roadmaps is an ongoing process through 2015.

Click here for full version of the roadmap