Northern Australia Hub researchers are trialing a new monitoring technique so that land and park managers can better monitor changes in the biodiversity of coastal habitats.

Northern Australia’s vast landscape, extreme weather conditions and limited infrastructure make monitoring in the tropics difficult and expensive. Our researchers have been using satellite imagery and genomics to determine if these novel techniques can provide data cost-effectively, where little information currently exists.

Little is known about biodiversity and environmental conditions in Van Diemen Gulf, the coastal area adjacent to Kakadu National Park, home to many threatened species. Scientists from the CSIRO have been using satellite remote sensing to assess the Gulf’s water quality, so that changes can be detected over time. Ground observations have been collected in collaboration with AIMS to evaluate and improve remote sensing methods for this optically complex region.

Watch the video or read more about this project.