Parks Australia - Indian Oceans Territory (IOT) Grants Project: Satellite-Derived Bathymetry and Seafloor Habitat Classification Mapping of Cocos (Keeling) Island Marine Park

This project mapped Satellite-derived Bathymetry (SDB) and seafloor habitats at 2m horizontal spatial resolution, for the shallow waters (~0-25 m) of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park. SDB data was processed using EOMAP's proprietary software and algorithm package Watcor-X, which generates SDB using multipspectral satellite data. The SDB is based on the physics-based inversion method of the radiative transfer equation which models the pathway of light and its interaction through different media (e.g. atmosphere and water column). The thematic classification of the seabed was based on multispectral satellite image analytics. Satellite imagery was pre-processed by applying a set of image correction procedures to reduce environmental noise, resulting in a standardised reflectance surface of the subsurface and seafloor. The information on seafloor reflectance at different wavelengths was used to run an object-based classification procedure which groups objects of similar spectral characteristics, shape and texture into different classes of major seafloor habitat type.

These critical geospatial data layers provide the essential environmental baseline information for the long-term monitoring and management of the IOT Marine Parks. Having access to digital, georeferenced, high-resolution, satellite-derived maps of bathymetry and benthic habitats of shallow water areas, is of fundamental use in the areas of navigation and safety-at-sea, ecological research, environmental modelling, management and conservation, and monitoring the impacts from climate change.