Automated mapping and inventory of Great Barrier Reef zonation with LANDSAT data

Abstract

Physiographic zonation on the Australian Great Barrier Reef has been mapped experimentally using automated methods of LANDSAT (ERTS)data processing. A selected scene of the Cape Melville area of northern Queensland included outer barrier and inshore reefs, reef-island associations and the mainland coast. LANDSAT-1 digital data recorded in February 1973 was used to produce color-coded: three-band composite imagery; level-sliced single-band imagery; and classified four-band imagery. Each type of imagery, generated by computer, highlighted different features of reef and coastal zonation. The results were viewed on a TV monitor or used to produce film images at various scales, for direct comparison to charts and aerial photographs. The results provide useful data for: 1) updating current charts; 2) preparing thematic inventories of reef zonation; 3) producing an information base for assessing reef changes.