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AusGeo News June 2009 Issue No. 94
- New satellite imagery now available
- New Gazetteer of Australia released
- New geophysical datasets released
New satellite imagery now available
New products from the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite Resourcesat-1 are now available, following extensive work to implement processing and distribution mechanisms for satellite imagery acquired since February 2008.
These new products are a direct result of Geoscience Australia's contingency plan for the possible failure of the ageing Landsat-5 satellite. Since 2008, power problems with Landsat-5 have significantly reduced its capability to acquire data over Australia during the winter months. Resourcesat-1 imagery was identified as the best option for filling this gap. A comparison of the Resourcesat-1 and Landsat spectral bands was included in an article in AusGeo News 91. This article also highlighted the main differences between these two data sources.
Geoscience Australia provides imagery acquired from both the Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-III) and the Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) on board the Resourcesat-1 satellite. In a break with previous distribution practice, Geoscience Australia is processing all Resourcesat-1 data into a standard range of products ready for immediate use.
It is planned to have ortho-corrected Resourcesat-1 products available by mid-2009 with an interim product (see table 1) available in the meantime.
Table 1. Interim product specifications for Resourcesat-1 products from the Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-III) and the Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS).
| Sensor | LISS-III | AWiFS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scene Size | 140 x 140 km | 740 x 740 km, 4 quadrants | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nominal pixel size | 23.5 metres | 56 metres at nadir, 70 metres at field edge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Processing Level | Level 2 Radiometric and Geometric Correction - Path based | Level 1 Radiometric Correction | Level 2 Radiometric and Geometric Correction - Map oriented | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Projection | UTM | Unprojected data | Lambert Conformal Conic (LCC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Datum | WGS84 | No Datum | WGS84 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resampling | NN | Not Applicable | KD16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | Fast Format | LGSOWG | GeoTIFF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The satellite imagery is being distributed under either a non-commercial licence or a commercial licence depending on proposed usage. Geoscience Australia will distribute data for non-commercial purposes directly to some key clients.
Resourcesat-1 products will be available through selected distributors around Australia. At the time of writing, these distributors are:
- Geoimage Pty Ltd
- Terranean Mapping Technologies
- Resource Imaging Australia
- Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia
- Landgate.
An up-to-date listing of current distributors is available on Geoscience Australia's satellite imagery and earth observation website.
For more information phone +61 2 6249 9779 (email earth.observation@ga.gov.au)
Related websites
New satellite imagery for Australia (AusGeo News 91)
Listing of current distributors of Resourcesat-1 data
New Gazetteer of Australia released
The Gazetteer of Australia 2008 is the authoritative source of Australian place names and their location for both natural features, such as mountains and rivers, and built features such as homesteads and bridges. This latest version includes more than 323 000 official and unofficial place names, plus 33 061 variant names and their co-ordinates in GDA 94 (Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994) which covers Australia and its offshore regions.
The 2008 version includes the addition of new place names, the removal of invalid records and the revision of place names preserved for use in community geographic domain names (for internet sites). To check the spelling of a town's name or a geographical feature, visit Geoscience Australia's Place Name Search facility on its website.
The Gazetteer is revised biennially by Geoscience Australia under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Committee for Surveying and Mapping (ICSM). Data is provided by state, territory and Commonwealth Government authorities responsible for administering place names. The Gazetteer of Australia 2008 is available on CD ROM from Geoscience Australia's Sales Centre.
For more information visit the Geoscience Australia website or email mapsales@ga.gov.au to order a copy.
Related websites
Geoscience Australia's Place Name Search facility
New geophysical datasets released
Datasets from five new geophysical surveys, which will be a valuable tool in assessing the mineral potential of their respective survey areas and will help stimulate mineral exploration, have been released since March 2009.
These include data from the offshore area off northeast Tasmania, the Esperance and Balladonia areas of Western Australia and the Cooper Basin North in Queensland. The radiometric and elevation point-located data from the Australia-Wide Airborne Geophysical Survey (AWAGS) were released in April 2009.
The airborne magnetic and radiometric data covering areas of Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland were acquired in surveys managed by Geoscience Australia on behalf of Mineral Resources Tasmania, the Geological Survey of Western Australia and the Geological Survey of Queensland respectively.
The AWAGS data acquisition was managed by Geoscience Australia and funded under Geoscience Australia's Onshore Energy Security Program. The magnetic point-located data for this survey are scheduled for release by March 2010.
Each survey provides basic geophysical data which can be interpreted to reveal the sub-surface geology of the respective survey areas. The data have been incorporated into the national geophysical databases. The point-located and gridded data for the surveys can be obtained free online using the Geophysical Archive Data Delivery System (GADDS) download facility
Table 1. Details of the airborne magnetic, radiometric and elevation surveys.
| Survey | Date | 1:250 000 map sheets | Line spacing/ terrain clearance/ orientation |
Line km | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offshore NE Tasmania (Tas) |
Dec 2008 – Jan 2009 | Not Applicable | 800 m 90 m east - west |
29 262 | Fugro Airborne Surveys Pty Ltd |
| Esperance (WA) |
Sep – Dec 2008 | Esperance (pt), Malcolm (pt), Mondrain Island (pt), Cape Arid (pt). |
400 m 60 m east – west |
82 674 | Thomson Aviation Pty Ltd |
Balladonia (WA) |
Dec 2008 – Jan 2009 | Widgiemooltha (pt), Zanthus (pt), Norseman (pt), Balladonia (pt). |
400 m 60 m east – west |
44 511 | UTS Geophysics Pty Ltd |
| Cooper Basin North (Qld) |
Sep 2008 – Feb 2009 | Maneroo (pt), Longreach (pt), Connemara (pt), Jundah (pt), Blackall (pt), Canterbury (pt), Windorah (pt). |
400 m 60 m east - west |
168 444 | GPX Surveys Pty Ltd |
AWAGS |
Mar – Dec 2007 | Not Applicable | 75 km 80m north – south |
156 763 | UTS Geophysics Pty Ltd |
For more information phone Murray Richardson on +61 2 6249 9229 (email murray.richardson@ga.gov.au)
Related websites
Geological Survey of Queensland