A new approach to Australia's national mapping program
In late 2004, the National Mapping Division of Geoscience Australia completed a major milestone in the history of mapping in Australia with the completion of an object-oriented seamless topographic database at 1:250,000 scale for the entire continent. In 1988 all 544 NATMAP series of mapsheets covering Australia at 1:250,000 were completed. During the 1990’s these maps were digitised to produce a highly structured GIS-ready database comprising 513 tiles known as TOPO-250K. Over the last five years Geoscience Australia has been revising the data, and appending the tiles into a continuous topographic database with a currency of better than 5 years for the majority of Australia.
Geoscience Australia has undertaken a comprehensive review of its mapping programs, and is now embarking on a new mapping strategy focused on meeting the needs of the Australian Governments and the community, particularly in regard to emergency management, natural resource management, homeland security and other government priorities. We now work closely with the State jurisdictions and other Commonwealth agencies using a “collect once and use many times” approach - the goal being to map and maintain fundamental spatial data at the best possible scale to meet local and regional requirements, while also maintaining seamless, national coverage at 1:250,000 scale.
As part of a phased implementation strategy, Geoscience Australia successfully undertook pilot projects collaboratively with a number of State mapping agencies, focused on providing topographic and related information for emergency management, with a particular emphasis on the use of high resolution satellite imagery. The aim of these pilots was to undertake new mapping in priority areas, and to develop operational approaches using the latest remote sensing and mapping techniques.
This presentation will discuss the outcomes of the pilots, current joint mapping initiatives, and opportunities for future collaboration in regard to: the procurement of satellite and airborne imagery; the capture and maintenance of fundamental spatial data, and the potential benefits of co-investing in data that meets the needs of multiple users.