SWOT reveals flood depths and environmental flows in wetlands

Wetland ecosystems depend on water availability to function. However, detailed information on water heights and depths within wetlands is often lacking, and management of these vulnerable ecosystems can rely on distant river gauge measurements or no water observations at all. Here we show that Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite data can provide water height estimates across internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands in Australia - Coongie Lakes and the Barmah-Millewa Forest - with 3-10 cm accuracy. Combined with high-resolution elevation data, water depths can now be monitored in wetlands every ∼10-11 days, providing crucial information on water availability to sustain ecosystems. The largest ever satellite-observed ood in the Coongie Lakes was tracked with unprecedented detail as it owed through interconnected channels and lakes of the system, and we mapped wetland extents from the SWOT data. Our approach can improve management of all wetlands lacking information on water heights and depths.
Type
collection
Title
SWOT reveals flood depths and environmental flows in wetlands
Brief Title
SWOT reveals flood depths and environmental flows in wetlands
Alternate Title
SWOT reveals flood depths and environmental flows in wetlands
Collection Type
Repository
Access Privileges
Research School of Earth Sciences
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/p9zr-6f46
Significance Statement
The first Australian study of floods and environmental flows into wetlands using SWOT satellite data
Brief Description
The first Australian study of floods and environmental flows into wetlands using SWOT satellite data. Flooding of the Coongie Lakes wetland in 2024 and 2025 are described, along with environmental flows into the Barmah-Millewa wetlands
Full Description
Wetland ecosystems depend on water availability to function. However, detailed information on water heights and depths within wetlands is often lacking, and management of these vulnerable ecosystems can rely on distant river gauge measurements or no water observations at all. Here we show that Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite data can provide water height estimates across internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands in Australia - Coongie Lakes and the Barmah-Millewa Forest - with 3-10 cm accuracy. Combined with high-resolution elevation data, water depths can now be monitored in wetlands every ∼10-11 days, providing crucial information on water availability to sustain ecosystems. The largest ever satellite-observed ood in the Coongie Lakes was tracked with unprecedented detail as it owed through interconnected channels and lakes of the system, and we mapped wetland extents from the SWOT data. Our approach can improve management of all wetlands lacking information on water heights and depths.
Contact Email
paul.tregoning@anu.edu.au
Contact Address
Research School of Earth Sciences
Contact Phone Number
+61261255510
Principal Investigator
Mia Callaway (Mia.Callaway@anu.edu.au), Maya Taib (Maya.Taib@anu.edu.au)
Supervisors
Paul Tregoning
Collaborators
Chris Gouramanis, Lachlan Dodd
Fields of Research
3706 - Geophysics; 370603 - Geodesy; 370704 - Surface water hydrology
Socio-Economic Objective
280107 - Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences
Keywords
SWOT, flood depths, environmental flows, wetlands, ramsar
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
31/08/2025
01/01/2024
Geospatial Location
Australia
Date of data creation
2025-10-29
Year of data publication
2025
Creator(s) for Citation
Callaway
Mia
Taib
Maya
Tregoning
Paul
Gouramanis
Chris
Dodd
Lachlan
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Access Rights
Contact Chief Investigator to negotiate access to the data
Access Rights Type
Open
Licence Type
CC-BY - Attribution
Retention Period
Indefinitely
Data Management Plan
No

Request data files

Number of files: 1

Size: 9.26 MB

Identifier: anudc:6444

Status: Published
Published to:
  • Australian National University
  • Australian National Data Service
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