The Sentinel-1 radar satellite provides crucial data for studying environmental change across Australia and Antarctica. Researchers use this data to monitor floods, vegetation, snow and ice, and even land movement. Collaborators at the University of Tasmania have been using the data to develop automated methods to track fast ice year-round. Antarctic fast ice is a key part of the climate system that has declined sharply in recent years and is also a critical habitat for a range of species.
The lack of standardised, analysis-ready formats until now has limited wider use of satellite radar datasets. Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth program is filling this gap by producing and sharing high-quality normalised radar backscatter products. The program, including the new Digital Earth Antarctica initiative, is processing huge volumes of radar data, covering more than a decade of observations, so it can be easily and freely used by scientists and decision-makers.