Marine Habitat Mapping Incorporating Both Derivatives of LiDAR Data and Hydrodynamic Conditions

Accurate and efficient species-based marine habitat assessment is in great demand for the marine environment. Remote sensing techniques including airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) derived bathymetry can now be used, in concert with suitable ground truthing, to produce marine habitat maps over wide areas. Hydrodynamic conditions, e.g., current speeds and wave exposure influence habitat types through direct impact on marine organisms, as well as influence on sediment transport and, hence, substrate type. Habitat classification and mapping was carried out using both LiDAR derivatives and hydrodynamic parameters derived from numerical modelling at a location off the coast of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 1660 km north of Perth. Habitat classes included seagrass, algae, invertebrates, hard coral, and areas where there is no evident epibenthos. The inclusion of the hydrodynamic parameters significantly increased the accuracy of the classification by 7.7% when compared to using LiDAR derivatives alone.