Image of the Month - November
Eyre Creek, Western Queensland
Eyre Creek, Western Queensland
This Landsat image captures floodwaters moving through the arid landscape of Queensland’s remote Channel Country in 2010. Eyre Creek, in the centre of the image, connects with Lake Machattie on the right and Lake Koolivoo and Lake Mipia on the left. Lake Machattie appears brighter than the two smaller lakes, probably due to higher turbidity or shallower water in the larger lake. Surface water can also be seen between the parallel sand dunes in the top part of the image. Green vegetation is visible across the floodplain of Eyre Creek and to the north of the two smaller lakes, as plants respond to increased water in the landscape.
Lake Machattie is a prominent example of a temporary freshwater lake with couch grassland. Tussocks of rat’s tail couch (Sporobolus mitchellii) can triple in height after major flooding to 30cm tall. During wet periods, the area can also host tens of thousands of waterbirds. Surveys estimated up to 150 000 pelicans were using the area in March 2001. For those without wings, access to the region can be difficult during floods. The Eyre Development Road between Bedourie and Birdsville can be seen as a linear feature between Lake Machattie and the Lake Koolivoo.
This false-colour image uses a combination of Landsat 5 spectral bands - 5 (shortwave infrared), 4 (infrared) and 2 (visible green). The combination is useful for highlighting the differences between vegetation, bare ground and water. The Landsat 5 image from 26 September 2010 was supplied by the United States Geological Survey and processed by the Queensland Government Remote Sensing Centre. The Centre has generated an extensive archive of satellite imagery, corrected for variations in sun angles throughout the year, topographical effects and atmospheric changes. This corrected imagery is widely used by government agencies, industry groups, regional natural resource management groups and research organisations to assist in monitoring and managing Queensland’s natural resources.
References
Bureau of Meteorology (2010) Monthly Weather Review: Queensland
Birdlife International (2012) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lake Machattie Area
Environmental Protection Agency (1999) Temporary freshwater lakes with couch grassland (PDF)*
Queensland Wetlands Program (nd) Lake Machattie Wetland Soil Information Sheet (PDF)*
You can save a larger version of the image by right-clicking on the hyperlink
and selecting "Save target as" or "Save link as" depending on your browser.
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 7 January 2013
