The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area extends 1900 km along the coast of Queensland, covering an area of 345,0002 , including 3000 individual coral reefs, numerous islands and sandy cays. Managing this vast area requires maps.

Fixed or Rotary? - David Turton

Spatial data acquisition by Airborne Laser Scanning is harder than it looks. The choice of platform has a direct bearing on the quality of the results.

Natural Area Coding - Jonathon Powers

Natural Area Coding provides an easy method of defining any area or point. It's better than lat and long, and might even be better than a telephone number.

Flight-4 - Paul Grad

Japan's H2A rocket lifted more than Midori-2 last month. The hopes of Australia's space establishment also rode on the successful flight.

National DigSafe Launch - Hazel Baker

A call to 1100 could save you a bundle, if you dig for a living.

Hyperspectral Imagery for Exploration - John Clucas

There is a good chance that the results of hyperspectral imaging will surprise geologists. A recent study over Broken Hill has offered up volumes of information on the area's mineralogy. The task now is to interpret it.

Defining Terrain - John Clucas

ALS provided the solution when a Queensland gold mining company required accurate, digital spatial data for mineral exploration and mine planning.

Automated Coal Mining - John Clucas

Automation of the giant shearers in longwall coal mines will provide answers to a number of problems facing the industry. Not the least of these is minimisation of hazards for workers.

Collecting AgStats - Lucy Randall

There is much to be gained by comparing two datasets. The final result can be better than either.

The Battle for Canberra - Jon Fairall

Despite the best efforts of fire fighters, Canberra surrendered far too much to the fires that swept down on the city in January. At least one reason for the savagery of the blaze is the speed with which it moved ñ fast enough to overwhelm the defenders.

Standards and Online Data - Maurits Van Der Vlugt and Jonathon Doig

The world's first battle-ready WFS site is up and running.

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