Environment data and maps

Air quality monitoring

The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) monitors air quality at stations in Winnellie and Palmerston.

These stations monitor a number of different pollutants and collect meteorological data.

Air quality information from the stations is available in near real time on the Northern Territory Air Quality Network website.

The main pollutant in the Top End region is smoke from distant and local vegetation burning during the Dry Season.

This is represented as particulates of less than 10 microns (PM10) and less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5).

Go to the NT EPA website for more information on air pollutants and air quality data reports.

Environment data

You can find Northern Territory (NT) environment data and information on the following web portals and resources.

The majority of the data listed below is managed by the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics.

For more information call 08 8995 5300 or email landinfo@nt.gov.au.

NT resources	Data description
Geospatial resources	native flora native fauna vegetation resources soil resources water resources weeds management
Fisheries research	status of aquatic resources annual stock status report for key NT fish species
FloraNT	primary resource for information on NT flora images and distribution maps species checklists flora descriptions conservation and weed status ecological attributes ethno-botanical information access to the Northern Territory Herbarium specimen data
Geoscience information	mining information geoscience information exploration reports – minerals and energy industry Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) products
Lands and planning	roads land parcel boundaries administrative boundaries local government areas electoral regions fine scale topographic data orthoimagery cadastre
Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade	environmental reports publication, information and statistics Spatial Territory Resource Information Kit for Exploration (STRIKE)
NT Aerial Photography Index	search for aerial photography project and data
NT Atlas and Spatial Data Directory	online land and development information interrogate spatial data
NT Herbarium and native plants	native plants NT Herbarium collection
North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI)	provides maps of fire based on satellite images to help fire managers across regional and remote northern Australia
Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA)	environmental assessment waste and pollution
NRM InfoNet	create simple summaries of key natural resources for areas of land in northern Australia. create fire reports and summaries of vegetation, soils, threatened species, weeds, pest animals and land management issues
Parks and reserves	parks and reserves boundaries dataset
Other resources	Description
Atlas of Living Australia	Australia's national biodiversity database search Australian iconic species search and explore by location using web mapping tool Explore Your Area explore species occurrence records using web mapping tool Spatial Portal
data.gov.au	Australian Government's spatial data catalogue access to a network of open government data search and download spatially-referenced datasets created by the Australian, state and territory governments
Geoscience Australia	Australia geoscientific and geospatial data, information and collections Australia geographic information including maps, data and global navigation information Australia groundwater resources information and data Australia marine environment baseline mapping, definition of boundaries and characterisation of marine resources
The Australasian Virtual Herbarium	access to plant specimen data held by Australian and New Zealand herbaria over eight million specimens of plants, algae and fungi

Darwin Harbour biodiversity monitoring

The health of marine biodiversity in Darwin Harbour is monitored by mapping and characterising underwater habitats, and monitoring seagrass habitats and dolphins.

Mapping seafloor habitats

Mapping seafloor habitats helps understand the range of estuarine and marine habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mudflats.

Bathymetric (depth) mapping uses a multi-beam echo sounder system and has mapped all subtidal areas of the Darwin Harbour area.

Then the seafloor is biologically surveyed using grab samples, trawls and remote video cameras.

This helps describe the type of sediment and the animals and plants living there.

The different layers of information are then combined to identify and map the habitats of the harbour.

Dolphin monitoring

Three species of coastal dolphin live in NT waters, these are all of the following:

Australian snubfin
Indo-Pacific humpback
Indo-Pacific bottlenose.

All three dolphins live in Darwin Harbour and have been monitored since 2008 to understand how each uses the harbour. This program has expanded to include Bynoe Harbour and Shoal Bay.

Individual animals can be identified through photographing their dorsal fin, which have unique markings and scars. This helps assess the health of these individuals.

Seagrass monitoring

Seagrass meadows play an important role supporting coastal marine communities and diverse flora and fauna.

Seagrass also maintains coastal water quality and clarity.

Seagrass meadows support coastal fisheries as they are nurseries for many commercially and recreationally important species.

Seagrass is the favourite food for dugongs and an important habitat for many marine species.

Seagrass health is linked with dugong population numbers and health, and often shows the overall ecosystem health.

Important local seagrass meadows in Darwin Harbour are found at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Mindil Beach, Fannie Bay and West Arm.

A seagrass watch program started in 2011, working with local schools to survey seagrass at Mindil, Vesteys and Casuarina beaches.

Fauna atlas

The Northern Territory (NT) fauna atlas currently includes all known terrestrial vertebrate records for the NT.

It has more than one million records and is the most comprehensive database available of mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs.

It is used to work out where species can be found and make sure these species are protected.

Data is collected by scientists, from museums, environmental consultants, researchers and historical accounts.

View the fauna atlas on NR Maps.

Contribute to the NT fauna atlas

You can submit your fauna records to the fauna atlas on the fauna observations page of NT Wildwatch.

If you have any questions, email biodiversity@nt.gov.au.

Flora atlas

The Northern Territory (NT) flora atlas has over one million plant records.

Data comes from the NT Herbarium specimen database and the vegetation site database of the NT.

The NT Herbarium database has records of plants that have been collected in the field where a sample of that plant has been preserved, identified and kept in the Herbarium.

Data in the vegetation site database includes basic plant observations to detailed flora surveys.

Find out more about the NT Herbarium.

Marine and coastal biodiversity

The Northern Territory (NT) has one of the world's most intact marine environments so it is important to protect its marine and coastal biodiversity.

The Territory is also home to the largest area of mangrove forest in Australia.

The NT marine habitats, such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves and sand or mudflats are important hotspots for biodiversity.

They are important breeding, nursery and feeding areas for many species, including marine turtles and colonies of shorebirds, seabirds and waterbirds, as well as dolphins, dugongs, sawfish, sea snakes, seahorses, sharks and rays.

Many of these species are common in NT waters where they have declined in other regions and now are listed as threatened species.

Marine ecosystems are connected. Species regularly move across large areas and into waters outside the NT and Australian borders.

The quality of the NT marine environment depends greatly on how marine resources are used and how nearby terrestrial areas are managed.

They can also be affected by natural disturbances and global factors.

Report a marine wildlife incident

If you come across injured or sick marine wildlife, report it as soon as possible.

Find out how to report a marine wildlife incident or injury.

Natural Resource Maps NT

Natural Resource (NR) Maps is a web mapping tool to discover, research and map natural and cultural research data for the Northern Territory (NT).

Go to the NR Maps website.

You can do all of the following with NR Maps:

display, select and query data layers sourced from different government agencies
access NT data including:
- soil
- water and vegetation resource surveys
- flora and fauna species
- weeds
- bores
- water management areas
download NT data layers and export query results
access more than 600 NT map PDF documents
draw redline mark-ups and export to shapefiles
upload your own data in a range of formats
create A4 or A3 PDF maps to print and save.

For more information about NR Maps or to get user guides, go to the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security website.

Water data

You can access current and past groundwater, surface water and water quality data on the Water Data Portal or through Natural Resource Maps Northern Territory.

Water testing in the Katherine region

Testing for chemicals linked with firefighting foams in ground and surface water took place near RAAF Base Tindal in November 2016.

The testing was conducted to find out where the chemicals are in the aquifer.

The chemicals, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), were previously used in firefighting foams around Australia.

To find out more go to the Fire Fighting Foam (PFAS) Investigation page on the Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority website.

Where samples were taken

Six monitoring bores and three surface water sites on Crown land near RAAF Base Tindal were tested.

What the tests found

The results found PFAS along the flow of the aquifer in a west to north-west direction between RAAF Base Tindal and the Katherine River.

PFAS were not detected upstream from the source or on the northern side of the Katherine River.

The results have been given to the Department of Defence to help with its investigation into PFAS in ground and surface water.

For results from each sampling site see the interactive map below.

Contact

For more information call the NT EPA Pollution Hotline on 1800 064 567.

Detailed site investigation at Alice Springs Fire Station

In 2021 a detailed site investigation (DSI) of the Alice Springs Fire Station commenced after soil sampling showed elevated levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the site.

Learn about PFAS on the Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority website.

Field investigations

Field investigation were conducted in early 2023.

Follow up investigations are ongoing at the fire station.

There is no immediate public health risk or cause for concern to nearby residents.

Water testing

Alice Springs drinking water show no detectable levels of PFAS and is safe to drink.

Power and Water regularly test the water.

Read more about PFAS testing of drinking water on the Power Water website.

Results of the investigation

Results will be made available after the completion of the DSI.

For more information

Call the taskforce on 08 8999 4051 or email pfas.taskforce@nt.gov.au.