Data standards

Draft

This page shows the format for each kind of data you can add to a project. When you upload a file, we check it against these formats.

This is a draft from 21 October 2026. Three formats are in use now: species records, habitat maps and protected areas. They are marked Live. The others are under review and may change.

Upload data

Data is uploaded to a project. Choose a project to open its upload screen.

Rules for all files

File types: You can upload GeoPackage, zipped Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, GeoTIFF, or a CSV with latitude and longitude. A file can be up to 100 MB. You can also provide a link for us to download. The size limit for a link is 200 MB.
Location: Your data can use any coordinate system, as long as the file says which one. We convert it for you.
Columns: You don't need to rename your columns. When you upload, you tell us once which column is which. Columns marked "Must have" need a value in almost every row.
Geometry: Each kind of data uses the geometry type listed in its table.
Source, year and licence: Please tell us where the data comes from, which year it is from, and its licence. Data under CC BY, CC0, CC BY-NC or another open licence can be shown in public projects. Restricted data, or data whose licence you are not sure of, is only seen by your team.
Cultural data: Only your team can see heritage data and Indigenous land and sea data, whatever the licence. This follows the CARE principles for Indigenous data.
Other data: If your data does not fit any kind below, you can still upload it. We check that it opens, sits inside your area and has no duplicates.

Habitat

For habitat maps, please include the habitat type and the year it was mapped. Measurements such as depth or temperature should be a grid, with the unit and dates.

Data	Geometry	Must have	Good to have	Based on	Status
Seabed habitat map, seagrass, coral reefs, mangroves, saltmarsh and saltflats, tidal flats, kelp and macroalgae	Areas	habitatClass, surveyYear	cover (%), method, confidence	Classes mapped to the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology	Live
Depth and seabed shape	Grid	depth (m, negative below sea level), datum	survey year, resolution	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft
Seabed sediment	Grid, or points from samples	% sand, % silt or mud, % gravel; or a sediment class	sample date, method	Folk classification for classes	Draft
Coastline type	Lines	shore type (sandy, rocky, mangrove, built)	source year	Smartline / coastal geomorphology classes	Draft
Sea temperature	Grid	value (°C), statistic (mean, max), period	depth	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft
Other water conditions	Grid, or points from stations	variable (turbidity, chlorophyll, salinity…), value, unit, date	depth, method	GeoTIFF with unit; stations as points	Draft

Biodiversity

Species records follow Darwin Core. GBIF and OBIS use the same format, so you can share the same file with them later.

Data	Geometry	Must have	Good to have	Based on	Status
Marine mammals, turtles, seabirds and shorebirds, sharks and rays, fish, species records	Points	scientificName, eventDate	individualCount, basisOfRecord, vernacularName, recordedBy	Darwin Core	Live
Threatened species and communities	Points, or areas for a community	scientificName (or community name), eventDate, threat status	listing (EPBC, IUCN), source of listing	Darwin Core + IUCN Red List categories	Draft
Important areas for wildlife	Areas	species or group, use (breeding, foraging, resting, migration), season	evidence, confidence	Biologically Important Areas; Key Biodiversity Areas	Draft
Species richness	Grid	value (number of species), unit, period	taxa counted, method	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft

Driver / Pressure

For each human activity, please include its name and the year it was measured. You can also add how strong it is. The simulations use this.

Data	Geometry	Must have	Good to have	Based on	Status
Fishing	Areas (grounds) or a grid (effort)	fishery or gear, period	effort or catch with unit, species targeted	Global Fishing Watch effort units for grids	Draft
Shipping and vessels	Grid or lines (routes)	vessel type, period	density with unit (hours per km²)	AIS density conventions	Draft
Ports and coastal infrastructure	Points or areas	type (port, jetty, marina, seawall, outfall), status	year built, operator	—	Draft
Oil, gas and mining	Areas (tenure) or points (wells)	type, status (granted, application, producing), year	operator, commodity	State tenure registers	Draft
Aquaculture	Areas	species farmed, status	year, production	—	Draft
Coastal population	Grid	people per cell, year	—	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft
Pollution from land and sea	Points (sources) or a grid (load)	source type or pollutant, period	load with unit	—	Draft
Marine heat stress, sea level rise, cyclones	Grid, or lines for cyclone tracks	metric (degree heating weeks, cm of rise…), period or scenario	model, confidence	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft
Invasive species	Points	scientificName, eventDate	individualCount	Darwin Core	Draft
Cumulative human impact	Grid	index value, year	pressures included	GeoTIFF with unit	Draft

Ecosystem service

Each value needs its unit and year. Money values also need the currency. Only your team can see cultural heritage data.

Data	Geometry	Must have	Good to have	Based on	Status
Blue carbon	Areas or grid	habitat, carbon stock (t C per ha)	sequestration rate, soil depth counted	IPCC Wetlands Supplement units	Draft
Coastal protection	Areas or lines	service measure (wave energy reduced, people protected…), unit	method	—	Draft
Tourism and recreation	Points or areas	activity (dive site, surf break, boat ramp, beach), name	visits per year	—	Draft
Fisheries value	Areas or grid	value, currency, price year	fishery, species	—	Draft
Cultural heritage	Points or areas	type, name or description	period, register id	Heritage registers; team only	Draft

Protection

Protected areas use the same columns as the world list of protected areas. Only your team can see Indigenous land and sea data, and using it needs the consent of the people it belongs to.

Data	Geometry	Must have	Good to have	Based on	Status
Existing protected areas	Areas	name, designation (marine park, sanctuary zone…)	IUCN category, year established, managing body	WDPA attributes	Live
Proposed and recommended areas	Areas	name, designation	stage (proposed, consulted, recommended), year, proponent	WDPA attributes	Live
Indigenous land and sea	Areas	name, group or nation, type of right or interest (native title, IPA, sea country plan)	year, source	CARE principles; team only unless the custodians agree	Draft