Great Barrier Reef Oceanographic Measurements from 53 Stations in 1990

53 hydrographic stations were sampled in the far northern Great Barrier Reef in February 1990. The survey collected water column and sediment data for nutrients, chlorophyll, suspended solids, and zooplankton to establish baseline environmental conditions. It was conducted by the Australian Ocean Data Network in response to proposed industrial developments on the adjacent mainland.

Use Cases

• Modeling nutrient fluxes and primary production based on dissolved nutrient and chlorophyll measurements.
• Analyzing sediment composition and origin based on grain-size analysis and biological/terrigenous source determination.
• Assessing spatial hydrographic gradients based on salinity, temperature, and irradiance profiles from inshore to Coral Sea waters.
• Estimating zooplankton biomass and its role in the food web based on vertical net tow samples.

Strengths

• Data from 53 spatially distributed stations covering inshore, outer-shelf, and Coral Sea waters.
• Multiple complementary analyses performed on water and sediment samples, including nutrients, chlorophyll, PON, POP, and grain size.
• Subsurface irradiance profiles measured at 24 stations, providing light environment context.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• CTD failure partway through the cruise means salinity and temperature data for some stations rely on alternative methods.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Water samples collected with Niskin bottles, sediment samples with a van Veen grab, zooplankton with vertical net tows, and profiles from CTD casts and reversing thermometers.

Time Range

February 1990

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 01:23:53.518516; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Far northern Great Barrier Reef, including Lloyd Bay, Temple Bay, and Shelburne Bay.