Diuron Pesticide Dispersal Model in the Great Barrier Reef

Comprising results from a 1 km resolution hydrodynamic and transport model simulating the dispersal of the pesticide diuron in the Great Barrier Reef marine environment. The simulation period covers from January 2016 to July 2018, quantifying diuron loads from 16 rivers and using a calibrated half-life of 40 days. The model calculates hourly fluctuations of diuron concentration in each grid cell based on hydrodynamic fluxes.

Use Cases

• Analyze hourly diuron concentration fluctuations in model grid cells to identify pollution hotspots and temporal patterns.
• Map the dispersal of unique river tracers from 16 GBR rivers to understand the contribution of specific catchments to marine pesticide loads.
• Validate the simulated diuron distribution against observations from 11 monitoring sites to assess model accuracy.
• Study the impact of hydrodynamic forcing from wind, tides, and surface fluxes on the transport of diuron in coastal waters.
• Compare diuron entry mechanisms, distinguishing between rivers using a brackish surface plume boundary condition and those using a surface flux.

Strengths

• Model output is based on a high-resolution 1 km grid nested within a 4 km model for stable boundary forcing.
• Simulation covers a specific 2.5-year period from January 2016 to July 2018.
• Model incorporates a calibrated diuron half-life of 40 days, validated against observations at 11 monitoring sites.
• Represents freshwater and diuron input from 16 distinct rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

Limitations

• The dataset is synthetic model output, not direct observational measurements, and its accuracy depends on model assumptions and inputs.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the Great Barrier Reef marine environment modeled area.
• The underlying GBR-Dynamic SedNet catchment model may not capture all sources or recent changes in land use affecting diuron loads.

Provenance

Source

CSIRO Marlin Data Catalogue

Collection Method

Output from the eReefs GBR1 hydrodynamic and transport model, forced by the GBR-Dynamic SedNet catchment model.

Time Range

January 2016 to July 2018

Freshness

The dataset record was last updated in March 2026, but the simulation period ends in July 2018.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef marine environment, Australia