IMOS - AusCPR: Phytoplankton Colour Index for Australian Waters

A long-term plankton baseline for Australian waters, the Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey measures phytoplankton communities as a guide to ocean health. The dataset is a joint project of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and the Australian Antarctic Division, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System. Results are available through the Australian Ocean Data Network portal, with data storage planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs.

Use Cases

• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution based on the survey's stated aims.
• Document plankton changes in response to climate change based on the long-term baseline.
• Provide indices for fisheries management based on the plankton community data.
• Detect harmful algal blooms based on the phytoplankton colour index.
• Validate satellite remote sensing data based on the in-situ plankton measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a published methodology (Richardson et al 2006).
• Project is a joint effort by major Australian research institutions (CSIRO CMAR and AAD).
• Data storage is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• This dataset has been superseded by a newer collection, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) portal, sourced from the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ships of Opportunity facility.

Collection Method

Samples collected via Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, with analysis carried out by staff at CMAR laboratories in Queensland and the AAD in Hobart.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 16:11:15.546266; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian waters