Australian Coastal CTD Profiles from National Reference Stations

IMOS National Mooring Network collects conductivity-temperature-depth profiles, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity data from Australia's coastal National Reference Stations. Processed data includes derived practical salinity, water density, and artificial chlorophyll concentration, with automated quality control applied. The facility is operated by the Integrated Marine Observing System, with data last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in water temperature and salinity from CTD profiles to study ocean warming.
• Model relationships between fluorescence measurements and derived artificial chlorophyll concentration for phytoplankton studies.
• Correlate dissolved oxygen and turbidity data from mooring instruments to assess coastal water quality and ecosystem health.
• Use geospatial data from the National Reference Station network to map baseline oceanographic conditions around Australia.

Strengths

• Data undergoes automated quality control and delayed-mode processing for reliability.
• Measures multiple core oceanographic parameters including CTD, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity.
• Provides derived parameters like practical salinity, water density, and artificial chlorophyll concentration.

Limitations

• Specific row count, temporal coverage, and geographic extent of the station network are not provided.
• Available file formats (PDF, WFS, HTML, PNG, WMS) suggest the primary data may not be in a standard tabular format for direct analysis.
• Data collection methodology and sensor calibration details for each mooring are not described.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) National Mooring Network, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Collected via conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instruments deployed at fixed National Reference Stations as part of a water sampling program.

Freshness

Data was last updated in April 2026, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Australia's coastal seas, specifically at National Reference Stations.