Australian Coastal Ocean Water Quality and CTD Burst-Averaged Measurements

Supplying burst-averaged data products from Water Quality Meters (WQMs) and CTD profilers deployed across Australia's National Mooring Network. It includes time series of physical and biogeochemical parameters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and turbidity. The data originates from a series of National Reference Stations and regional moorings in coastal waters.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll concentrations to monitor coastal water health.
• Model relationships between temperature, salinity, and conductivity to study oceanographic phenomena.
• Assess spatial variability in turbidity and fluorescence across different Australian coastal regions.
• Correlate pressure and depth measurements from WQMs to validate oceanographic models.

Strengths

• Data products are cleaned and averaged from burst-collected sensor data, indicating a processed state.
• Covers multiple distinct Australian coastal regions, including the Great Barrier Reef and Great Australian Bight.
• Includes a wide range of measured parameters: temperature, pressure, salinity, conductivity, depth, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, turbidity, and fluorescence.

Limitations

• The specific number of data rows, columns, and file sizes is unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
• Data is presented in non-tabular formats (HTML, WMS, PNG, WFS), which may require specialized tools for programmatic analysis.
• The license is listed as 'notspecified', creating potential ambiguity for reuse and redistribution.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, via the National Mooring Network Facility.

Collection Method

Data collected by moored Water Quality Meters (WQMs) and CTD profilers, with burst data cleaned and averaged into products.

Freshness

Last updated March 20, 2026.

Geography

Australian coastal ocean waters, including specific sites around Kangaroo Island, Maria Island, Ningaloo Marine Park, North Stradbroke Island, Rottnest Island, and coastal cities like Perth, Sydney, Esperance, and Darwin.