IMOS Picoplankton Flow Cytometry Data from Nine Australian Coastal Stations

Monthly and three-monthly sampling began between September 2008 and November 2010 at nine Australian coastal reference stations, with data collection ongoing for seven sites as of the last update. The dataset contains picoplankton component analyses from water samples collected by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) National Mooring Network. It is published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and supersedes historical CSIRO coastal monitoring data for three sites.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal trends in picoplankton populations based on monthly sampling at reference stations.
• Modeling marine ecosystem health indicators based on flow cytometry data from coastal sites.
• Comparing biogeochemical conditions across distinct Australian coastal regions mentioned in the description.
• Studying long-term changes by integrating this data with historical CSIRO coastal monitoring records.

Strengths

• Data collection spans from 2008 to the present for seven ongoing sites, providing a long-term time series.
• Samples are from nine geographically distinct National Reference Stations around Australia's coastline.
• Operations are documented in a referenced Biogeochemical Operations Manual, suggesting standardized methods.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Sampling ceased at two sites (Ningaloo and Esperance) in 2013, creating temporal gaps.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing Systems (IMOS) National Mooring Network, Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Field sampling conducted monthly (or three-monthly) off small vessels, with analysis by flow cytometry.

Time Range

2008-09-29 to present (ongoing for 7 sites).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 18:09:10.793643; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Nine coastal sites around Australia: Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales.