Australian Coastal Water Quality Measurements from Nine Reference Stations

Monthly and tri-monthly sampling from nine Australian coastal sites, with data collection beginning between 2008 and 2010 and ongoing for seven locations. The dataset contains measurements of Secchi Depth and Total Suspended Solids (inorganic and organic components) for water quality analysis. Sampling is conducted by members of the IMOS NRS Biogeochemical project, with depths ranging from surface to 105 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyze Secchi Depth trends over time to assess long-term water clarity changes at specific stations like Maria Island or Port Hacking.
• Model relationships between Total Suspended Solids components and other biogeochemical parameters to understand sediment dynamics.
• Compare water quality measurements across the nine National Reference Station sites to identify regional environmental differences.
• Integrate Secchi Depth and Total Suspended Solids data with other IMOS datasets for coastal ecosystem health monitoring.

Strengths

• Data collection spans from 2008/2010 to present for seven ongoing sites, providing over a decade of temporal coverage.
• Includes measurements from nine distinct coastal reference stations around Australia, offering geographic breadth.
• Sampling conducted at standardized depth intervals, typically 10 meters, from surface to 105 meters.
• Historical data from CSIRO's Coastal Monitoring program extends the record for three sites back to the 1940s/1950s.

Limitations

• Sampling ceased at two sites (Ningaloo and Esperance) in 2013, creating incomplete time series for those locations.
• The specific number of data rows and column structure is unknown from the provided description.
• Data availability through HTML and WMS formats may require additional processing for structured analytical use compared to tabular formats.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing Systems (IMOS) National Mooring Network - National Reference Station (NRS) field sampling.

Collection Method

Monthly (or tri-monthly) sampling off small vessels, with water samples analyzed for Secchi Depth and Total Suspended Solids.

Time Range

Primary sampling began 2008-2010 and is ongoing; historical data for three sites extends back to 1944-1953.

Freshness

Data collection is described as currently ongoing, with a platform last updated date of 2026-03-25.

Geography

Nine coastal sites around Australia: Maria Island (TAS), Kangaroo Island (SA), Esperance (WA), Rottnest Island (WA), Ningaloo (WA), Darwin (NT), Yongala (QLD), North Stradbroke Island (QLD), Port Hacking (NSW).