Nutrient Patterns in Port Phillip Bay During High and Low Runoff Periods

Northern Port Phillip Bay nutrient and chlorophyll a distributions measured monthly for two years. Data were collected via continuous profiling from a mobile ship laboratory, resolving features at scales of about 200 meters. The dataset compares periods of high runoff in September 1993 and low runoff in January 1995, linking nutrient sources to specific river inputs.

Use Cases

• Modeling nutrient source attribution based on ammonium/salinity and silicate/salinity relationships mentioned in the description
• Analyzing spatial variability of nutrient concentrations during high and low runoff events described in the study
• Investigating the impact of freshwater inputs from the Yarra/Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers on bay-wide biomass
• Calibrating hydrodynamic models with high-resolution nutrient data collected via continuous profiling

Strengths

• Monthly measurements over two years provide temporal resolution
• Continuous profiling technique resolved nutrient features over scales of about 200 meters
• Simultaneous collection of hydrographic and chlorophyll a data enables multi-variable analysis
• Surveys covered the whole of Port Phillip Bay (approximately 2000 km²) in 3 days

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data freshness should be verified; last updated date is 2026-06-16

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Nutrients measured via flow-segmented colorimetric analysis of continuously pumped seawater aboard a ship.

Time Range

Monthly intervals over two years, with specific focus on September 1993 and January 1995.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 18:25:14.390782

Geography

Northern Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia.