NESP TWQ Project 4.2 - Oceanographic drivers of bleaching in the GBR: from observations to

Project 4.2 under the NESP Tropical Water Quality Hub focuses on environmental observations from the 2018-2020 period. It gathers oceanographic and meteorological data related to coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait. The data is intended for assessing eReefs model performance and developing seasonal marine heatwave predictions.

Use Cases

• Validate eReefs ocean model performance based on gathered environmental observations during bleaching events.
• Analyze spatial variability in coral bleaching severity based on local and regional oceanographic processes.
• Develop seasonal prediction capabilities for marine heatwaves based on analyzed environmental data.
• Produce 3D visualizations of remotely sensed bleaching products from sources like NOAA and BoM.

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, high-impact environmental event (coral bleaching) over a defined 2018-2020 period.
• Integrates data from multiple relevant sources, including NOAA and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
• Aims to create a centralized gateway for data discoverability by researchers and managers.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update is dated 2026-07-13.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely compiled from environmental observations, remote sensing products, and model outputs.

Time Range

2018-2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 11:23:16.403354; freshness should be verified

Geography

Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait, Australia