AGSO Survey 112: Coastal Water Geochemistry and Hydrocarbons Off Sydney, 1992

Sydney's coastal waters between Botany Bay and North Head were surveyed in September/October 1992. The dataset, from a collaborative project by AGSO and the Sydney Water Board, includes approximately 500 line-km of water column data on light hydrocarbons, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH, alongside seafloor sediment samples. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Tracing pollutant sources from deepwater ocean outfalls based on light hydrocarbon anomalies.
• Characterizing the contaminant status of nearshore sediments based on heavy metals and organochlorine measurements.
• Analyzing the relationship between water column properties like temperature, salinity, and hydrocarbon concentrations.
• Establishing a regional environmental baseline for the Sydney coast based on the combined survey data.

Strengths

• Data collection covers approximately 500 line-kilometers of continuous geochemical tracer (CGT) transects.
• Combines multiple data types: water column parameters (hydrocarbons, temperature, salinity, oxygen, pH) and seafloor sediment samples.
• Results are documented in peer-reviewed AGSO Records (e.g., Heggie et al., 1993a, 1993b).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific survey in 1992; freshness should be verified for contemporary applications.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Marine survey (Rig Seismic Survey 112) involving continuous water column sampling and seafloor sediment grabs.

Time Range

September/October 1992

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:40:07.910557; freshness should be verified

Geography

Coastal waters off Sydney, Australia, between Botany Bay and North Head, with regional context from Newcastle to Wollongong.