Satellite-Derived Water Clarity on the Great Barrier Reef, 2002-2015

Daily estimates of photic depth (secchi depth) for the Great Barrier Reef derived from MODIS satellite imagery between 2002 and 2015. The data was produced using a quasi-analytical algorithm developed for NERP projects and is now run by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology as part of the eReefs Water Quality Dashboard. The algorithm uses a Type II linear regression tuned with in situ measurements from AIMS and QDPI.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in water clarity based on daily satellite estimates from 2002-2015.
• Modeling the relationship between light penetration and coral reef health using derived photic depth data.
• Validating hydrodynamic or water quality models with spatially explicit satellite-derived secchi depth data.
• Assessing environmental reporting inputs as described for the NERP TE 2.3 GBR/TS environmental conditions reports.

Strengths

• Algorithm performance is quantified with specific regression parameters (a0=0.529, a1=0.816) and validation metrics (N=71, r2=0.83, RMSE=0.096).
• Data is available at multiple temporal aggregations (daily, weekly, monthly, 6-monthly, annual) via standardized services (NetCDF, OpenDAP, WMS, WCS).
• Methodology is peer-reviewed and published, with specific citations to the applied algorithm and a spatio-temporal analysis paper.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The temporal coverage ends in 2015, which may limit analysis of recent conditions.
• Row count and spatial resolution are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific applications.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, via data_gov_au. Data processed by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS satellite imagery using a quasi-analytical algorithm and a Type II linear regression tuned with in situ secchi depth measurements.

Time Range

2002 to 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 01:16:17.387873; freshness should be verified as the core data ends in 2015.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef