Sea Surface Warming Rates Across 58 Australian Marine Parks

Fifteen years of monthly sea surface temperature data from MODIS satellite imagery reveal warming trends in Australian Marine Parks. The dataset contains annual and monthly warming rates for 58 parks from 2003 to 2017. Research was conducted by the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial patterns of warming by comparing the `slope_y` values across different marine parks.
• Model seasonal warming trends by examining the `slope_m` (monthly rate) data for specific parks.
• Correlate warming rates with other environmental datasets using park location as a spatial join key.
• Assess climate change impacts on marine biodiversity by tracking temperature change over the 15-year period.

Strengths

• Covers 58 distinct Australian Marine Parks for spatial analysis.
• Provides a 15-year temporal record (2003-2017) for trend analysis.
• Derived from MODIS satellite data, a standard source for sea surface temperature.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 58 parks, restricting broader geographic inference.
• Data ends in 2017, creating a multi-year gap for current climate analysis.
• Excludes Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Park, creating a coverage gap.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Collection Method

Derived from monthly MODIS (Aqua) satellite sea surface temperature images.

Time Range

2003 to 2017

Freshness

Last metadata update was 2026-04-04, but underlying data ends in 2017.

Geography

58 Australian Marine Parks (excluding Heard Island and McDonald Islands).