Seasonal variations in major ions, nutrients, and chlorophyll a were examined at two sites in the upper Swan River estuary. The data captures intra-annual variations strongly influenced by seasonal riverine discharge, with temperature ranging from 13-29°C and salinity from 3-30. The dataset, provided by Geoscience Australia Data, describes how winter discharge reduction led to stratification, salt wedge propagation, and bottom-water anoxia affecting nutrient concentrations.
Use Cases
- Modeling phytoplankton growth limitation based on described nutrient ratios and concentrations.
- Analyzing the impact of seasonal river discharge and salt wedge propagation on water column stratification.
- Studying nutrient regeneration from sediments linked to flocculation and oxygen consumption processes.
- Investigating groundwater influence on porewater nutrient transport into the estuary.
Strengths
- Data captures a wide range of environmental conditions, with temperature (13-29°C) and salinity (3-30) measurements.
- Analysis links physical processes like stratification and salt wedge propagation to specific chemical outcomes like ammonium and phosphate increases.
- Description provides a mechanistic explanation for observed patterns, including the role of flocculation and nutrient ratios (N:P of 3-8).
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the two specific sampling sites and study period.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Seasonal examination of water quality at two fixed sites, likely involving field sampling.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-20 02:11:39.481001; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Upper reaches of the Swan River estuary, Western Australia.