Ships of Opportunity - Tropical research vessels - Real time

Underway measurements of near-surface water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll fluorescence, and turbidity recorded at 10-second intervals by two Australian research vessels. The data was collected by the Australian Institute of Marine Science during scientific operations in the tropical waters of northern Australia, particularly the Great Barrier Reef. The specific data collection sub-facility was discontinued in June 2022, though sea surface temperature data continues to be provided via a separate program.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patchiness of water properties based on high-frequency underway measurements.
• Validating satellite ocean temperature and ocean color products based on in-situ sea surface data.
• Studying temporal and geographic trends in chlorophyll fluorescence and salinity in tropical reef systems.

Strengths

• Data includes precise sampling time (UTC), position (latitude/longitude), and water depth for each record.
• Measurements are taken at a high temporal resolution of 10-second intervals.
• Specific sensor models are documented (e.g., Seabird SBE38, Wetlabs ECO-FLNTU-RT).

Limitations

• Turbidity data is provisional due to potential bubble contamination and a lack of local validation.
• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The specific sub-facility for this multi-parameter data collection was discontinued in June 2022.

Provenance

Source

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), provided via the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN).

Collection Method

Routine along-track measurements from research vessels RV Cape Ferguson and RV Solander using shipboard sensors.

Geography

Tropical waters of northern Australia, particularly the Great Barrier Reef.