Great Barrier Reef Chlorophyll Monitoring for Water Quality (1992-2009)

Long-term chlorophyll a monitoring data from the Great Barrier Reef, managed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science since 1999. The dataset is part of the Reef Plan Marine Monitoring Programme, initiated in 1992, and serves as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass and nutrient status. Data have been used for the e-Atlas water quality mapping project.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in coastal water quality based on chlorophyll a concentrations.
• Modeling the impact of nutrient runoff from agricultural activity on phytoplankton biomass.
• Correlating chlorophyll levels with other environmental factors to assess reef health.
• Establishing baseline water quality conditions for the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.

Strengths

• Data collection spans 17 years (1992-2009), providing a long-term perspective.
• Managed by the authoritative Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) since 1999.
• Chlorophyll a is described as a commonly used and useful proxy for phytoplankton biomass and nutrient status.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified; the last metadata update is listed as 2026-06-04.

Provenance

Source

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)

Collection Method

Water quality monitoring program involving sample analysis and data management by AIMS.

Time Range

1992-2009

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 21:13:36.905089; freshness should be verified

Geography

Great Barrier Reef, Australia