Fitzroy Estuary and Keppel Bay in tropical Australia were sampled for biogeochemical and inherent optical properties during the dry season. The dataset includes continuous spectral absorption, scattering, and backscattering coefficients, plus discrete measurements of phytoplankton, nonalgal particles, and colored dissolved organic matter absorption. Data was collected by Geoscience Australia, with metadata last updated on 2026-04-20.
Use Cases
- Calibrating remote sensing algorithms for turbid coastal waters based on measured spectral absorption and scattering coefficients.
- Modeling the transport of suspended matter and dissolved organic carbon based on spatial and tidal variability in optical properties.
- Studying phytoplankton community dynamics based on discrete measurements of pigment concentrations and chlorophyll-specific absorption.
- Analyzing the impact of semidiurnal tides on water constituent distribution based on measurements across tidal phases.
Strengths
- Includes continuous measurements of spectral absorption, scattering, and backscattering coefficients.
- Captures spatial variability across an estuary-coast-ocean continuum, with property changes spanning 2-3 orders of magnitude.
- Documents temporal variability across semidiurnal tidal phases during the dry season.
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 data_gov_au, being limited to a specific tropical system and dry season.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Field sampling of biogeochemical and inherent optical properties in the near-surface layer.
- Time Range
- Dry season (specific years unknown).
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-20 03:41:47.299931; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Fitzroy Estuary and Keppel Bay, tropical Australia.