Tropical Coastal Biogeochemical and Optical Properties in Fitzroy Estuary and Keppel Bay

Fitzroy Estuary and Keppel Bay in tropical Australia provide the location for this dataset of biogeochemical and inherent optical properties (IOPs). The data includes spectral absorption, scattering, and backscattering coefficients, plus discrete measurements of phytoplankton, nonalgal particles, colored dissolved organic matter, and concentrations of pigments and suspended matter. It was sampled spatially and across tidal phases during the dry season by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Developing spatially and temporally adjusted remote sensing algorithms based on spectral absorption and scattering coefficients.
• Modeling the impact of semidiurnal tides on biogeochemical distributions based on tidal-phase sampling.
• Analyzing relationships between water turbidity and specific IOPs like suspended matter-specific particle scattering.
• Investigating the variability in chlorophyll-specific phytoplankton absorption across an estuary-coast-ocean continuum.

Strengths

• Includes continuous and discrete measurements of spectral absorption, scattering, and backscattering coefficients.
• Captures variability across short spatial and temporal scales, including tidal phases.
• Documents large magnitude changes in properties, such as particle scattering decreasing by 2 orders of magnitude from estuary to bay.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is limited to the dry season, potentially missing wet season dynamics.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Sampling of biogeochemical and inherent optical properties in the near-surface layer.

Time Range

Dry season (specific years unknown).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 20:20:31.547188; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Fitzroy Estuary and Keppel Bay, tropical Australia.