Russell-Mulgrave Catchment Water Quality Monitoring from 2016-2020

Nine monitoring sites in the Russell-Mulgrave catchment south of Cairns were sampled from 2016 to 2020. The dataset contains results from discrete grab samples analyzed for nutrients and sediments, focusing on nitrogen, phosphorus, and total suspended solids. Data collection was conducted under NESP TWQ projects 2.1.7 and 4.8 by the TropWATER JCU laboratory.

Use Cases

• Characterizing water quality signatures of distinct land-use types (sugarcane, banana, urban, rainforest) based on site classification.
• Quantifying the sugarcane industry's specific role in end-of-catchment water quality based on the study's stated aim.
• Analyzing nutrient and sediment concentration dynamics during wet season 'first-flush' events based on the described sampling strategy.
• Comparing water quality parameters between dry-season low flows and wet season flood events based on the variable sampling frequency.

Strengths

• Data spans five years (2016-2020) across two consecutive research projects.
• Samples were collected at nine sites representing four distinct land-use categories.
• Sampling strategy captured high-frequency data during critical wet season flood events.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is under an 18-month embargo period from the completion of project NESP TWQ 4.8.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data.gov.au, originating from TropWATER JCU laboratory.

Collection Method

Manual discrete grab samples collected monthly/bimonthly in dry seasons and daily/weekly during wet seasons, analyzed in a laboratory.

Time Range

2016 to 2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 16:49:58.111134; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Russell-Mulgrave catchment, south of Cairns, Queensland, Australia.