GBR - Lagoon water quality data (Chlorophyll, Suspended Solids, Nutrients) - Spatial interpolation - 1988 - 2006 (MTSRF 1.1.5, AIMS)

The purpose of this study is to quantify spatial and temporal patterns in water quality of the GBR.

Surface water quality data collected by Miles Furnas and colleagues (AIMS) between 1988 and 2006. Niskin or bucket surface water samples and laboratory analyses of a suite of physical and chemical water quality data, including chlorophyll, suspended solids (SS), and the following nutrients: particulate phosphorus (PP), particulate nitrogen (PN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total phosphorus (TP = PP + TDP), total nitrogen (TN = PN + TDN).

The water column chlorophyll data represent long-term averages of surface water column chlorophyll concentration. They are derived from the data from the GBRMPA and AIMS Long-term chlorophyll monitoring program, and the AIMS Lagoon water quality chlorophyll data, collected since 1992.

As part of the Reef Atlas project (now the eAtlas) the water quality data was interpolated over the whole GBR by Glenn De'ath using Generalized Additive Models with a Quasipoisson fit. This produced the gridded version of the dataset that is available as KMZs and ASCII grid raster files. For access to the original data please contact AIMS.

The spatial coordinate system for the ASCII Grid data files is WGS84 (EPSG:4326), in which the grid cells are equally spaced in latitude and longitude.

Data Units:

• Chlorophyll: micrograms / liter;
• Suspended solids (SS): mg / liter;
• All nutrients: micromol / liter.

References:

• Furnas MJ, Mitchell AW, Skuza MS and Brodie JE (2005) The other 90 percent: phytoplankton responses to enhanced nutrient availability in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 253-265

• Furnas MJ (2003) Catchments and Corals: Terrestrial Runoff to the Great Barrier Reef. Australian Institute of Marine Science, CRC Reef. Townsville, Australia.

• De'ath G (2007) The Spatial, Temporal and Structural Composition of Water Quality of the Great Barrier Reef, and Indicators of Water Quality and Mapping Risk. Report to the Australian Government's Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility. 59 pp.

• De'ath G, Fabricius KE (2008) Water quality of the Great Barrier Reef: distributions, effects on reef biota and trigger values for the protection of ecosystem health. Final Report to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville: 104 pp

• Brodie, J, De'ath, G., Devlin, M., Furnas, M, and Wright M. (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of near-surface chlorophyll a in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Marine and Freshwater Research 58:342-353