IMOS - New Technology Proving - Profiling Moorings Evaluation
Updated: 2026-10-21
Profiling Moorings Evaluation trialled the deployment of two different commercially available profiling mooring platforms (McLane Prawler and Delmar Wirewalker). The project aimed to determine the operational needs of these profiling systems and assess increases in sampling efficiencies and spatial resolution of data through the water column. During the assessment phase, the two profiling mooring systems were co-located in a range of ocean environments to ensure reliability and longevity over long deployment periods. The first deployment of the two systems was completed in March 2020, just south of Myrmidon Reef in Queensland by staff from AIMS and CSIRO, to test deployment in a tropical environment. The second deployment took place in inner Storm Bay, Tasmania; a temperate location, with this site similar to the conditions at the IMOS National Reference Stations at Maria Island, Port Hacking and Kangaroo Island. Subsequent deployments took place in outer Storm Bay in 500m to test the deeper profiling capabilities of both systems; and returned to Myrmidon Reef, Queensland, for final testing after improvements to system and mooring configurations. These moorings measure ocean temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, turbidity, photosynthesis available radiation, using instruments fixed along the mooring, and a profiler which moves along the mooring wire.
Data
- Profiling Moorings Evaluation page on IMOS website
- NetCDF files via THREDDS catalog
- Full metadata link
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- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- {"title":"Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)","recordAbstract":"IMOS is designed to be a fully-integrated, national system, observing at ocean-basin and regional scales, and covering physical, chemical and biological variables. IMOS Facilities, operated by ten different institutions within the National Innovation System, are funded to deploy equipment and deliver data streams for use by the entire Australian marine and climate science community and its international collaborators.\nThe AODN Portal (https://portal.aodn.org.au/) allows marine and climate scientists and other users to discover and explore data streams coming from all of the Facilities – some in near-real time, and all as delayed-mode, quality-controlled data. These data streams, long time-series that are ‘under construction’, represent the actual research infrastructure being created and developed by IMOS.\nIMOS observations are guided by science planning undertaken collaboratively across the Australian marine and climate science community. IMOS now has a National Science and Implementation Plan that draws on the intellectual strength of its six science Nodes – a ‘Bluewater and Climate’ Node focused on the open ocean, and five ‘Regional Nodes’ covering the continental shelf and coastal seas of Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Southern Australia and Tasmania. Leaders of the Nodes come together to form a national steering committee that oversees the whole process, and IMOS science plans are subjected to international peer review on a rolling basis to ensure the planned science is world-class. \n\nThere are five major research themes that unify IMOS science plans and related observations:\n1. Multi-decadal ocean change,\n2. Climate variability and weather extremes\n3. Major boundary currents and interbasin flows\n4. Continental shelf processes, and\n5. Ecosystem responses (productivity, abundance and distribution).\n\nIMOS is supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Super Science Initiative. It is led by the University of Tasmania on behalf of the Australian marine and climate science community."}
- {"title":"Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) - Location of assets","recordAbstract":"IMOS is designed to be a fully-integrated, national system, observing at ocean-basin and regional scales, and covering physical, chemical and biological variables. IMOS observations are carried out by 10 national Facilities, each deploying a particular type of observing platform: Argo Floats, Ships of opportunity, Deep-water moorings, Ocean Gliders, Autonomous underwater vehicles, Coastal moorings, Coastal ocean radars, Animal tracking and monitoring, Wireless sensor networks, and Satellite remote sensing. IMOS Facilities, operated by partner institutions around the country, are funded to deploy equipment and deliver data streams for use by the entire Australian marine and climate science community and its international collaborators.\n\nThe IMOS Ocean Portal (http://imos.aodn.org.au) allows marine and climate scientists and other users to discover and explore data streams coming from all of the Facilities – some in near-real time, and all as delayed-mode, quality-controlled data. \n\nIMOS is supported by the Australian Government and is led by the University of Tasmania on behalf of the Australian marine and climate science community.\n\nThis record provides a visualisation of all IMOS assets, from its ten facilities."}
- {"title":"IMOS - AusTemp - Heat stress and marine heatwave and cold-spell monitoring metrics for the Australian Coast","recordAbstract":"This dataset contains the marine heatwave (MHW) and marine cold spell (MCS) categories from the 1st of January 2012. The SST Atlas of Australian Regional Seas (SSTAARS) daily climatology (Wijffels et al., 2018) is used as the baseline for developing heat-stress monitoring metrics. SSTAARS daily 90th-, 50th-, and 10th-percentile thresholds are applied to classify MHW and MCS according to established Hobday definitions. The dataset also contains the Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa), calculated by comparing the current SST to a monthly SSTAARS climatology, and the Degree Heating-Days (DHD) metrics, calculated by accumulating the daily positive Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa). When SST cannot be calculated due to cloud cover, the grid cell is left blank (white in web plots, transparent in Google Earth) to indicate missing data.\n\nThis product follows on from the Bureau of Meteorology's (Bureau) decommissioned ReefTemp Next Generation, a high resolution mapping product that provided information on coral bleaching risk for the Great Barrier Reef region for 2012-2024. In the first stage of operational deployment of AusTemp, the current operational satellite-derived, night-time-only MultiSensor Level 3 Super-collated (MS L3S, Govekar et al 2022) sea surface temperature (SST) product is being used to define heat stress and MHW/MCS monitoring metrics. A new GeoPolar MultiSensor L3S adds geostationary Himawari-8/9 data to the polar-orbiting satellites. It provides significantly improved spatial coverage, due to Himawari's 10 minute sampling period filling in SST gaps caused by fast moving cloud, with an additional 20% data on average over the MS L3S product (Govekar et al 2024).\n\nThe improved spatial and temporal resolution of AusTemp allows for high-detail mapping of MHWs across Australian waters, supporting accurate assessments of local ecological impacts, including coral bleaching and mortality in marine species. These tools are valuable for conservation, reef management, aquaculture, and fisheries, helping stakeholders manage the growing risks associated with marine heatwaves in a warming ocean."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Deep Water Moorings Facility","recordAbstract":"The Deep Water Moorings Facility (formerly known as the Australian Bluewater Observing System) provides the coordination of national efforts in the sustained observation of open ocean properties with particular emphasis on observations important to climate and carbon cycle studies. The major areas of research driving the facility include:\n* tracking multi-decadal ocean change and predicting regional and marine impacts;\n* understanding the modes and drivers of climate variability in the Australian region;\n* improved understanding and prediction of ocean currents; and\n* discovering the links between ocean and climate variability, marine chemical cycling and ecosystem structure and function at various time scales.\n\nObservations are primarily obtained from moorings specially designed for each site. Autonomous profiling floats and gliders have also been deployed at the Southern Ocean sites to obtain complementary data. Operation of the facility is spread between three sub-facilities.\n\n1) The Air-Sea Flux Stations (ASFS) sub-facility focuses on marine meteorology and delivers measurements which are necessary for computing air-sea fluxes of heat, momentum and mass with the option to measure surface photosynthetically active radiation and surface UV to help assess light available for phytoplankton production.\n\n2) Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) provides high temporal resolution measurements of physical, chemical and biogeochemical parameters in sub-Antarctic waters. The emphasis is on inter-annual variations of upper ocean properties and their influence on exchange with the deep ocean. \n\n3) Deepwater Arrays (DA) includes observational programs based on moored conductivity-temperature-depth sensors and current meter arrays in deep waters that are specifically targeted to monitor formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, inter-basin exchange and major boundary currents. The Deepwater array sites include: \na) Polynya Array - the Adelie Land Coast deep shelf to observe outflows of newly forming Antarctic Bottom water, \nb) Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) Array - Timor Passage and Ombai Strait, to monitor the inter-basin Indian-Pacific Ocean exchange and the upper limb of the global overturning circulation, \nc) East Australian Current (EAC) Array - east coast of Australia, near Brisbane, to monitor EAC transport."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Estuarine and Coastal Moorings Facility","recordAbstract":"The Estuarine and Coastal Moorings Facility was establised to provide a national, standardised network of estuarine and coastal moorings with a primary focus on water quality observations. \n\nThis Facility will be undertaken in two phases and will begin with the development and coordination of an expansion of IMOS observations into estuarine environments. The second phase, will focus on further expanding the estuarine network and establishing a network of coastal moorings to monitor near-real time, near-shore oceanographic processes and environmental parameters in regions of high-significance.\n\nInitial mooring deployments focused on the interface between land and sea, in typical estuarine environments, within the tidal incursion zone. In the first phase, the Estuarine Moorings Network will consist of 2 moorings in each State and Territory (aside from the ACT) monitoring surface conditions. \n\nSmall to medium sized buoys are deployed in shallow waters and anchored securely to the seabed or to fixed infrastructure. These moorings are from the Xylem DB platform range. The DB range of telemetered data buoys allow for easy deployment, maintenance and provide future monitoring flexibility, in various types of environmental conditions. Each mooring measures pressure, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a (fluorescence), dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and fDOM, with the option to include additional sensors to measure currents, pH, or nutrients. Some of these variables are essential ocean variables (EOVs) some are sub-variables. Moorings are typically serviced every two to three months to clean and re-calibrate sensors, replace components, and collect in-situ water samples for sensor validation. Complimentary CTD profiles will be taken at servicing intervals to assist the sensor validation. This Estuarine and Coastal Moorings Facility will be following where applicable, the sampling protocols of the current IMOS National Reference Stations. Deployment and maintenance of estuarine moorings will be undertaken by regional operators.\n\nNear real-time data are processed by SARDI and quality controlled in accordance with the Integrated Ocean Observing System’s QARTOD protocols (http://www.ioos.noaa.gov/qartod/; https://www.ioccp.org/images/D4standards/IOC-OceanDataStandards54-3-2013.pdf). These data are made available through the AODN Portal and IMOS Live. Delayed-mode data (if applicable) will also be published through the AODN Portal."}
- {"title":"IMOS - AusTemp - Sea Surface Temperature","recordAbstract":"This dataset contains the Sea Surface Water Temperature anomalies (SSTa) from the 1st of January 2012 by comparing the current SST to long-term averages (1993-2003, the “CSIRO Legacy climatology” or 2002-2011, the “IMOS climatology”). The magnitude and duration of anomalously warm sea temperatures correlate well with past coral bleaching events. In cases where SST cannot be calculated due to cloud cover, the grid cell is left blank (white in web plots, transparent in Google Earth) to indicate missing data.\n\nThe ReefTemp Next Generation (RTNG) system was implemented and declared operational in the Bureau National Operations Centre (BNOC, formerly National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre) on 22 October 2013. The system is based on a new state-of-the-art Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) 1-day L3S night-only Sea Surface Temperature (SST) product, which produces high-resolution satellite-based nowcasts of SST, thermal stress and associated coral bleaching risk over the Great Barrier Reef.\n\nThis product follows on from the decommissioned ReefTemp Next Generation a high resolution mapping product that provided information on coral bleaching risk for the Great Barrier Reef region. The ReefTemp Next Generation system was developed by the Bureau of Meteorology for eReefs, under the National Plan for Environmental Information (NPEI) initiative. A research Version 1 (V1) system, available from 2007, was the result of a collaborative project between the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Argo Floats Facility","recordAbstract":"The Argo Floats Facility (formerly known as the Argo Australia), aims to undertake real time monitoring of the broad ocean state around Australia by maintaining an array of profiling (Argo) floats that measure temperature and salinity down to 2000m every 10 days in real time. This provides the essential and dominant in situ data stream for ocean and climate research and prediction/re-analyses.\n\nThe primary goal of the Argo program is to maintain a global array of autonomous profiling floats integrated with other elements of the climate observing system.\nThe specific aims are to:\n - detect climate variability over seasonal to decadal time-scales including changes in the large-scale distribution of temperature and salinity and in the transport of these properties by large-scale ocean circulation.\n - provide information needed for the calibration of satellite measurements.\n - deliver data for the initialization and constraint of climate models.\n\nArgo Floats Facility is the third largest contributer to the global array (in terms of instrument numbers) after the Us and Japan.\n\nTo ensure 50% of the minimum design coverage of 1 float every 3 x3 degrees of latitude/longitude in the Australian region (i.e. between 90oE to 18oE, equator to Antarctic) requires deployment of 60 floats per year with the balance derived from international partners. The NCRIS investment along with currently identified Australian partners will provide for ~ 75 % of this requirement with further opportunities for co-investment. \n\nWork is underway to equip 30 floats per annum with oxygen sensors to address carbon cycle and biogeochemical cycling (BGC) variability in the Southern Ocean which is a significant component of the world climate and carbon cycling system. Additional investment would be required for this to occur."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Satellite Remote Sensing Facility","recordAbstract":"The aim of the Satellite Remote Sensing facility is to provide access to a range of satellite derived marine data products covering the Australian region.\n\nThe facility has established a new X-Band reception facility at the Australian Institute of Marine Research near Townsville and upgraded the Tasmanian Earth Resource Satellite Station near Hobart. \n\nThese stations and facilities in Perth, Melbourne, Alice Springs and Darwin form a network supplying the facility with near real-time data. These data are combined and processed to a number of products which are placed on disk storage systems in Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.\n\nThe Bureau of Meteorology has developed a sea surface temperature (SST) product in GHRSST-PP (http://ghrsst-pp.metoffice.com/) L3P format. The Bureau is developing some other SST products including daily and skin SSTs.\nThese new products and some \"ocean colour\" products from MODIS will gradually become available.\n\nScientific users can access these data products are available through OPeNDAP and THREDDS supported technology and also through interfaces provided by AODN and the facility (www.imos.org.au and www.imos.org.au/srs)."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Wireless Sensor Networks Facility","recordAbstract":"The IMOS Wireless Sensor Networks Facility (formerly known as Facility for Automated Intelligent Monitoring of Marine Systems (FAIMMS)), is a sensor network established in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. A 'sensor network' is an array of small, wirelessly interconnected sensors that collectively stream sensor data to a central data aggregation point. Sensor networks can be used to provide spatially dense bio-physical measurements in real-time. In the marine environment they have particular application to the study of benthic ecosystems. Some sensors can be set to sample according to prevailing conditions (e.g. monitoring salinity more frequently after rainfall), but since communications with the sensors can be bi-directional they can also be manipulated by central land-based control systems. The Facilities' sensors collect data related to the interaction of heat and light in coral bleaching, and to help understand the impact of upwelling from the Coral Sea upon the productivity of Great Barrier Reef ecosystems. While sensor networks are a leading edge technology, they are well suited to this application because proven technologies exist for reliable sensing of physical variables (e.g. temperature, salinity, light) critical to the immediate scientific questions, which are: 1. understanding the interaction of heat and light in coral bleaching, and 2. understanding the impact of upwelling from the Coral Sea upon the productivity of GBR ecosystems. The immediate value of the network will be its ability to return spatially dense bio-physical measurements in real-time. As such this represents a large scale trial or \"proof of concept\" of a very important emerging technology for application in the marine environment with particular relevance to benthic ecosystems such as Great Barrier Reef and other benthic environments. \n\nSome sites have been partially or fully decommissioned: Heron Island (2008 - present) - partial; One Tree Island (2008 - present) - partial; Davies Reef (2009 - 2018); Myrmidon Reef (2009 - 2015); Rib Reef (2009 - 2017); Orpheus Island (2009 - present); Lizard Island (2010 - present) - partial. IMOS funding of the Facility ceased in June 2022. In some circumstances the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), has taken over the operation of the site, or equipment within it (see http://imos.org.au/wirelesssensornetworks.html for more details), and IMOS will continue to pull data from them."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Coastal Wave Buoys Facility","recordAbstract":"The national IMOS Coastal Wave Buoys Facility provides data essential for understanding the processes and changes driven by waves and temperature in coastal zones. The moored wave buoys will deliver near-real-time wave and temperature observations around the Australian coast. The data will be used in the development and improvement of models used to predict and forecast hazards which threaten coastal populations, and to understand the impacts of environmental disturbances (such as extreme storm events and marine heat waves) on coastal ecosystems.\n\nThe facility platform is the ‘Spotter’, a small format (0.42m diameter) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) wave buoy manufactured by Sofar Ocean Technologies. \n\nThe facility is based at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the regional buoy management are led by: Deakin University (VIC); the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and Flinders University in South Australia (SA); the New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCEEW) - Water Wetlands and Coastal Science Branch, the University of Newcastle and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, in New South Wales (NSW); the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in the Northern Territory (NT); AIMS and the Queensland Department of Science and Innovation in Queensland (QLD); and UWA in Western Australia (WA).\n\nThe facility currently consists of 60 sites – 23 National (IMOS-supported) and 37 regional co-invest. Sites span 10m-70m depth around Australia. \n\nCore variables measured by the facility include integrated (e.g., wave height, wave period, wave direction) and spectral (e.g., 1D energy density) wave parameters as well as sea surface temperature.\n\nThe data from these buoys will be available in in real time (https://imos.aodn.org.au/imos123/home?uuid=b299cdcd-3dee-48aa-abdd-e0fcdbb9cadc) and delayed mode as part of the National Wave Archive (https://portal.aodn.org.au/search?uuid=2807f3aa-4db0-4924-b64b-354ae8c10b58), as well as via AusWaves."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Animal Tracking Facility","recordAbstract":"The IMOS Animal Tracking Facility (formerly known as the Australian Animal Tracking And Monitoring System (AATAMS)) represents the higher biological monitoring of the marine environment for the IMOS program. Currently the facility uses acoustic technology, CTD satellite trackers and bio loggers to monitor coastal and oceanic movements of marine animals from the Australian mainland to the sub-Antarctic islands and as far south as the Antarctic continent. \n\nAcoustic monitoring is a powerful tool for observing tagged marine animals with networks or cross shelf arrays (curtains) of receivers, allowing animals to be monitored over scales of hundreds of metres to thousands of kilometres. An array or network consists of a series of acoustic receivers that are strategically deployed on the sea floor for 1 to 10 years (depending on receiver type and battery life) with the ability to download data from the receivers as often as required. NCRIS and partner investments will target areas identified by regional nodes. \n\nVR2's deployed in conjunction with other moorings will provide information on long range movement of a variety of species including endangered and protected species (i.e. White Sharks and Grey Nurse Sharks), and valuable commercial species (i.e. Tuna)\n\nCurtains are mobile and can be deployed in different configurations for specific IMOS projects. The continued coordination of acoustic tag codes between researchers means that acoustic array around Australia will provide the combined infrastructure to monitor movement of highly migratory marine species between all jurisdictions.\n\nCTD satellite trackers and bio loggers currently deployed on a large range of animals are collecting a wide range of data. This includes behavioural and physical data such as the depth, temperature, salinity and movement effort of individual marine animals. \n\nThe Animal Tracking Facility is set up to collect data over a long period of time. This sustained approach will enable researchers to assess the effects of climate change, ocean acidification and other physical changes that affect animals within the marine environment."}
- {"title":"IMOS - IMOS NetCDF Conventions Manual","recordAbstract":"The main purpose of this document is to specify the format of the files that are used to distribute Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) data, and to document the standards used therein. This includes naming conventions, or taxonomy, as well as metadata content.\n\nThe IMOS NetCDF Conventions document was originally based on the one prescribed by the OceanSITES User’s Manual, version 1.1. As both documents have evolved since, there are now significant differences between them but we will try to reduce this gap in the future. The OceanSITES program is the global network of open-ocean sustained time series reference stations that have been implemented by an international partnership of researchers."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Facility","recordAbstract":"The IMOS Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Facility operates multiple ocean-going Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) capable of undertaking high resolution, geo-referenced survey work. AUV Sirius is a modified version of a mid-size robotic vehicle Seabed built at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This class of AUV has been designed specifically for low speed, high resolution imaging and is passively stable in pitch and roll. AUV Nimbus is a custom design with the aim of deploying off smaller vessels than Sirius whilst remaining able to operate in similar environments. AUV Iver is an extended Ocean Server Iver2 class platform with additional navigation and imaging sensors but lacks the ability to work over complex underwater terrain. Based on its small size, it can be deployed from RHIBs and other small vessels. The main objective of the IMOS Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Facility is to support sustained observations of the benthos, in support of the IMOS integrated benthic monitoring program. . The Facility is based at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) within the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Sydney.\n\nThis IMOS Facility finished in June 2023, with data still available through the AODN Portal."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Zooplankton Abundance and Biomass (reference stations)","recordAbstract":"This dataset comprises the zooplankton abundance and biomass measurements from samples collected at the Integrated Marine Observing Systems (IMOS) National Reference Stations (NRS) and other repeatedly sampled stations. For information on using the data from the NRS stations please refer to Eriksen et al. 2019. It is advised that anyone using this data should read this methodology or contact the project contact person to understand the nuances of each sampling and analysis chain. \n\nThe data are made available in binned products for ease of use. As taxonomy changes over time and the ability of analysts improves with training more and more species can be identified over time. The products account for these changes and for real absences from the samples. A 0 abundance means that the species was looked for and not seen, null (empty cell) means that the species was not looked for in that sample. The products are therefore applicable for use in time series analysis. \n\nThere are a total of 7 products to choose from. \nZooplankton abundance products are available at 5 levels: \nRaw product (includes all data) \nCopepods product (all data where species have been identified, Copepods only) \nNon-Copepods product (all data where species have been identified, non-Copepods only)\nGenus product (includes all data binned to genus level) \nHigher taxonomic group (includes all data binned to functional groups).\n(each of these products includes the total biomass per samples)\nPlus\nDerived indices – NRS only (useful indices at sample level for NRS data)\nDepth Binned CTD Data – NRS only (NRS CTD data binned to 1m and matched to TripCode)\n\nPlankton abundances were originally provided on the AODN Portal only as raw data, in flat table form (with each species recorded in a separate row), without any adjustments for taxonomy changes or real absences. \nThe first version of the \"analysis-ready\" products were first published on 04/04/2019. However, they were removed again in November 2020 because technical issues prevented them from being regularly updated.\n\nThis dataset supersedes the following collections: \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Zooplankton Biomass\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/c13451a9-7cfc-091c-e044-00144f7bc0f4 and \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Zooplankton Abundance\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/c13451a9-7cfe-091c-e044-00144f7bc0f4. Both of these collections were removed from the AODN Portal in December 2021, and the data has been archived."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Marine Microbiome Initiative Sub-Facility","recordAbstract":"Marine microorganisms control the productivity and biogeochemistry of the global ocean. In light of this fundamental importance the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) has designated microbial biomass and diversity as emerging essential ocean variables (EOV) and a necessary component of an integrated and sustained ocean observing system. The IMOS Marine Microbiome Initiative Sub-Facility (formerly recognised as a Facility) facilitates the delivery of DNA-based data on the distribution, diversity and function of marine microbes in Australian coastal waters and oceans through the collection and processing of water samples from the IMOS National Reference Stations (NRS) and a newly established network of coastal sites. \n\nIMOS NRS are a series of sites designed to monitor oceanographic parameters in Australian coastal ocean waters using moored sensors and water sampling field trips. These sites span ~30° of latitude and ~38° longitude, range from tropical to cold temperate zones, and are influenced by both local and globally significant oceanographic and climatic features. Water samples are collected monthly from several depths at the 7 current NRS, Maria Island (TAS), Kangaroo Island (SA), Rottnest Island (WA), Darwin (NT), Yongala (QLD), North Stradbroke Island (QLD) and Port Hacking (NSW), establishing a globally unique continental-scale time-series (since 2012 for some NRS) of the marine microbial communities in Australian coastal and shelf waters. \n\nThe IMOS Microbial Coastal Sampling Sub-Facility is a network of coastal microbial observatories designed to operationally mirror the NRS, but provide novel capacity to understand coastal microbial processes. Coastal environments are highly dynamic due to both natural perturbations and anthropogenic impacts and represent sites where environmental microbial assemblages can have substantial human health and economic impacts. Phase 1 of establishing this network designated three sites of significance based on stakeholder/end user feedback, economic importance, and/or human health and scientific relevance. Sampling sites include coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef (QLD), Botany Bay (NSW), and Port Phillip Bay (VIC). \n\nData is generated and made available through the Australian Microbiome Initiative, a national bio-resource, providing a searchable database of marine microbial occurrence data. This is an Australian wide collaboration founded on two established Bioplatforms Australia framework data initiatives: Marine Microbes and Biomes of Australian Soil Environments (BASE). The consortium involves researchers from more than 40 institutions supported by the following core partners: Bioplatforms Australia; Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS); CSIRO and Parks Australia through the Bush Blitz program. The DNA-based data generated by this facility provide crucial spatial and temporal information that underpin the understanding of Australian marine microbiology. Coupled with the suite of biological, physical and chemical observations already established at IMOS National Reference Stations, the Marine Microbiome Initiative supports the understanding of status and trends of oceanic health, biogeochemistry and primary productivity. \n\nThis data is freely available through the Bioplatforms Australia Data Portal (About - The Australian Microbiome Initiative - Organizations - data.bioplatforms.com) including the raw data files as well as processed data products in the form of microbial DNA-sequence based occurrence tables and metagenomics gene maps (gene maps currently in development). Registration is free and required to download data. Please acknowledge all relevant parties, as detailed in acknowledgement section."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Combined Biogeochemical parameters (reference stations)","recordAbstract":"This dataset includes the biogeochemical (BGC) parameters collected and analysed from the National Reference Stations (NRS) excluding the biological compositional data which can be accessed through other products. Nine Sites are included in the IMOS NRS field sampling stations. Maria Island (TAS), Kangaroo Island (SA), Esperance (WA, discontinued 2013), Rottnest Island (WA), Ningaloo (WA, discontinued 2013), Darwin (NT), Yongala (QLD), North Stradbroke Island (QLD) and Port Hacking (NSW). All data included in this product are obtained from water samples collected from small vessels. Parameters in this product include salinity, carbon, alkalinity, oxygen, pigments (from High Performance Liquid Chromatography - HPLC), picoplankton cells count (from flow cytometry), secchi depth, total suspended matter (inorganic and organic components) and nutrients, comprising of ammonium, nitrate, phosphate and silicate. Over the course of the long-term monitoring program some parameters have been discontinued, others introduced and depths at which samples have been taken may have changed. Therefore, there may not be a continuous time series for each parameter, it is advised to consult the IMOS NRS Biogeochemical Operations Manual (Davies & Sommerville 2020) for more details. \n\nData is also available in this collection from other projects which collect and analyse samples in similar methods to the NRS. The biogeochemical data from South Australian Research and Development Institutes' (SARDI) sampling at non IMOS stations is included along with the nutrient and picoplankton data from the Coastal Sampling Station at Botany Bay (https://imos.org.au/facilities/facilities/microbial-coastal-sampling). The data from Port Philip Bay and Great Barrier Reef (GBR) sites for this project is provided in other collections.\n\nThis dataset supersedes the following collections: \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Secchi Depth\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/f439db64-5551-15d1-e043-08114f8ce23c ; \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Picoplankton flow cytometry\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/fa93c66e-0e55-7e1d-e043-08114f8c1b76 ; \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Salinity, Carbon, Alkalinity, Oxygen and Nutrients (Silicate, Ammonium, Nitrite/Nitrate, Phosphate)\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/fa93c66e-0e56-7e1d-e043-08114f8c1b76 and \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Phytoplankton HPLC Pigment Composition Analysis\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/f48531e2-f182-56ca-e043-08114f8c7f2e (collections were removed from the AODN Portal in February 2022, and the data has been archived)."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Ships of Opportunity Facility","recordAbstract":"The Ships of Opportunity Facility (formerly known as Enhancement of Measurements on Ships of Opportunity (SOOP)) encompasses both the open ocean and coastal waters, in support of short time-scales associated with ocean prediction and the longer term scales of climate research. The aim of the Facility is to implement an integrated observing system in Australian regional seas that link physical, chemical and biological oceanography and ecology. Our ships of opportunity include both volunteer commercial vessels on regular routes and research vessels covering more varied routes. \n\nThe target regions are the boundary current systems off Eastern and Western Australia, the Southern Ocean, the shelf seas across northern Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef. This is achieved by the following specific goals:\n1.\tImplement vessels on suitable routes with an integrated system of measurements including physical and biogeochemical parameters \na.\tMonitor the major boundary currents systems around Australia.\nb.\tMonitor both local processes and the interactions of the boundary currents on the continental shelf \n2.\tProvide in situ input and/or validation to model and data analyses covering the waters around Australia.\n\nThe use of vessels that undertake continuous transects between ports or regions allow seasonal and annual datasets to be established. The Ships of Opportunity Facility builds upon similar pre-existing programs, expanding to collect a wider variety of data and increasing the number of vessels fitted with the various sampling equipment. The Ships of Opportunity Facility consists of nine different sub-facilities (+ 1 inactive sub-facility) :\n\nExpendable Bathythermographs - Expendable Bathythermographs (XBTs) are single-use instruments that are used to measure temperature profiles of the ocean. Using ships that undertake the same path on a regular basis allows the collection of high-density transects, capturing high-resolution and temporal information that allows for smaller-scale oceanic features, including fronts and eddies to be resolved.\n \nBiogeochemical Sensors - collect high-quality underway CO2 observations from ships specially fitted with CO2 underway systems. Biogeochemical Sensors increase the spatial coverage of CO2 observations in both Australian waters and the Southern Ocean, complementing data collected by moorings (Acidification Moorings and Southern Ocean Time Series Observatory). \n \nAustralian Plankton Survey - measures plankton communities around Australia using Continuous Plankton Recorders (CPRs). \n\nSouthern Ocean Plankton - measures plankton communities using Continuous Plankton Recorders (CPRs), using ships that regularly traverse the Southern Ocean, it will provide species-specific information on both phytoplankton and zooplankton from approximately 43⁰S to the Antarctic sea-ice edge.\n\nSensors on Tropical Research Vessels (inactive) - AIMS research vessels the RV Solander and the RV Cape Ferguson. The instruments obtain underway observations of near-surface water properties, including temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, fluorescence and turbidity. \n\nSea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels - Implemented on Australian Volunteer Observing Fleet (AVOF) vessels and several passenger ferries. Hull-mounted sensors supply high-quality bulk SST data fed into existing data management systems and broadcast via satellite back to Australia. Radiometers on ferries supply high-quality skin SST data in near real-time. \n\nResearch Vessels Real-time Air-Sea Fluxes - Research vessels have been equipped with \"climate quality\" met. systems, providing high quality air-sea flux measurements and delivered in near real-time. \n\nBioacoustics - Uses vessels equipped with echosounders, at single and multiple frequencies to estimate the abundance and distribution of these mid-tropic level organisms.\n\nSensors on Temperate Merchant Vessels - Use autonomous water sampling equipment installed on the Spirit of Tasmania 1 to continuous monitor Port Phillip Bay and the Bass Strait. The regularity and consistency in voyage track between the two ports provides high-quality repeat sampling of marine conditions.\n\nFishing Vessels as Ships of Opportunity - Works with the fishing industry to collect near real-time subsurface sea temperature measurements by installing equipment on fishing gear deployed by a network of commercial fishing vessels."}
- {"title":"IMOS - AusTemp - Degree Heating Days product","recordAbstract":"This dataset contains the summer Degree Heating Days (DHD) from the 1st of December to the 30th of April since 2012, which is calculated by accumulating the daily positive Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa). The SSTa is calculated by comparing the current SST to long-term averages (1993-2003, the “CSIRO Legacy climatology” or 2002-2011, the “IMOS climatology”). The magnitude of the DHD correlates well with past coral bleaching events. In cases where SST cannot be calculated due to cloud cover, the grid cell is left blank (white in web plots, transparent in Google Earth) to indicate missing data.\n\nThe ReefTemp Next Generation (RTNG) system was implemented and declared operational in the Bureau National Operations Centre (BNOC, formerly National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre) on 22 October 2013. The system is based on a new state-of-the-art Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) 1-day L3S night-only Sea Surface Temperature (SST) product, which produces high-resolution satellite-based nowcasts of SST, thermal stress and associated coral bleaching risk over the Great Barrier Reef.\n\nThis product follows on from the decommissioned ReefTemp Next Generation a high resolution mapping product that provided information on coral bleaching risk for the Great Barrier Reef region. The ReefTemp Next Generation system was developed by the Bureau of Meteorology for eReefs, under the National Plan for Environmental Information (NPEI) initiative. A research Version 1 (V1) system, available from 2007, was the result of a collaborative project between the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority."}
- {"title":"IMOS - National Mooring Network Facility","recordAbstract":"The National Mooring Network Facility (formerly known as the Australian National Mooring Network (ANMN)), is a series of national reference stations and regional moorings designed to monitor particular oceanographic phenomena in Australian coastal ocean waters. \n\nThere are nine current sub-facilities, including five regional sub-facilities. Inactive sub-facilities include: Ningaloo Moorings - WA, Deep Water Waves - Qld, Larval Fish and Acoustic Observatories.\n\nThe current sub-facilities are:\na) Queensland and Northern Australia\nb) New South Wales\nc) Southern Australia\nd) Western Australia\ne) Victoria\nf) National Reference Stations (Coordination and Analysis)\ng) Acidification Moorings\nh) Wave Buoys\ni) Marine Microplastics\n\nThe National Reference Stations were first established in the 1940’s and are the backbone component of the observing system. Extended by IMOS from three to nine sites around the entire Australian continent, the stations report integrated biological, chemical and physical oceanography time series observations, upon which more intensive local and regional scale studies can be referenced against. The regional moorings monitor the interaction between boundary currents and shelf water masses and their consequent impact upon ocean productivity (e.g. Perth Canyon Upwelling; Kangaroo Island Upwelling) and ecosystem distribution and resilience (e.g. Coral Sea interaction with the Great Barrier Reef ). Operation of the network is distributed between several operators and coordinated nationally.\n\nThe Acidification Moorings are co-located (or nearby) at three of the National Reference Stations, and provide key observations to help us understand and address the problem of increasing ocean acidification."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Phytoplankton Abundance and Biovolume (reference stations)","recordAbstract":"This dataset comprises the phytoplankton abundance and biovolume measurements from samples collected at the Integrated Marine Observing Systems (IMOS) National Reference Stations (NRS), Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) and Bonney Coast Mooring and other repeatedly sampled stations. For information on sampling and analysis methods for the NRS stations and Bonney Coast Mooring please refer to Eriksen et al. 2019. It is advised that anyone using this data should read this methodology or contact the project contact person to understand the nuances of each sampling and analysis chain. The SOTS phytoplankton data are collected and analysed as per Eriksen 2018. Data collected from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) mooring array are collected with a Niskin bottle and analysed by Microalgal Solutions.\n\nThe data are made available in binned products for ease of use. As taxonomy changes over time and the ability of analysts improves with training more and more species can be identified over time. The products account for these changes and for real absences from the samples. A 0 abundance means that the species was looked for and not seen, null (empty cell) means that the species was not looked for in that sample. The products are therefore applicable for use in time series analysis. \n\nThere are a total of 10 products to choose from. \nPhytoplankton data are available as either abundance or biovolume, and each of these at 4 levels of binning: \nRaw product (includes all data) \nSpecies product (includes all data where species have been identified) \nGenus product (includes all data binned to genus level) \nHigher taxonomic group (includes all data binned to functional groups)\nPlus\nDerived indices – NRS only (useful indices at sample level for NRS data)\nDepth Binned CTD Data – NRS only (NRS CTD data binned to 1m and matched to TripCode).\n\nPlankton abundances were originally provided on the AODN Portal only as raw data, in flat table form (with each species recorded in a separate row), without any adjustments for taxonomy changes or real absences. \nThe first version of the \"analysis-ready\" products were first published on 04/04/2019. However, they were removed again in November 2020 because technical issues prevented them from being regularly updated.\n\nThis dataset supersedes the previous \"IMOS National Reference Station (NRS) - Phytoplankton Abundance and Biovolume\" - https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/dfef238f-db69-3868-e043-08114f8c8a94 (collection was removed from the AODN Portal in December 2021, and the data has been archived)."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Ocean Gliders Facility","recordAbstract":"The Ocean Gliders Facility (formerly known as the Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders (ANFOG)), deploys a fleet of gliders around Australia.\n\nThe underwater ocean glider represents a technological revolution for oceanography. Autonomous ocean gliders can be built relatively cheaply, are controlled remotely and are reusable allowing them to make repeated subsurface ocean observations at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods. The data retrieved from the glider fleet will contribute to the study of the major boundary current systems surrounding Australia and their links to coastal ecosystems.\n\nThe facilities' fleet consists of two types; Slocum gliders and Seagliders. \nSlocum gliders (named for Joshua Slocum, the first solo global circumnavigator), manufactured by Webb Research Corp are optimised for shallow coastal waters (<200m) where high manoeuvrability is needed. The facility will have Slocum gliders for deployment on the continental shelf. Seagliders, built at the University of Washington, are designed to operate more efficiently in the open ocean up to 1000m water depth. The facility uses their Seagliders to monitor the boundary currents and continental shelves, which is valuable for gathering long-term environmental records of physical, chemical and biological data not widely measured to date. Whilst the Slocum gliders, due to their low cost and operational flexibility, will be of great use in intensive coastal monitoring, both types of gliders weigh only 52kg, enabling them to be launched from small boats. They have a suite of sensors able to record temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, dissolved organic matter and chlorophyll against position and depth\n\nThe use of these contemporary gliders provides a unique opportunity to effectively measure the boundary currents off Australia, which are the main link between open-ocean and coastal processes. A number of gliders are operated with target regions including the Coral Sea, East Australian Current off New South Wales and Tasmania, Southern Ocean southwest of Tasmania, the Leeuwin and Capes Currents off South Western Australia and the Pilbara and Kimberly regions off North Western Australia."}
- {"title":"IMOS - Ocean Radar Facility","recordAbstract":"The Ocean Radar (formerly known as the Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network (ACORN)) facility comprises a coordinated network of HF radars delivering real-time, non-quality controlled and delayed-mode, quality controlled surface current data into a national archive. \n\nBased on experience in Europe and the USA, deployment of these radars is expected to make a profound change to coastal ocean research in Australia. HF radar provides unprecedented time-resolved surface current maps over the monitoring sites for physical and biological ocean research. \n\nDeployment of the radars is in support of regional nodes where there is a range of identified questions concerned with boundary currents and associated eddies and their interactions with shelf water and topography. In turn these are linked to productivity, connectivity of biological populations and phenomena such as coral bleaching and diseases. It provides a basis for applied research in wave prediction and offers test sites for hydrodynamic modelling. \n\nThe equipment comprises long-range WERA and medium-range WERA systems and long-range SeaSonde systems, and associated spares and transport infrastructure. An existing system that was installed by James Cook University in the Capricorn/Bunker region around Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef was integrated into the network. An HF radar acquisition by a consortium led by South Australian Research and Development Institute in South Australia was also integrated into the network."}
