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Water column chlorophyll

Posted on 16 January 2009

Chlorophyll is commonly used as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass and nutrient status in the lagoon. The purpose of this study was to quantify spatial patterns and temporal dynamics in phytoplankton biomass.

The compiled 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.

M. Furnas (AIMS)
B. Schaffelke (AIMS)

Custodian(s)

Australian Institute of Marine Science
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Owner Institution(s)

Chlorophyll concentration: micrograms / liter

Data Units

Great Barrier Reef (whole GBR).

Region & Spatial Extent

1992 - 2006

Data Collection

Ongoing.

Maintenance & Update Frequency

Resource Constraints

-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

- Death 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

- 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

References

Google Earth Data