The data provides information relevant to determining time series estimates of anthropogenic marine debris contamination across the IMOS National Mooring Network (NMN) including National Reference Stations (NRS), with a focus on microplastics (plastics < 5 mm). Specifically, it summarises the physical (i.e., size, shape and colour) properties and chemical nature (i.e., synthetic, semi-synthetic or naturally derived, and polymer type) along with the associated sampling coordinates and field collection data. This dataset, together with other variables already measured across the NMN (e.g., surface salinity, current, plankton, fish larvae), has the potential to provide insight into abundance, spatial distribution and fluctuations in anthropogenic marine debris, as well as identify potential source materials, geographic (i.e., land-based) inputs and fate. Information on such contamination is critical to inform policy and management on marine pollution in Australia’s marine estate and to assess the effectiveness of policy responses.

The field study site was the mangrove-fringed Sawi Bay in Thailand. At stations, a Seabird CTD equipped with an Analite nephelometer was used to obtain vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and optical backscatterance. Oceanographic moorings were deployed at sites T1-T4 and T6 during October 1998, April 1999 and November 1999. A mooring included an InterOcean model S4 current meter or a Woods Hole WHISL 2100 current meter, a Dataflow temperature-salinity recorder, and Analite nephelometers spread across the water column. A wave gage was also deployed at site T1, this was either an InterOcean model S4 current meter or a Rigo wave gage. Mooring T1 also comprised an Aanderaa model WLR5 tide gauge. All these units recorded 1-min averaged data at 10 min intervals. The nephelometers’ backscatterance data were converted to suspended matter concentration following the technique of Gibbs and Wolanski (1992) and Wolanski et al. (1995). Transects of temperature, salinity and suspended sediment concentration were collected, both along-channel in the small tributaries draining into Sawi Bay and cross-shore in Sawi Bay, using a Seabird CTD equipped with an Analite nephelometer. A current meter, a tide gauge and 3 temperature and pressure recorders were attached to the Karmt 100 mooring for the first deployment. The tide gauge was replaced by a temperature and pressure recorder for the second deployment. Wind data were taken during field work using a hand held anemometer. The local bureau of meteorology office also provided long-term statistical data on winds for years prior to study. Measurements in wave height, water depth, currents, salinity and suspended solids concentration were used to study typical circulation in Sawi Bay and the adjoining coastal waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

This dataset comprises of microbial metagenomics sequencing reads of seawater collected across 48 reef sites across the Great Barrier Reef. Samples were collected across four Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP) field trips between November 2019-July 2020, combining water chemistry data, LTMP field surveys and microbial metagenomics data. This data collection was a major part of the QRCIF IMOS GBR microbial genomic database project, which aims to generate a comprehensive open access repositor of microbial genomic data from across the region. Seawater was collected in quadruplicate either by SCUBA or using Niskin Bottles at each reef site, 5L of seawater was pre-filtered using a 5µm filter and applied to a 0.22µm sterivex filter, snap frozen and stored at -20°C in preparation of DNA extraction. DNA was extracted from sterivex filters using phenol:chloroform:Iso-amyl alcolol extraction, ethanol precipitation and cleanup using the Zymo Clean and Concentrator® kit before submission for sequencing at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics sequencing facility, Illumina. The data presented as illumina paired-end shotgun metagenomics sequencing runs, in fastq format, generated by Microba Life Sciences, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Each downloadable archive contains forward and reverse reads for all replicate sampling performed at that particular site. Water quality particulate and dissolved nutrient data was generated as previously described (https://doi.org/10.25845/5c09b551f315b) from water samples collected simultaneously at each reef site. Zip files are available through the spatial layer under each site's 'illumina.seawater.zip' - please note these are large downloads (between 6 - 14 GB).

This record describes the AIMS component of the eReefs phase 4 research program that ran from 2018 - 2020. The primary focus of eReefs phase 4 was to transition from research focused projects to operational services. The eReefs work was extended in the eReefs 2020-2024 project. eReefs is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Bureau of Meteorology, and Queensland Government. It aims to develop a platform that provides a picture of current and historical environmental conditions on the Great Barrier Reef. eReefs has many components developed and maintained by each of the organisations in the collaboration, including catchment modelling (Queensland Government), remote sensing (BOM and CSIRO), hydrodynamic modelling (BOM and CSIRO) and biogeochemical modelling (CSIRO). AIMS's contribution was providing data agregation and visualisation services and well as analysis of the biogeochemical model for inclusion in the Reef Plan report card. A major goal of the AIMS eReefs phase 4 project was to re-engineer the AIMS eReefs platform to use distributed cloud service components to make a platform that can scale its computing resources based on demand, to allow more visualisation and aggregation products to be supported in the future. The eReefs model data is very large (>15 TB) resulting high computation and storage costs associated with its processing. The new re-engineered architecture improve the computational cost efficiency by ~10x and the storage cost efficiency by 1.5x allowing a more complete set of visualisation and aggregation products to be made available. Key goals of this project were: Generating updated water quality scores based on eReefs BGC data for the Reef Plan report card based on methods developed in NESP TWQ 3.2.5. Re-engineering the AIMS eReefs platform for improved scaling. Developing a data extraction tool to allow easy access to time series data from eReefs data. The data for AIMS eReefs platform is stored on the Amazon cloud in S3 storage, managed by the AIMS Knowledge Systems team. All the data is derived from the original eReefs model data. The software was deployed on the Amazon Cloud, using AWS Batch to dynamically adjust the number of executing servers performing aggregation and animation tasks based on load. Coordination tasks are performed using AWS Lambda functions, which communicate using SNS messaging. The system coordinates the activities of all the executing tasks using a central MongoDB database. The setup of the AWS infrastructure is deployed using CloudFormation, which is a language for describing cloud computing infrastructure as code. The configuration of all the generated products (aggregation and animation) along with the infrastructure code is stored in the ereefs-definitions Git code repository. This repository has restricted access for security reasons. All other code will be made publicly available under an open source license by June 2021 as part of the eReefs 2020-2024 project. All the software for the platform is contained in 37 Git code repositories stored on GitHub. These repositories are linked to from https://github.com/open-AIMS/ereefs-documentation. This platform produces aggregation and animations of the CSIRO Hydrodynamic (GBR4 and GBR1) and BioGeoChemical eReefs models. The platform downloads model data from the National Computing Infrastructure (NCI) THREDDS data service. This data is then preprocessed to remove unused variables and half the depths, retaining only depth data from < 145m. This subsetting reduces the total storage needed by the system. This subsetted mirror is then produced to produce a range of temporal aggregations (daily, monthly, annual) and exposure products. The derived products are regridded from the original curvilinear grid used in the modelling to a regular rectangular grid. This regridding is performed to allow the data to be compatible with GIS software such as ArcMap and QGIS. All model data and derived model data is stored in NetCDF file format.

Nutrient data was obtained from the lower reaches and estuaries of 23 rivers discharging into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Wet season time series were measured in five rivers (South Johnstone River, Tully River, Herbert River, Burdekin River and Fitzroy River). Seven rivers have catchments in the wet tropical region (Barron River, Mulgrave River, Russell River, North Johnstone River, South Johnstone River, Tully River and Murray River). The Normanby River and Herbert River have mixed wet/dry catchments. Two major dry catchment rivers, the Burdekin River and the Fitzroy River were sampled.Sporadic samples, usually from the estuary, were collected in the course of other projects. These include Jacky Jacky Creek, Escape River, Pascoe River, Claudie River, Lockhardt River, McIvor River, Daintree River, Ross River, Alligator Creek, Haughton River, Barratta Creek and Pioneer River.In most cases, near-surface water samples were collected from mid-channel, above the level of saltwater intrusion, using a clean plastic bucket or jar lowered by rope. Prior to December 1991, only single water samples were collected at any one time; thereafter, collection of duplicate water samples was progressively introduced into all sampling programs. Sampling was undertaken to:1. quantify terrestrial input fluxes of nutrient elements (N, P, Si) which influence plankton productivity, reef productivity and water quality in the central GBR region2. resolve regional, seasonal and event-associated exports of nutrients from north Queensland rivers with both wet and dry catchments3. resolve the dynamics of river nutrient fluxes during flood events, especially large events associated with cyclones and monsoonal rain depression4. collect data suitable for parameterizing numerical flow discharge models for major north Queensland river systems Sampling was conducted through cooperative arrangements between AIMS and other government agencies. These include the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI), Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES), Queensland Water Resources Commission (QWRC), Cairns City Council (CCC), CSIRO and Central Queensland University (CQU). A number of volunteers also contributed to the sampling effort.

This metadata record describes physico-chemical and nutrient data collected through in situ monitoring by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program for Inshore Water Quality (MMP WQ). A full description of the MMP WQ and its associated datasets can be found in the parent metadata record linked above. Water quality sampling is conducted during both ambient conditions and river discharge events. Ambient monitoring refers to routine sampling during the wet and dry seasons outside of major flood events. Event-based monitoring occurs in response to major flood events to capture conditions within flood plumes; event-based monitoring occurs at the 55 routine site locations, plus 33 additional sites. The MMP WQ uses in situ sampling to measure 17 key parameters: physico-chemical: salinity, temperature, Secchi depth, total suspended solids (TSS), and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM); nutrient: ammonium (NH4), nitrite (NO2), nitrate (NO3), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), silicate (Si), particulate nitrogen (PN), particulate phosphorus (PP), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), particulate organic carbon (POC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC); and biological: chlorophyll a (Chl-a). Discrete water samples are collected with Niskin bottles at each site. Samples are collected from the surface (~0.5 m below water surface) and bottom (~1 m above the seabed) of the water column; although, for some event-based sampling only surface water samples are collected. Samples from the Niskin bottles are taken in duplicate and are analysed for the suite of water quality parameters listed above. Detailed descriptions of analytical chemistry procedures can be found in the program's annual published QA/QC report (see link below in Related Information). Brief description of collection, storage and analysis method for parameters: Salinity: 250 mL unfiltered sample, stored refrigerated at 4ºC in screw-top plastic bottle, analysed on Guildline Portasal Salinometer (temperature-compensated and calibrated using OSIL standard seawater as reference) Temperature: Electronic reversing thermometer attached to Niskin Secchi depth: The average of the vertical disappearance and reappearance depths of a Secchi disc TSS: Filtered onto pre-weighed 47 mm 0.4 µm polycarbonate membrane filter, rinsed with deionised water, dried at 60ºC for 12 hours, gravimetric analysis CDOM: 50 mL filtered sample (0.2 µm acrodisc), CDOM absorption coefficient at 443 nm calculated from absorbance measured by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy NH4, NO3, NO2 and DIP: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored frozen at -25°C, filtrate analysed on segmented flow analyser Si: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored refrigerated at 4ºC, filtrate analysed on segmented flow analyser (reported as Si) PN and POC: 500 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F, stored frozen at -25ºC, analysed by high temperature combustion (Shimadzu TOC-L) PP: 250 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F (0.7 µm), stored frozen at -25ºC, persulphate digestion of filter, colorific (molybdate blue) analysis on UV-Vis spectrophotometer TDN and TDP: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored frozen at -25ºC, persulphate oxidation/digestion with mixture of NaOH, boric acid and K2S2O8 in autoclave, analysed on segmented flow analyser DOC: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), acidified with 100 µL HCl, stored refrigerated at 4ºC, analysed by high temperature combustion (Shimadzu TOC-L) Chl-a: 100 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F (0.7 µm), stored frozen at -25ºC, extraction into 10 mL of acetone, read on Turner Fluorometer using acidification method Data can be downloaded from AIMS' main water quality database (see link below in Data Downloads). This link allows users to restrict searches to only MMP data rather than the entire database. Data are presented as depth-weighted means calculated using surface and bottom samples. Water quality data are collected in conjunction with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program for Inshore Coral Reefs see link below in Related Information).

This dataset aggregates and summarises the water quality data collected by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science from 1974 until the present. AIMS' biological oceanographers have studied the physical, chemical, and biological properties of seawater around northern Australia using a variety of methods including in situ sampling, moored sensors, and vertical profiles. This dataset contains in situ water quality information (list of analytes shown below) from northern Australia, with a large volume of data from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. It also contains an historical dataset transcribed from the reports of the Low Islands Expedition 1928-29 led by C.M. Yonge. This dataset contains biogeochemical data from many research expeditions (the majority led by Dr. Miles Furnas) as well as records from water quality monitoring programmes. Some data in this record were collected as part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program for Inshore Water Quality (MMP WQ), which has collected in situ water quality data, along with time-series of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, and turbidity since 2005. More information about the MMP WQ can be found on its metadata record (see link below in Related Information). Each water sample occurs at a unique combination of geographic location, time, and date. In the AIMS database, samples are assigned a unique alphanumeric identifier (called a ‘station’), which is comprised of a 3-letter area code and a 3-digit station number (e.g. WQM324). Using this code, water chemistry information can be linked to other associated data, such as vertical profiles of the water column (i.e., CTD casts), which can be retrieved from AIMS’ CTD database (link below). Variables in this database include: depth, silicate (Si), ammonium (NH4), nitrite (NO2), nitrate (NO3), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), temperature (Temp), salinity (Sal), particulate nitrogen (PN), particulate phosphorus (PP), particulate organic carbon (POC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), Chlorophyll-a (Chl), phaeophytin (Phaeo), suspended solids (SS), Secchi depth, and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM). All analytes may not be available at every station. Brief description of collection, storage and analysis method for parameters: SAL: 250 mL unfiltered sample, stored refrigerated at 4ºC in screw-top plastic bottle, analysed on Guildline Portasal Salinometer (temperature-compensated and calibrated using OSIL standard seawater as reference) TEMP: Electronic reversing thermometer attached to Niskin SECCHI_DEPTH: The average of the vertical disappearance and reappearance depths of a Secchi disc SS: Filtered onto pre-weighed 47 mm 0.4 µm polycarbonate membrane filter, rinsed with deionised water, dried at 60ºC for 12 hours, gravimetric analysis CDOM: 50 mL filtered sample (0.2 µm acrodisc), CDOM absorption coefficient at 443 nm calculated from absorbance measured by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy NH4, NO3, NO2, and DIP: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored frozen at -25°C, filtrate analysed on segmented flow analyser NH4_INSITU: Unfiltered 20 mL sample, processed immediately, OPA fluorescence method (post 2005) SI: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored refrigerated at 4ºC, filtrate analysed on segmented flow analyser (reported as Si) PN_SHIM and POC: 500 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F, stored frozen at -25ºC, analysed by high temperature combustion (Shimadzu TOC-L) PP: 250 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F (0.7 µm), stored frozen at -25ºC, persulphate digestion of filter, colorific (molybdate blue) analysis on UV-Vis spectrophotometer TDN_PER and TDP_PER: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), stored frozen at -25ºC, persulphate oxidation/digestion with mixture of NaOH, boric acid and K2S2O8 in autoclave, analysed on segmented flow analyser DOC: 10 mL filtered sample (0.45 µm minisart), acidified with 100 µL HCl, stored refrigerated at 4ºC, analysed by high temperature combustion (Shimadzu TOC-L) CHL and PHAEO: 100 mL filtered onto 25 mm GF/F (0.7 µm), stored frozen at -25ºC, extraction into 10 mL of acetone, read on Turner Fluorometer using acidification method Data can be downloaded from AIMS' main water quality database (see link below in Data Downloads). Data are presented as depth-weighted means calculated using surface, bottom, and any intermediate samples.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program for Inshore Water Quality (MMP WQ) has monitored inshore water quality of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon since 2005 through the collection of in situ water chemistry data, along with time-series of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, and turbidity. This program is a partnership between the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian Government, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), James Cook University (JCU), and the Cape York Water Partnership (CYWP). This metadata record also describes data from 2020-present collected by the Fitzroy Basin Marine Monitoring Program for Inshore Water Quality, which is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and AIMS. The Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Australian and Queensland governments, 2018b) is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (Australian and Queensland governments 2018a) and report progress towards goals and targets. The MMP WQ forms an integral part of the Paddock to Reef Program, along with other MMP components monitoring inshore coral, seagrass, and pesticides. The overarching objective of the MMP WQ is to ‘Assess temporal and spatial trends in inshore marine water quality and link pollutant concentrations to end-of-catchment loads’ (Australian and Queensland governments, 2018a). The MMP WQ is designed to measure the annual condition and long-term trends in coastal water quality. Australian tropical coastal waters are characterised by high variability in river discharge during the wet season (November - March), as rainfall from low pressure systems causes river flood plumes to extend into the coastal ocean. River discharge is generally negligible during the dry season (April - October), a period of low rainfall. 'Routine' monitoring by the MMP WQ is conducted during ambient conditions of the wet and dry seasons outside of major flood events, while 'event' monitoring occurs in response to major flood events to capture conditions within flood plumes. A summary of the Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions and associated focus regions where the MMP WQ operates is given below. The MMP WQ currently monitors a total of 55 routine sites (also sampled during events), with an additional 33 event sites monitored as required. The date ranges of routine monitoring, number of sites, and present frequency of sampling are also shown. Cape York NRM (monitored 2017-present) focus regions: Pascoe (6 sites, sampled 5 times per year) Stewart (4 sites, sampled 5 times per year) Normanby (6 sites, sampled 4 times per year) Annan-Endeavour (5 sites, sampled 5 times per year) Wet Tropics NRM (monitored 2005-present) focus regions: Barron-Daintree (6 sites, sampled 3 times per year) Russell-Mulgrave (5 sites, sampled 10 times per year) Tully (6 sites, sampled 10 times per year) Burdekin NRM (monitored 2005-present): 6 sites, sampled 9 times per year Mackay Whitsunday NRM (monitored 2005-present): 5 sites, sampled 5 times per year Fitzroy NRM (monitored 2005-2014 under MMP WQ, 2020-present under Fitzroy Basin program): 6 sites, sampled 10 times per year From 2005 to 2014, monitoring occurred 3 times per year at ~3 sites in most regions listed above. An independent statistical review of the MMP in 2014 (Kuhnert et al., 2015) showed that additional sites and higher sampling frequency would provide additional statistical power. The current program design was implemented in February 2015 and includes most of the sampling sites in the pre-2015 design, allowing for the continuation of the long-term time-series. This program re-design was reviewed and its increase in power to detect change in inshore water quality was verified (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2022). The MMP WQ uses in situ sampling to measure 17 key physico-chemical (salinity, temperature, Secchi depth, total suspended solids, and coloured dissolved organic matter), nutrient (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, silicate, particulate nitrogen, particulate phosphorus, total dissolved nitrogen, total dissolved phosphorus, particulate organic carbon, and dissolved organic carbon), and biological (chlorophyll a) parameters. On every water sampling occasion, a Conductivity Temperature Depth instrument cast is done to collect a vertical profile of depth, salinity, temperature, and other water quality parameters. Data-logging instruments measuring time-series' of turbidity and fluorescence (a proxy for chlorophyll a) are deployed at 19 of the sites described above. Data-logging instruments measuring time-series' of salinity and temperature are deployed 9 of the sites described above. The details of each of these datasets are provided in the child metadata records attached to this parent record.