Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

The Great Barrier Reef Moorings include Lizard Island Slope and Lizard Island Shelf moorings

in the north, Myrmidon Reef, Palm Passage and Elusive Reef in the central Great Barrier Reef

and in the southern Great Barrier Reef there is Capricorn Channel, Heron North, Heron South,

One Tree East. Note that Lizard Island Slope and Shelf moorings, Elusive Reef and Heron North

moorings have been discontinued.

The Yongala NRS mooring is one of IMOS near-real time moorings and its latest configuration

consist of a surface component and a sub-surface component that include:

Surface component:

- Vaisala sensor to measure wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, relative

humidity

- Seabird CTD to measure temperature, conductivity, depth, chlorophyll fluorescence, turbidity,

oxygen, light transmission and photosynthetically active radiation.

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

Subsurface component:

- Seabird sensors to measure temperature, conductivity, depth, fluorescence, turbidity and

photosynthetically active radiation.

- RDI 600 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Technical summary

Instrumentation Great Barrier Reef moorings

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

Instrumentation

Schematic of the Yongala mooring surface and subsurface components.

Great Barrier Reef moorings

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationGreat Barrier Reef moorings

The Myrmidon Reef mooring latest configuration includes:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 75kHz ADCP to measure currents.

The Palm Passage mooring is one of IMOS near-real time moorings and its latest configuration

consist of:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird CTD with FLNTU sensor measuring temperature, conductivity, depth, fluorescence

and turbidity.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorder.

- RDI 300 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

Instrumentation

Schematic of moorings from central and northern GBR region

Great Barrier Reef moorings

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationGreat Barrier Reef moorings

The Capricorn Channel mooring latest configuration consist of:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 300 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

The One tree east mooring latest configuration consist of:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird CTD with FLrt, PAR, O2, and TRANS sensors to measure temperature, conductivity,

depth, chlorophyll fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen, light transmission and photosynthetically

active radiation.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 300 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

- Nortek 1 MHzADCP.

The Heron South mooring latest configuration consist of:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- RDI 600 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

Instrumentation

Schematic of moorings from southern GBR region

Great Barrier Reef moorings

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationIndonesian Throughflow Shelf Moorings

he Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) shelf moorings include a set of four moorings along the

self: Timor Slope, Margaret Harries Bank, Flat Top Banks and Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. They

compliment the Deep Water Moorings Indonesian Throughflow moorings.

The Timor South mooring latest configuration consist of:

- Several Seabird CTDs to measure temperature, conductivity, depth and one Sebird CTD with

sensors to measure fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen, light transmission and photosynthetically

active radiation.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 75 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

The Margaret Harries Bank mooring latest configuration consist of:

- Several Seabird CTDs to measure temperature, conductivity, depth

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 150 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationIndonesian Throughflow Shelf Moorings

The Joseph Bonaparte Gulf mooring latest configuration consist of:

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Seabird CTDs to measure temperature, conductivity, depth, fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen,

light transmission and photosynthetically active radiation.

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 300 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

The Flat Top Banks mooring latest configuration consist of:

- Seabird CTDs to measure temperature, conductivity, depth

- Seabird temperature and depth recorders.

- Wildlife computer satellite trackers.

- RDI 150 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationIndonesian Throughflow Shelf Moorings

Schematic of Indonesian Throughflow shelf moorings

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationDarwin Port

Moorings at this site include the Darwin NRS mooring and a second mooring in the Beagle

Gulf recently added (May 2015) to expand our understanding of the factors influencing coastal

systems and serve as an early warning system.

The Darwin NRS mooring is one of IMOS near-real time moorings and its latest configuration

consist of:

Surface component

- Vaisala sensor to measure wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, relative

humidity.

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

Subsurface component

- Seabird CTD to measure temperature, conductivity, depth, fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen,

light transmission and photosynthetically active radiation.

- RDI 600 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationDarwin Port

The second Beagle Gulf mooring configuration consists of:

Surface component

- Vaisala sensor to measure wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, relative

humidity.

- WQMs with FLNTU sensors measuring fluorescence and turbidity, CTD sensors measuring

conductivity temperature and depth and DO sensors measuring dissolve oxygen.

- Wildlife Computers satellite tracking.

Subsurface component

- Seabird CTD to measure temperature, conductivity, depth, fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen,

light transmission and photosynthetically active radiation.

- RDI 600 kHz ADCP to measure currents.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationDarwin Port

Schematic of the Darwin NRS mooring

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

InstrumentationNorthwest Western Australia

In May 2011 the West Australian state government funded the deployment of the Kimberley

and Pilbara arrays in January and February 2012. The four moorings of the Kimberly array were

deployed at 50, 100, 200 and 400m isobars on the continental shelf. The three Pilbara mooring

were also deployed on the continental shelf at 50, 100 and 200 isobars. In August 2014 due to

the cessation in WA Government funding the Kimberly and Pilbara arrays were removed.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

DeploymentsGreat Barrier Reef Moorings

Some of the first moorings to be deployed in the National Mooring Network were four mooring

pairs and an additional mooring north of Heron Island in Great Barrier Reef. These nine moorings

were deployed over two research cruises between September 2007 and June 2008. The

moorings include in the northern Great Barrier Reef the Lizard Island Slope and Shelf moorings,

in the central Great Barrier Reef the Myrmidon Reef, Elusive Reef, and Palm Passage, and in

the southern Great Barrier Reef the Capricorn Channel, Heron North, Heron South and One

Tree East. Initially all current meters were deployed but there were some delays in instrument

availability resulting in the Great Barrier Reef moorings not having their full suite of instruments

on first deployment. This was rectified in 2009 with all moorings complete and data being

downloaded during six monthly servicing. The moorings were consolidated to four pairs of

moorings in 2009/10.

Once the four pairs of Great Barrier Reef arrays were in place there were some alterations and

notable events over the following years. In 2009 Tropical Cyclone Yasi traversed the Coral Sea

and passed just to the north of the Central Great Barrier Reef mooring array. The subsurface

moorings temporarily suffered knockdown as the eye passed by however recovered and

continued to produce good data in its wake. In February 2013, the Palm Passage mooring was

upgraded to real time and the Heron Island North mooring was removed. The Palm Passage

together with the Yongala NRS moorings provide data to eReefs’ whole of Great Barrier Reef

hydrodynamic model to improve the near real time modelling results. In 2014 a consolidation of

moorings in the Great Barrier Reef was undertaken with the removal of Lizard Island Shelf and

the Lizard Island Slope moorings in May 2014 and Elusive Reef Passage mooring in October

2014.

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

DeploymentsGreat Barrier Reef Moorings

Moorings off the coast of Queensland

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

DeploymentsIndonesian Throughflow Shelf Moorings

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) shelf moorings were deployed late June 2010. The set of four

moorings include Timor Slope, Margaret Harries Bank, Flat Top Banks and Joseph Bonaparte

Gulf. These shelf moorings compliment the Deep Water Moorings Indonesian Throughflow

moorings that were deployed in June 2011 completing the full array.

Shelf moorings of the Indonesian Throughflow

Indonesian Throughflow Shelf MooringsIn May 2011 the West Australian state government funded the deployment of the Kimberley

and Pilbara arrays in January and February 2012. The four moorings of the Kimberly array were

deployed at 50, 100, 200 and 400m isobars on the continental shelf. The three Pilbara mooring

were also deployed on the continental shelf at 50, 100 and 200 isobars. In August 2014 due to

the cessation in WA Government funding the Kimberly and Pilbara arrays were removed. Two of

the moorings were redeployed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Camden Sound

in the Kimberly region at 50 and 100 isobars (CAM050 and CAM100).

Queensland and Northern Australia Moorings

Technical summary

DeploymentsDarwin Ports Moorings

Darwin Port Corporation has co-invested in a real time mooring in Beagle Gulf that will inform

the modelling of Darwin Harbour in tandem with the Darwin NRS. The second mooring was

initially deployed in Darwin Harbour but it was relocated in June 2013 to a longer term site

in Beagle Gulf. The delayed mode mooring has been operating since 2012 however it was

upgraded to real-time in September 2014. A second mooring in the Beagle Gulf was also added

in May 2015 to expand our understanding of the factors influencing coastal systems and serve

as an early warning system.

Location of Beagle Gulf and Darwin Moorings