Australian National Mooring Network

The network will comprise a series of national reference stations and regional moorings designed to monitor particular oceanographic phenomena in Australian coastal ocean waters. The reference stations will increase the number of long term time series observations both in terms of variables recorded, temporal distribution and geographical extent. Two reference sites will also be used to provide satellite operators and data users with access to reliable calibration and validation data for the coastal and ocean colour satellite mission data sets. Passive acoustic listening station arrays will be co-located at three mooring sites. These stations will provide baseline data on ambient oceanic noise, detection of fish and mammal vocalizations and detection of underwater events. The regional moorings will 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 will be distributed between several operators and coordinated nationally.