Environmental sampling in the coastal waters of south eastern Tasmania

Comprehensive baseline environmental data for Storm Bay in south eastern Tasmania were required to inform the salmonid industry regarding site selection, to provide background environmental data before large-scale farming commences, and to support the development of a scientifically relevant and cost-effective environmental monitoring program.Storm Bay is a large deep bay that receives freshwater inflow from the River Derwent on its north-western boundary and exchanges water with Frederick Henry Bay on its north-eastern boundary. The eastern and western boundaries are defined by the Tasman Peninsula and Bruny Island, respectively, and the southern boundary connects with the Tasman Sea. This area is a mixing zone between the River Derwent outflow and oceanic waters.The oceanography in Storm Bay is complex and is characterized by considerable fluctuations in temperature, salinity and nutrients on variable temporal and spatial scales. This is due to the southerly extension of warm nutrient-depleted sub-tropical waters transported via the East Australian Current (EAC) down the east coast of Tasmania over summer, whilst the south and south-west coasts are influenced by cooler, nutrient-rich sub-Antarctic waters from the south and the Leeuwin Current from the north-west (Buchanan et al. 2014).The current project arose in response to the salmon aquaculture industry recognising the need for increased scientific knowledge to support ecologically sustainable development of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) farming operations in south-eastern Tasmania, particularly expansion into Storm Bay. The information provided will assist salmon companies to manage their operations in Storm Bay under varying environmental conditions. Our research has also provided the opportunity to investigate changes in water quality over a quarter of a century, as CSIRO investigated seasonal and inter-annual variability in chemical and biological parameters in Storm Bay during 1985-89. We sampled at the same “master station” in Storm Bay as CSIRO and used similar procedures where possible.Five sites were sampled monthly in Storm Bay for over five years from November 2009 to April 2015, except on rare occasions when weather conditions were unsuitable, and bimonthly at times in 2013 when external funding was not available. Site 1 was located at the mouth of the Derwent estuary and the entrance to Storm Bay, site 2 was in the same location as the ‘master site’ of a CSIRO study in 1985-88, site 3 was furthest offshore and provided the most information on oceanic currents influencing the bay, while sites 5 and 6 were requested by the salmon aquaculture industry as potential sites for expansion of salmon farming. Site 4 was further offshore and monitoring at this site was discontinued after three months because of insufficient time to collect samples from all sites in one day. An additional site, 9, at the entrance to Frederick Henry Bay was included from 18 July 2011 at the request of the Marine Farming Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE), to provide information on water quality coming from Frederick Henry Bay. Adjacent to, and largely unaffected by the River Derwent, Frederick Henry Bay is a large marine embayment with limited freshwater input from the Coal River at its northern boundary.----------------------------------------------See child records linked to this parent record for specific context and methodologies for each of the monitoring variables (phytoplankton, zooplankton, chlorophyll, pigment, nutrients, oceanography).

为支撑塔斯马尼亚州东南部风暴湾（Storm Bay）的鲑科鱼类产业选址、大型养殖项目启动前的环境背景数据供给，以及助力制定科学严谨且经济高效的环境监测方案，亟需获取该海湾的完整基线环境数据集。
风暴湾为大型深水海湾，西北边界接纳德文特河（River Derwent）的淡水注入，东北边界与弗雷德里克亨利湾（Frederick Henry Bay）进行水体交换；其东、西边界分别以塔斯曼半岛（Tasman Peninsula）和布鲁尼岛（Bruny Island）为界，南缘与塔斯曼海（Tasman Sea）相连。该区域为德文特河径流与大洋水体的混合区。

风暴湾的海洋学过程复杂，温度、盐度及营养盐在不同时空尺度上存在显著波动。夏季，东澳大利亚流（East Australian Current, EAC）沿塔斯马尼亚东海岸南下，输送贫瘠的暖性亚热带水体并向南延伸影响该区域；而海湾南及西南海岸则受源自南部的低温富营养亚南极（sub-Antarctic）水体，以及源自西北的勒温流（Leeuwin Current）影响（Buchanan等，2014）。

本项目的发起源于塔斯马尼亚东南部鲑鱼养殖产业的需求：该产业亟需更多科学支撑，以推进大西洋鲑（Salmo salar）养殖业务的生态可持续发展，尤其是向风暴湾的扩张计划。本数据集将助力鲑鱼养殖企业在多变的环境条件下管理其在风暴湾的养殖活动。此外，得益于1985-1989年间澳大利亚联邦科学与工业研究组织（Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO）对风暴湾化学及生物参数的季节与年际变异性研究，本项目得以同步探究近25年来的水质变化。本次采样沿用了CSIRO在风暴湾设置的同一"基准站位"，并尽可能采用了一致的采样流程。

2009年11月至2015年4月的五年多时间里，研究团队每月对风暴湾的5个站位开展采样（仅少数因恶劣天气无法开展采样的情况除外）；2013年因外部资助不足，部分时段改为每两月采样一次。站位1设于德文特河河口与风暴湾入口处；站位2与CSIRO1985-1988年研究的"基准站位"位置一致；站位3为最远的外海站位，可获取最多关于影响该海湾的海流数据；站位5与6则应鲑鱼养殖产业的要求设置，作为鲑鱼养殖扩张的潜在场址。站位4为更远的外海站位，但因单日无法完成全部站位的采样作业，仅持续3个月便停止监测。2011年7月18日起，应塔斯马尼亚州第一产业、公园、水利与环境部（Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, DPIPWE）的海洋养殖分支请求，增设了站位9，设于弗雷德里克亨利湾入口处，以获取来自该海湾的水质数据。弗雷德里克亨利湾毗邻德文特河且基本不受其影响，为大型海湾，仅北部边界的科尔河（Coal River）为其提供有限的淡水输入。

有关各监测变量（浮游植物、浮游动物、叶绿素、色素、营养盐、海洋学）的具体背景与采样方法，请参阅本父记录关联的子记录。