IMOS - Ships of Opportunity -Temperate Merchant Vessels Sub-Facility - Data collected on the Spirit of Tasmania I during transect between Melbourne and Devonport (Delayed mode).

The IMOS Ships of Opportunity - Sensors on Temperate Merchant Vessels Sub-Facility collects data from an autonomous marine monitoring system on the Spirit of Tasmania I to monitor long-term climate change indicators and measures of ecosystem health in Bass Strait surface waters and coastal waters of Victoria and Tasmania. The Sub-Facility maintains an underway sampling Seabird SBE45 thermo-salinograph (TSG), a Wetlabs combination fluorometer and turbidity sensor (ECO-FLNTU), a GPS were deployed in June 2008 on the Spirit of Tasmania I (VLST) for initial trials. Routine data collection commenced on 28 August 2008. Transects are dependent upon Spirit of Tasmania 1 operating schedule. These are typically undertaken 7:30pm to 7am with subsequent in-port monitoring 7am-7:30pm at Port Melbourne/Geelong and Devonport docks. During summer and holiday periods the vessel undertakes continuous transects with 2-3 hour turnaround at the ports. Transect data files are available through the IMOS OPeNDAP server. Graphic representation of the temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll-a by distance are also available.Provision of data from 2014 onwards will resume early in 2024.