Hydrographic Data from the Gulf of Carpentaria ("Hydrographic Atlas") 1976-1977

Hydrographic data from six cruises, between April 1976 and March 1977 in the Gulf of Carpentaria are presented. Physical quantities (temperature, salinity and sigma-t) and chemical properties (dissolved oxygen, nitrate and silicate) were measured, and are presented in an associated report both as values at the stations and as contour maps - see the link in the related materials section to the report:

Rothlisberg P., White N.J. & Forbes A.M.G. (1989). Hydrographic Atlas of the Gulf of Carpentaria. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report No. 209.

These cruises began in 1975 with the initiation of the CSIRO Tropical Prawn Research Project, a new series of Gulf-wide cruises undertaken to study the larval ecology of penaeid prawns.

Approximately 70 stations were occupied on each cruise (with the exception of KL 7/76 which made only three transects in the southern Gulf). Two types of hydrographic stations were undertaken. Type 'A' stations consisted of Nansen casts with bottles every 10m from the surface to the bottom, sampling temperature, salinity, oxygen, nitrate plus nitrite, nitrogen and silicate. Type 'B' stations were Nansen casts with three bottles (at the surface, at 10m depth and within 10m of the bottom) sampling the same parameters as the Type 'A' stations. The sigma-t values were calculated from the temperature and salinity values, and the percentage of oxygen saturation was calculated from the oxygen concentration, temperature and salinity data. The difference between surface and bottom values was also calculated for all properties.

The six cruises included:

FRV Kalinda:
KL 4/76 April 1976
KL 7/76 June 1976
KL 9/76 September 1976

FV Judy B:
JB 2/76 November 1976

FV Raptis Pearl:
TP 1/77 January 1977

RV Sprightly:
TP 3/77 March 1977