Spectral and Biogeochemical Characterisation of Phytoplankton Across the Ningaloo Shelf (RV Investigator IN2026_v02)

Updated: 2026-07-23

The data was collected during the voyage onboard RV Investigator (IN2026_v02) as part of the project led by Prof Nicole Jones (UWA) “Quantifying the fine scale ocean dynamics of the Ningaloo Coast". The samples were collected from the surface from the ship's underway system as well as from the Niskin bottles during the CTD casts. The main objectives of this project were to: Quantify changes in phytoplankton community composition across the continental shelf, Develop high-quality spectral libraries (pigments, particulate absorption, CDOM, TSS) for open access use by the remote sensing community, Provide data ready to validate remote sensing algorithms for NASA’s PACE Ocean Colour Instrument (OCI) and expand the matchup library for other ocean colour satellites. This dataset is highly unique as it captures the conditions just before and after the passing of category 4 TC Narelle over the study area on the 27th of March 2026.