• Conference Presentation
P3.15

AquaWatch Australia Water Quality Monitoring Sensor Network: Implementation in the Fitzroy River and Keppel Bay, Queensland

G. Kerrisk; X. Qi; J. Crosswell; G. Carlin; T. Malthus; N. Cherukuru; A. Xiao

03/07/2023

The degradation of estuarine and coastal water quality poses a substantial environmental challenge in Australia, imposing significant stress on aquatic habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass meadows. This degradation can result in various flow-on effects such as fish population reduction, invasive species introduction, impact on species diversity, species extinction, and local livelihoods. Declining water quality, resulting from increased loads of suspended sediment and dissolved substances from land caused by climate and anthropogenic changes, is compounded by factors such as intensified precipitation and suboptimal land use practices. The conservation and sustainable development of marine resources is a key goal under UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14). Achieving these goals is contingent on informed management decisions regarding upstream pressures and subsequent changes in coastal ecosystems. However, the spatial and temporal coverage of traditional in situ sampling limits knowledge of coastal outflows, their variability, and their impact on coastal ecosystems. To overcome these knowledge gaps and facilitate rapid aquatic habitat management AquaWatch Australia is implementing a new approach that integrates widespread high-resolution in situ sensing with satellite remote sensing. This poster presents the new advancements made with a data integration and analytics approach for the Fitzroy River and Keppel Bay region.

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