smart sensors and the environment
Activity 1
Using sensor data from the Great Barrier Reef
Use the data shown on the Australian Institute of Marine Science website to find temperature data for the Great Barrier Reef.
The graphs on the left (red line) show the number of days that the reef water has been at or above the temperature shown on the x-axis. When this crosses the threshold number of days (black line) the reef is at risk of a coral bleaching event.
- According to the data, which reef site is currently at the highest risk of a coral bleaching event? Explain your answer.
- Using the information on the web page explain why the threshold number of days is different for each reef.
- Explain the trend in the threshold curves with increasing temperature.
At the top of the page, change the time period to 2001-2002 and click ‘generate charts’
- Compare the overall risk of a coral bleaching event at Davies Reef in 2001-2002 to that in 2007-8.
The graph on the right for Davies Reef shows the average water temperature over the selected time period compared to the long-term average temperature. Coral bleaching events often occur when temperatures are 1ºC or more above the long-term average.
- Is it likely that Davies Reef suffered a coral bleaching event in 2001-2002? Explain your answer using the data available
Using SensorMap hover over the sensor symbol at Townsville, Queensland to open up data for that site.
- List the different conditions that sensors measure at Davies Reef.
- Find out what PAR stands for and explain the benefit of having both PAR data and temperature data when assessing productivity on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Using no more than 400 words, evaluate the use of intelligent sensor networks for environmental monitoring on the Great Barrier Reef compared to data loggers.
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Posted December 2008.