Data

IMOS - AusTemp - Heat stress and marine heatwave and cold-spell monitoring metrics for the Australian Coast

Australian Ocean Data Network
Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)
Viewed: [[ro.stat.viewed]] Cited: [[ro.stat.cited]] Accessed: [[ro.stat.accessed]]
ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2FANDS&rft_id=https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/2ffccdad-1197-4e41-b412-a9033517cfb2&rft.title=IMOS - AusTemp - Heat stress and marine heatwave and cold-spell monitoring metrics for the Australian Coast&rft.identifier=https://catalogue-imos.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/2ffccdad-1197-4e41-b412-a9033517cfb2&rft.description=This dataset contains the marine heatwave (MHW) and marine cold spell (MCS) categories from the 1st of January 2012. The SST Atlas of Australian Regional Seas (SSTAARS) daily climatology (Wijffels et al., 2018) is used as the baseline for developing heat-stress monitoring metrics. SSTAARS daily 90th-, 50th-, and 10th-percentile thresholds are applied to classify MHW and MCS according to established Hobday definitions. The dataset also contains the Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa), calculated by comparing the current SST to a monthly SSTAARS climatology, and the Degree Heating-Days (DHD) metrics, calculated by accumulating the daily positive Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa). When SST cannot be calculated due to cloud cover, the grid cell is left blank (white in web plots, transparent in Google Earth) to indicate missing data.This product follows on from the Bureau of Meteorology's (Bureau) decommissioned ReefTemp Next Generation, a high resolution mapping product that provided information on coral bleaching risk for the Great Barrier Reef region for 2012-2024. In the first stage of operational deployment of AusTemp, the current operational satellite-derived, night-time-only MultiSensor Level 3 Super-collated (MS L3S, Govekar et al 2022) sea surface temperature (SST) product is being used to define heat stress and MHW/MCS monitoring metrics. A new GeoPolar MultiSensor L3S adds geostationary Himawari-8/9 data to the polar-orbiting satellites. It provides significantly improved spatial coverage, due to Himawari's 10 minute sampling period filling in SST gaps caused by fast moving cloud, with an additional 20% data on average over the MS L3S product (Govekar et al 2024).The improved spatial and temporal resolution of AusTemp allows for high-detail mapping of MHWs across Australian waters, supporting accurate assessments of local ecological impacts, including coral bleaching and mortality in marine species. These tools are valuable for conservation, reef management, aquaculture, and fisheries, helping stakeholders manage the growing risks associated with marine heatwaves in a warming ocean.Maintenance and Update Frequency: dailyStatement: See Technical description for details on the product generation&rft.creator=Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) &rft.date=2026&rft.coverage=westlimit=96.00; southlimit=-48.00; eastlimit=174.00; northlimit=-8.00&rft.coverage=westlimit=96.00; southlimit=-48.00; eastlimit=174.00; northlimit=-8.00&rft_rights=Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/&rft_rights=The citation in a list of references is: IMOS [year-of-data-download], [Title], [data-access-URL], accessed [date-of-access].&rft_rights=Any users of IMOS data are required to clearly acknowledge the source of the material derived from IMOS in the format: Data was sourced from Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) – IMOS is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure strategy (NCRIS). If relevant, also credit other organisations involved in collection of this particular datastream (as listed in 'credit' in the metadata record).&rft_subject=oceans&rft_subject=Marine Features (Australia) | Great Australian Bight, SA/WA&rft_subject=Global / Oceans | Indian Ocean&rft_subject=Regional Seas | Timor Sea&rft_subject=Marine Features (Australia) | Bass Strait, TAS/VIC&rft_subject=Global / Oceans | Pacific Ocean&rft_subject=Regional Seas | Solomon Sea&rft_subject=Regional Seas | Tasman Sea&rft_subject=Global / Oceans | Southern Ocean&rft_subject=Regional Seas | Arafura Sea&rft_subject=Regional Seas | Coral Sea&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | Northern Territory&rft_subject=Countries | Australia&rft_subject=Offshore Islands (Australia) | Christmas Island&rft_subject=Countries | New Zealand&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | Victoria&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | New South Wales&rft_subject=Offshore Islands (Australia) | Cocos (Keeling) Island&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | Western Australia&rft_subject=Countries | Timor-Leste&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | Queensland&rft_subject=Countries | New Caledonia&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | Tasmania&rft_subject=States, Territories (Australia) | South Australia&rft_subject=Countries | Papua New Guinea&rft_subject=Countries | Indonesia&rft_subject=orbiting satellite&rft_subject=Temperature anomaly of the water body&rft_subject=Skin temperature of the water body&rft_subject=radiometers&rft_subject=SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE&rft.type=dataset&rft.language=English Access the data
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The citation in a list of references is: "IMOS [year-of-data-download], [Title], [data-access-URL], accessed [date-of-access]."

Any users of IMOS data are required to clearly acknowledge the source of the material derived from IMOS in the format: "Data was sourced from Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) – IMOS is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure strategy (NCRIS)." If relevant, also credit other organisations involved in collection of this particular datastream (as listed in 'credit' in the metadata record).

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Full description

This dataset contains the marine heatwave (MHW) and marine cold spell (MCS) categories from the 1st of January 2012. The SST Atlas of Australian Regional Seas (SSTAARS) daily climatology (Wijffels et al., 2018) is used as the baseline for developing heat-stress monitoring metrics. SSTAARS daily 90th-, 50th-, and 10th-percentile thresholds are applied to classify MHW and MCS according to established Hobday definitions. The dataset also contains the Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa), calculated by comparing the current SST to a monthly SSTAARS climatology, and the Degree Heating-Days (DHD) metrics, calculated by accumulating the daily positive Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (SSTa). When SST cannot be calculated due to cloud cover, the grid cell is left blank (white in web plots, transparent in Google Earth) to indicate missing data.

This product follows on from the Bureau of Meteorology's (Bureau) decommissioned ReefTemp Next Generation, a high resolution mapping product that provided information on coral bleaching risk for the Great Barrier Reef region for 2012-2024. In the first stage of operational deployment of AusTemp, the current operational satellite-derived, night-time-only MultiSensor Level 3 Super-collated (MS L3S, Govekar et al 2022) sea surface temperature (SST) product is being used to define heat stress and MHW/MCS monitoring metrics. A new GeoPolar MultiSensor L3S adds geostationary Himawari-8/9 data to the polar-orbiting satellites. It provides significantly improved spatial coverage, due to Himawari's 10 minute sampling period filling in SST gaps caused by fast moving cloud, with an additional 20% data on average over the MS L3S product (Govekar et al 2024).

The improved spatial and temporal resolution of AusTemp allows for high-detail mapping of MHWs across Australian waters, supporting accurate assessments of local ecological impacts, including coral bleaching and mortality in marine species. These tools are valuable for conservation, reef management, aquaculture, and fisheries, helping stakeholders manage the growing risks associated with marine heatwaves in a warming ocean.

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Maintenance and Update Frequency: daily
Statement: See Technical description for details on the product generation

Notes

Credit
Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). It is operated by a consortium of institutions as an unincorporated joint venture, with the University of Tasmania as Lead Agent.
Credit
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)
Credit
L3S SST product used to define these metrics was produced by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology as a contribution to the Integrated Marine Observing System(IMOS)
Credit
SSTAARS climatology was developed by CSIRO.

Created: 30 01 2026

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174,-8 174,-48 96,-48 96,-8 174,-8

135,-28

text: westlimit=96.00; southlimit=-48.00; eastlimit=174.00; northlimit=-8.00

Subjects
Countries | Australia | Countries | Indonesia | Countries | New Caledonia | Countries | New Zealand | Countries | Papua New Guinea | Countries | Timor-Leste | Global / Oceans | Indian Ocean | Global / Oceans | Pacific Ocean | Global / Oceans | Southern Ocean | Marine Features (Australia) | Bass Strait, TAS/VIC | Marine Features (Australia) | Great Australian Bight, SA/WA | Offshore Islands (Australia) | Christmas Island | Offshore Islands (Australia) | Cocos (Keeling) Island | Regional Seas | Arafura Sea | Regional Seas | Coral Sea | Regional Seas | Solomon Sea | Regional Seas | Tasman Sea | Regional Seas | Timor Sea | SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE | Skin temperature of the water body | States, Territories (Australia) | New South Wales | States, Territories (Australia) | Northern Territory | States, Territories (Australia) | Queensland | States, Territories (Australia) | South Australia | States, Territories (Australia) | Tasmania | States, Territories (Australia) | Victoria | States, Territories (Australia) | Western Australia | Temperature anomaly of the water body | oceans | orbiting satellite | radiometers |

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Other Information
(Sea Surface Temperatures Derived from NOAA Satellite Data)

url : https://imos.org.au/facility/satellite-remote-sensing/sea-surface-temperature-products

(NetCDF files via THREDDS catalog)

url : https://thredds.aodn.org.au/thredds/catalog/IMOS/SRS/AusTemp/Marine-Heatwave/catalog.html

(Technical description of product)

url : https://content.aodn.org.au/Documents/IMOS/Data_product/AusTemp-Heatwave_v1.0.pdf

global : c78801d0-bffe-11dc-a463-00188b4c0af8

Identifiers
  • global : 2ffccdad-1197-4e41-b412-a9033517cfb2