Heron Island

Heron Island (22.46°S, 151.93°E)

Heron Island is a 20-hectare coral cay, 65km east of Gladstone, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Half of the island is a national park, one quarter is the University of Queensland Research Station and one quarter is a resort. The island is situated on the leeward (western) side of Heron Reef, a fringing platform reef of significant biodiversity, supporting around 900 of the 1,500 fish species and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef.

A MAPCO2 system was deployed off Heron Island on October 10, 2009. This site has been established to monitor ocean acidification in sensitive coral reef environments through a joint effort between PMEL and the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia.

Finalized Data availability: submitted to Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC).

Plots of surface water and atmospheric CO2:

Plot of CO2 at Heron Island from the last 30 days Plot of delta pCO2 and O2 data for the last 30 days at Heron Island Plot of CO2 at Heron Island for the full data set Plot of delta pCO2 and O2 data for the full data set at Heron Island
Data are unverified
Plot of CO2 data at Heron Island from the last 30 days