Ocean net primary production (ONPP) is defined as the rate of inorganic carbon uptake into the ocean biosphere, minus respiration. Biological processes, chiefly photosynthesis, can remove carbon from the dissolved inorganic ocean reservoir, providing an important potential sink for atmospheric carbon. This carbon flux into the ocean biosphere constitutes the base of the pelagic marine food web, directly affecting fishery productivity (Behrenfeld et al., 2002). As part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) science activities at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is applying models to remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), aboard the Terra and the Aqua spacecraft, to compute two indices of ONPP. The key model input data for the ONPP models are 8 day (weekly) composite averages of the MODIS semi-analytic chlorophyll product (Chlor_a_3) and the MODIS daytime sea surface temperature (D1) in Integerized Sinusoidal Equal Area Grid (ISEAG) projection, at 4.63 km resolution. Both models also use photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) is derived from surface incident short-wave surface flux estimates provided by NASA's Data Assimilation Office (DAO). The PAR, which is provided in one degree, unprojected global observations for every 3 hours, is averaged over the MODIS weekly period of eight days. For the P2 model only, daily synoptic mixed-layer depth (MLD) at one degree resolution is provided by the U.S. Navy's Fleet Numeric Meteorology and Oceanography Center, and also averaged to the MODIS weekly period. This was extracted from http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/atbd/atbd_mod19.pdf being the parts relevant to the 4km mapped modis monthly mean chlorophyll, K_90, suspended solids and sea surface temperature data. MODIS datasest are routinely recalibrated as data collection algorithms and seasonal biases are refined by NASA over time.

Fish Bycatch samples were collected for CSIRO from trawls between March and December 1983.These trawls were part of a 12 month survey of the tiger prawn fishery of southeastern Gulf of Carpentaria carried out by Queensland Department of Primary Industry. The vessels involved were the 'Gwendolyn May' and Shirley Ross' which fished each month for four nights on either side of the new moon, using 6-fathom nets (Florida Flyers, with a Texas drop chain rig) with a cod-end mesh of 45 mm. This data was then used to compare demersal fish community with that found from Munro's 1962-65 data (Poiner and Harris 1986).

This dataset series comprises fish species composition data collected during the trawl and bottom sediment survey carried out in April 1985 and April 1986. This data was collected and used to compare fish abundance for this region with the pre-trawling surveys done by Munro between 1963 and 1965. Sediment samples were collected during the 1986 survey.

The overall aims were to provide data on the distribution of deep seabed habitats and fauna that are amenable to scientific hypothesis testing, can be immediately applied to marine resource management processes, and that enable strategic development of tools and techniques for understanding the processes that maintain deep sea biodiversity. This work was to support the process of NWR Estate inventory and management performance assessment by providing interpreted benthic habitat maps, faunal inventories, distribution maps and conservation values. Data will be collected at scientific reference sites from potential MPA areas that can be re-visited for monitoring purposes in the future. Sampling along environmental gradients (geographic range and depth) in this section of Australia's coast will also provide the opportunity to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses. Further refinement of predictive methods for identifying seabed habitat types, initially developed in temperate and cool-temperate environments, will be enabled by data collection from this tropical location in Australia. We intended to highlight the importance of this underlying science as a modern "Voyage of Discovery" given the likely significance of the findings in terms of Australia's biodiversity and its biogeography and evolution. (From Voyage Plan). Sediment samples were divided into two samples: an elutrition sample for macroinvertebrates that was sent to Robin Wilson at MV for analysis and a sediment sample to be analysed by Geoscience Australia.

The overall aims were to provide data on the distribution of deep seabed habitats and fauna that are amenable to scientific hypothesis testing, can be immediately applied to marine resource management processes, and that enable strategic development of tools and techniques for understanding the processes that maintain deep sea biodiversity. This work was to support the process of NWR Estate inventory and management performance assessment by providing interpreted benthic habitat maps, faunal inventories, distribution maps and conservation values. Data will be collected at scientific reference sites from potential MPA areas that can be re-visited for monitoring purposes in the future. Sampling along environmental gradients (geographic range and depth) in this section of Australia's coast will also provide the opportunity to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses. Further refinement of predictive methods for identifying seabed habitat types, initially developed in temperate and cool-temperate environments, will be enabled by data collection from this tropical location in Australia. We intended to highlight the importance of this underlying science as a modern "Voyage of Discovery" given the likely significance of the findings in terms of Australia's biodiversity and its biogeography and evolution. (From Voyage Plan) This record describes the biological samples taken during the survey. Fishes were lodges in the CSIRO Fish collection, invertebrate specimens were photographed and distributed to Australian museums for identification by taxonomists, focusing on sponges, corals, echinoderms, ascidians, molluscs and crustaceans. To date (as per Dec 2016) we are aware of 27 manuscripts of taxonomic revisions and/or descriptions that have used material collected from this survey.

Benthic biota samples were taken in the Great Australian Bight (GAB) and near St Helen's Hill seamount during the pilot survey for estimating the effectiveness of spatial closures for deepwater gulper sharks and associated fishery species. There are large gaps in ecological knowledge of gulper sharks which limit the effective design of area closures (e.g. optimising sizes and numbers) and assessment of their performance. The survey aimed to fill these gaps do this by characterising the habitats and ecosystem processes in 200-700 m depths that sustain key species, and commencing a process to determine the relevant aspects of species ecology. Primarily this will be (1) to measure the movement of fish within and to/ from a large closed area in the GAB with a tagging program, and (2) estimate the abundance of selected species in relation to habitat features (substructure within submarine canyons, escarpments and rocky banks, and adjacent water column features) with two independent, non-extractive photographic methods. This metadata record describes the benthic biota samples taken at during this survey. Epibenthic biota were collected using epibenthic sled (5 ops) and macro-infauna were extracted by elutriation of sediment collections taken using the Smith-MacIntyre grab (13 ops). The invertebrate specimens were distributed to Museum collections for registration and curation. Data on specimen identifications by taxonomic experts are tracked, collated and archived at the CSIRO.