Phosphate distribution in Bass Strait and south-eastern Australian coastal waters.

Abstract

Waters off south-eastern Australia, including Bass Strait, were analysed for dissolved phosphate. Concentrations in mid Bass Strait varied over the range 8.2-15.4 mg P m³. total dissolved phosphate, and 4.5-8.7 mg P m^-3 dissolved inorganic phosphate. The effect of phosphate-rich Port Phillip Bay water was detectable for about 15 nautical miles offshore in Bass Strait. The warmer and less saline waters off the eastern Australian coast contained about half the levels of dissolved phosphate found in Bass Strait waters, and a greater proportion was present as dissolved inorganic phosphate.