Extreme Weather Events and Marine Predators Data
This dataset contains processed weather variables, extreme weather indices, to examine the influence of extreme weather events (EWEs) on the reproductive output of three marine predator species in Tasmania: Australian fur seals, short-tailed shearwaters, and shy albatross. The biological data themselves are not included in this submission, as they are owned and managed by the Marine Conservation Program (MCP), Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, and the Friends of Maatsuyker Island (FOMI, Wildcare Inc.).
Weather information was compiled from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the BARRA2 atmospheric reanalysis dataset, and the CAWCR wave hindcast model. Daily summaries and synoptic observations were used to derive meteorological variables relevant to species’ breeding seasons, including temperature, rainfall, wind, solar radiation, wave energy, and derived measures such as wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and apparent temperature (AT). Extreme weather indices were calculated following BOM definitions, using ≥30-year climatological baselines where available. Percentile-based indices were produced in both binary (occurrence) and continuous (magnitude) forms to characterise heatwaves, rainfall extremes, and other EWEs.
The purpose of assembling these weather datasets and code is to provide a transparent, reproducible foundation for analysing environmental drivers of reproductive variability across marine predator species in Tasmania. This resource enables users to replicate the workflow used in the associated publication, and statistical analyses linking environmental extremes to breeding outcomes.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Publication)
- 2025-11-19T00:00:00
Identifier
- Title
- Information and documentation - Digital object identifier system
- Citation identifier
- ISO 26324:2012
- Code
- 10.25959/N2XB-PR19
- Codespace
- doi.org
- Description
- Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- Credit
- IMAS HDR Research Support Scheme
- Status
- Completed
Author
- Topic category
-
- Biota
- Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere
Extent
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2024-06-01
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Unknown
- Keywords (Taxon)
-
- Australian fur seal
- Shy albatross
- Short-tailed shearwater
- Seabirds
- Pinnipeds
- Marine mammals
- Global Change Master Directory Earth Science Keywords, Version 8.5
Resource constraints
- Use limitation
- Data, products and services from IMAS are provided "as is" without any warranty as to fitness for a particular purpose.
Resource constraints
- Other constraints
- This dataset is the intellectual property of the University of Tasmania (UTAS) through the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
https://licensebuttons.net/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- Alternate title
- CC-BY
- Edition
- 4.0
- Website
-
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Cite data as: Sojitra, M., Corney, S., Hemer, M., Bestley, S., Hamilton, S., Thalmann, S., & Lea, M.-A. (2025). Extreme Weather Events and Marine Predators Data [Data set]. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. https://doi.org/10.25959/N2XB-PR19
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
Distribution Information
- OnLine resource
- DATA ACCESS - R-code and data
Resource lineage
- Statement
- Weather data were sourced from three primary datasets: (1) the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), (2) the BARRA2 atmospheric reanalysis, and (3) the CAWCR wave hindcast model. For each study location, the nearest long-term BOM station was selected based on proximity and data completeness. Daily weather variables were derived by aggregating both daily observations and synoptic (1–24 observations per day) BOM records into daily summarie. Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) was calculated using the HeatStress package, which integrates BOM meteorological records with solar radiation extracted from the corresponding BARRA2 grid cell (12-km resolution). Apparent temperature (AT) was computed using the standard Bureau of Meteorology formula, incorporating temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. Oceanographic variables, including wave energy and wave direction, were obtained from the nearest CAWCR wave hindcast grid point (~10-km resolution) and summarised as daily maximum wave energy and daily mean wave direction. Extreme weather indices were calculated using percentile-based thresholds consistent with Bureau of Meteorology definitions. Thresholds were derived using a 5-day moving window across the annual cycle and based on ≥30 years of daily data where available. Climatology periods were chosen to maximise temporal coverage and ensure robust baselines for each variable, excluding early years with substantial gaps and retaining only years with ≤10% missing data (≥330 days), except in rare cases where individual years with slightly higher missingness were needed to maintain continuity. Percentile calculations were performed using the heatwaveR package. For each extreme weather type (excluding mean wave direction), two outputs were generated: (1) a binary indicator of threshold exceedance and (2) a continuous index in which only values above (or below) the threshold were retained and all others set to zero. All data processing and index generation were conducted in R, with reproducible scripts included in this submission.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
- urn:uuid/8060b48b-308d-43a6-8fed-7a9d0f0bbd9c
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Name
- IMAS Dataset level record
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/8060b48b-308d-43a6-8fed-7a9d0f0bbd9c
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2025-11-11T00:00:00
- Date info (Revision)
- 2025-11-20T00:27:22
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
Spatial extent
Provided by
IMAS Metadata Catalogue