Darkwater Inland Observatory Network (DION)

DION Vision:

To contribute quality assurance observations to global calibration and validation efforts, leading to increased fidelity of satellite-derived water quality products in Australia.

DION aims to achieve:

  • Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) quality requirements for radiometers using standard protocols and processing eg instrument calibrations and uncertainty budgets,
  • High temporal database of paired laboratory, in situ and satellite observations for modelling and forecasting,
  • Open access portal for data and products, 
  • Operational facility, future-proofed with capacity for additional instrumentation.

Planned deployment for Googong drinking- water reservoir 30km SE of Canberra in mid-2023.

DION Phase 1

Planned deployment for Googong Dam, a dark water drinking-water reservoir 30km SE of Canberra in mid-2023.

  • Autonomous water surface measurements (every 15 minutes) with fortnightly in-water observations will build a comprehensive database for water quality modelling and forecasting.
  • Funded by AusCalVal & CSIRO.

Current instruments include:

  • TriOS Ramses Ed, Lsky and Lw
  • Pan/tilt unit
  • Weather station
  • Cameras horizontal and forward-looking
  • Water temperature (below surface & 2 depths (4/8m)
  • Autonomous power and communications

In addition to the autonomous monitoring, monthly or fortnightly observations at Googong will undertaken to build a comprehensive database for water quality modelling and forecasting. These will include:

Laboratory analysis of water samples:

  • Absorption coefficients
  • Pigments – HPLC
  • TSS (inorg/org fraction)
  • Total and dissolved organic carbon

In situ instruments:

  • Backscattering – WetLabs BB9 or BB2
  • Radiometry – RAMSES Ed, Esky & Lu
  • Temperature, DO, Conductivity with depth

An open access DION Bio-optical database will be compiled for:

  • algorithm development,
  • sensor calibration, and
  • validation of water quality parameters retrieved from Earth Observation data.

DION Project Team

Janet Anstee (PI), Gemma Kerrisk, Nathan Drayson, Darius Culvenor*, Hannelie Botha, Lesley Clementson

contact: Janet.Anstee@csiro.au +61 418 49 1370 for more information

*Environmental Sensing Systems