Temperature at 1.5m, 18m and 49m depth (GBR4 v2.0)
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When using this visualisation, please cite: Lawrey, E., Lafond, G., Johnston, J., & Hammerton, M. (2025). eReefs visualisation suite - pre rendered animations and maps (AIMS, Source: CSIRO) (Version 1). eAtlas. https://doi.org/10.26274/NHYW-4C74
Note: The GBR1 and GBR4 models (including hydro, river tracer and BGC) are no longer updated in near-real-time. New model outputs may be added in the future.
This page shows temperature at different depths on the Great Barrier Reef based on the 4km eReefs Hydrodynamic model.
Temperature at different depths
This product highlights how the temperature varies with depth. The eReefs Hydrodynamic model contains over 40 depth slices allowing us to see how the water cools with depth and how cool water is mixed by extreme events such as cyclones. Note that most of the Great Barrier Reef has a depth of less than 100 m, so as the depth is increased, less of the reef area is visible on the map.
The shallowest depth (1.5m) represents the surface temperature in the model.
The middle depth (18m) is useful for investigating whether corals not at the surface were also subjected to high temperature conditions during bleaching events. We can see in the March 2016 video that the high temperature conditions leading to bleaching were also persistent at this depth.
The deeper water depth (49m) is useful for looking at the mixing effects of cyclones. Slow moving cyclones build up circular ocean currents that can mix the water down to 300 m. This can be seen with Cyclone Nathan in March 2015.
Source data
The videos/images on this page are based on the 4km eReefs Hydrodynamic model (v2.0) of the Great Barrier Reef. The raw data is available from the NCI THREDDS server (hourly) and the aggregate data from the AIMS eReefs THREDDS server (daily, monthly, yearly and overall). These map layers are also available for inspection in the eReefs Data Explorer.
Data coverage
The data on this page may not reflect the most current conditions, as the GBR1 and GBR4 model runs are no longer updated on a regular basis.
To browse the latest available model data, refer to the NCI THREDDS server.