Coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef grow better in the summer and in northern areas, a major ocean chemistry monitoring project has found.
The Future Reef 2.0 project is helping to identify which parts of the reef are most vulnerable to ocean acidification change and has just been extended for another three years.
CSIRO scientists have been running an advanced sensor system from a Rio Tinto vessel as part of the research, which also involves the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
CSIRO ocean carbon research scientist Dr Bronte Tilbrook said the research has found ocean chemistry remains positive for coral growth.
Dr Tilbrook said it had also found there were strong seasonal changes, with the best coral growing conditions in summer.
Conditions were also better in the outer regions of the reef and there was more coral growth in the northern parts, he said.
Specifically, the project has been examining how the entire reef is responding to ocean acidification, bleaching and cyclones.
"The data is going to help us understand how the reef is growing and how it's responding to certain stresses," he told AAP.
"We need to get the big picture and that's the thing the ship is allowing us to do."
