Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formati ....Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formation and dissociation is of fundamental importance to methane extraction and capture. This project employs state-of-the-art surface analytical tools to explore the mechanism of gas hydrate formation. The outcomes will strengthen Australia's leading role in scientific and technological development in this field. Read moreRead less
Contaminant Transport in Marine Sediment. Sediments in bays and estuaries are often contaminated. The inorganic contaminants in sediments can be released back into the water body through mass transfer processes. The mass transfer rate is largely controlled by the wave-driven seepage flux across the seabed. Quantification of this flux is thus a key factor in modelling water quality of coastal water bodies. This project aims to: (1) develop models forwave-induced seepage flux within sediments and ....Contaminant Transport in Marine Sediment. Sediments in bays and estuaries are often contaminated. The inorganic contaminants in sediments can be released back into the water body through mass transfer processes. The mass transfer rate is largely controlled by the wave-driven seepage flux across the seabed. Quantification of this flux is thus a key factor in modelling water quality of coastal water bodies. This project aims to: (1) develop models forwave-induced seepage flux within sediments and contaminant transport; and (2) establish the link between seepage flux and contaminant transport. Outcomes of the proposed research will enhance the understanding of the mechanism of contaminant transport in marine sediment.Read moreRead less
Assessing and enhancing the resilience of Australian beaches to sea level rise. Accurate forecasting of coastal recession due to sea level rise is required for planning and the design of coastal defences, but the existing method is widely disputed. With collaboration with world leading research partners, this study will perform unique laboratory experiments to determine the vulnerability of Australian beaches to sea level rise and to test environmentally sustainable measures to increase their re ....Assessing and enhancing the resilience of Australian beaches to sea level rise. Accurate forecasting of coastal recession due to sea level rise is required for planning and the design of coastal defences, but the existing method is widely disputed. With collaboration with world leading research partners, this study will perform unique laboratory experiments to determine the vulnerability of Australian beaches to sea level rise and to test environmentally sustainable measures to increase their resilience. The research will address longstanding uncertainties and significantly enhance the ability of communities to plan for a changing climate. The project will deliver new data and models of immediate benefit to professional engineers to enable robust engineering decisions which enhance the safety of coastal communities.Read moreRead less
Development of an adaptive statistical model for oceanic flooding hazards along the East Australian coast. Planning of invaluable coastal infrastructure and housing is critical to the economic and social well-being of Australian communities. Devastating flooding along coasts and estuaries in Australia frequently occurred before 1980, but has been less common since. However, the risks are clear and enormous as demonstrated in recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami ....Development of an adaptive statistical model for oceanic flooding hazards along the East Australian coast. Planning of invaluable coastal infrastructure and housing is critical to the economic and social well-being of Australian communities. Devastating flooding along coasts and estuaries in Australia frequently occurred before 1980, but has been less common since. However, the risks are clear and enormous as demonstrated in recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Climate change makes flood predictions even more difficult. This project will develop a new adaptive model which accounts for both the present and future climate and also regional variability. The research will be in collaboration with the NSW Dept of Climate Change to enable rapid government action to improve community trust in flood protection. Read moreRead less
Poro-elastic, single domain model of wave-induced transport and transformation of pollutants in coastal sediments. The sediments in many bays and estuaries in Australia are contaminated by pollutants due to discharge of waste from the river, groundwater or/and ocean outfall. Most previous research has had a multi-domain approach and have ignored the wave-dirven advective flow and effects of soil behaviour in coastal sediment. In this study, we will couple the procedure of pollutant transport ne ....Poro-elastic, single domain model of wave-induced transport and transformation of pollutants in coastal sediments. The sediments in many bays and estuaries in Australia are contaminated by pollutants due to discharge of waste from the river, groundwater or/and ocean outfall. Most previous research has had a multi-domain approach and have ignored the wave-dirven advective flow and effects of soil behaviour in coastal sediment. In this study, we will couple the procedure of pollutant transport near the sediment-water interface by a single domain approach, and link wave-dirven advective flow and contaminant in marine sediments. The research outcomes will provide a better prediction of the transformation behaviour of pollutants in contaminated sediments.Read moreRead less
Modelling of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines. The movement of sand due to sand waves can interfere with marine structures such as pipelines and cables on the seabed. It may also cause free spans of pipelines, with potentially serious consequences. Most previous research has considered sand wave propagation and the stability of pipelines as separate problems. In this project, we propose a coupled analysis of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines through mat ....Modelling of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines. The movement of sand due to sand waves can interfere with marine structures such as pipelines and cables on the seabed. It may also cause free spans of pipelines, with potentially serious consequences. Most previous research has considered sand wave propagation and the stability of pipelines as separate problems. In this project, we propose a coupled analysis of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines through mathematical and numerical modelling. The theoretical work will be supported by laboratory experiments. The resulting research will provide a better understanding of sand wave migration, beach profiles and the stability of pipelines.Read moreRead less
Coupling models for ocean waves, groundwater and porous seabeds interaction. The ocean waves, groundwater flow and porous seabeds interaction problem is vital for erosion control, saltily and biological activities in coastal regions. Most previous research has investigated the problem from individual aspects, rather than a coupling concept. In this study, we will develop advanced theoretical models for procedures of waves propagation, water table fluctuations and soil behaviour in a porous seabe ....Coupling models for ocean waves, groundwater and porous seabeds interaction. The ocean waves, groundwater flow and porous seabeds interaction problem is vital for erosion control, saltily and biological activities in coastal regions. Most previous research has investigated the problem from individual aspects, rather than a coupling concept. In this study, we will develop advanced theoretical models for procedures of waves propagation, water table fluctuations and soil behaviour in a porous seabed, and couple them in a model. A series of experiments will be conducted for the verification of the theoretical findings. The research outcomes will provide a better understanding of the interaction between ocean wave, groundwater flow and porous seabeds.Read moreRead less
Tidal watertable fluctuation in a sandy ocean beach. Tidal dynamics in a sandy beach is important for erosion, saltwater intrusion and biological activities. Most previous researches were based on linearised shallow flow, ignoring capillary effects and soil behaviour, which are particularly important for a sandy beach. In this project, we propose to establish an analytical approximation for the tidal watertable fluctuation in a sandy beach by incorporate the capillary effects and soil behaviour. ....Tidal watertable fluctuation in a sandy ocean beach. Tidal dynamics in a sandy beach is important for erosion, saltwater intrusion and biological activities. Most previous researches were based on linearised shallow flow, ignoring capillary effects and soil behaviour, which are particularly important for a sandy beach. In this project, we propose to establish an analytical approximation for the tidal watertable fluctuation in a sandy beach by incorporate the capillary effects and soil behaviour. The analytical work will be supported by numerical and laboratory experiments. The research outcomes will provide a better understanding in tidal waves, beaches and groundwater interaction and also establish a long-term collaboration between two institutes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100090
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS). This project aims to establish a Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS) with instrument modules for measuring waves, tides, currents, seabed and beach profiles and sediment characteristics. There are critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of coastal processes, including the effects of climate variability and change, and a need to generate long-term data-sets for calibration of coastal models against Australian conditions. The ....Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS). This project aims to establish a Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS) with instrument modules for measuring waves, tides, currents, seabed and beach profiles and sediment characteristics. There are critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of coastal processes, including the effects of climate variability and change, and a need to generate long-term data-sets for calibration of coastal models against Australian conditions. The coastal process data obtained will lead to improved models, management strategies and design guidelines improving techniques to address coastal infrastructure design, beach management strategies and impact assessment to meet the challenges of future major coastal development. This will help decision-makers to reduce the risk to coastal communities, coastal ecosystems and maritime operations from extreme storms, climate change, infrastructure development and urbanisation.Read moreRead less
Development and validation of an innovative wind stress model to obtain robust storm surge forecasts. Storm surges represent a major ocean flood hazard to coastal communities but present models have large errors, which are often dangerously low. Through international collaboration, this project will collect new field data and develop a new storm surge model which will enhance community safety by ensuring accurate forecasts of ocean flood levels.