Contribution of surf zone wind stress to storm surge inundation. In the present era of climate change, storm surge forecasting is becoming an increasingly important part of disaster management planning. The responsible state and national agencies require accurate forecasting tools in order to best safeguard communities and plan infrastructure. Storm surges result from low pressure atmospheric conditions and wind forces on the ocean. However, the wind forces on the surf zone are unknown, with the ....Contribution of surf zone wind stress to storm surge inundation. In the present era of climate change, storm surge forecasting is becoming an increasingly important part of disaster management planning. The responsible state and national agencies require accurate forecasting tools in order to best safeguard communities and plan infrastructure. Storm surges result from low pressure atmospheric conditions and wind forces on the ocean. However, the wind forces on the surf zone are unknown, with the result that inaccurate warnings are issued to communities. This project will lead to significant improvements in forecast accuracy by providing this missing data and by developing new models for the surf zone wind forcing. Read moreRead less
Wave dynamics in topographically-complex coastal reef systems. Both tropical coral and temperate rocky reefs are abundant features of Australia's coastline, yet their hydrodynamics (waves, currents and water levels) are poorly understood relative to other coastal environments such as beaches. This project will elucidate the complex hydrodynamic processes when waves interact with the steep-slopes and large bottom roughness of reefs, by establishing an international research program combining labo ....Wave dynamics in topographically-complex coastal reef systems. Both tropical coral and temperate rocky reefs are abundant features of Australia's coastline, yet their hydrodynamics (waves, currents and water levels) are poorly understood relative to other coastal environments such as beaches. This project will elucidate the complex hydrodynamic processes when waves interact with the steep-slopes and large bottom roughness of reefs, by establishing an international research program combining laboratory and field measurements with numerical modelling. The improved process-understanding of reef hydrodynamics developed through this project will lead to significant advances in our ability to predict the impacts of extreme events (for example, storms and tsunamis) and climate change on coasts, both here and abroad.Read moreRead less
Transitions in wave breaking from deep to shallow water . The predominant impact on coastal geomorphology, marine safety and coastal structures is from breaking waves, especially from storms. This project will provide the first unified formulation of breaking wave effects from deep to shallow water, which will increase wave forecast model accuracy and hence improve coastal zone design and safety outcomes.