An Australian storm wave damage and beach erosion early warning system. This project aims to develop a new coastal hazard early-warning system capability for Australia, to alert coastal communities, emergency managers and coastal engineers to impending storm wave damage and coastal erosion. Emergency preparedness informed by early warning is expected to significantly benefit vulnerable communities and infrastructure along Australia’s coasts.
Quantifying vertical and lateral ocean transport due to fronts and eddies. This project aims to quantify the intensity and location of ocean currents at unprecedented fine spatial scales by using data from a new generation of high-resolution satellites. These fine scales dominate the lateral and vertical transport of ocean-borne material, including heat, larvae and pollutants like oil and plastics, yet are poorly understood. New algorithms for processing satellite data will be developed and test ....Quantifying vertical and lateral ocean transport due to fronts and eddies. This project aims to quantify the intensity and location of ocean currents at unprecedented fine spatial scales by using data from a new generation of high-resolution satellites. These fine scales dominate the lateral and vertical transport of ocean-borne material, including heat, larvae and pollutants like oil and plastics, yet are poorly understood. New algorithms for processing satellite data will be developed and tested using in situ data in the significant North West Shelf region. Expected outcomes will be novel methods to identify ocean currents and a paradigm shift in quantification of fine-scale ocean dynamics. This will benefit operational oceanography in the areas of maritime safety, defence, fisheries and the offshore industry.Read moreRead less
Ocean response to tropical cyclone forcing on the Australian North West Shelf. Tropical cyclones are a major hazard for the offshore oil and gas industry. This project will develop the ability to predict the ocean response to tropical cyclones, leading to a paradigm shift in the way industry designs and operates both present and future offshore projects.
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
Physical processes in complex coastal reef environments: the dynamics of wave- and tide-dominated systems. Coastal reefs are ubiquitous features of Australia's coastline, yet the dynamics controlling water motion on reefs still remain poorly understood. This project will significantly advance our understanding of coastal processes within reef environments, thus improving predictions of the impacts of extreme storms and climate change on our coasts.
Understanding and predicting sediment distribution and net transport in estuaries and coastal oceans with an emphasis on muddy bottom layers. This project will design and implement a field campaign to observe fluid mud layers in the muddy harbours and develop predictive models to investigate these layers. This research will give new direction to port management by developing adaptive tools to solve water quality and siltation problems in muddy ports and harbours in Australia.