Managing the existing and emerging threats from coastal flow slides. This project aims to develop the first management strategies for coastal flow slides. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how flow slides are triggered, propagate inland and undermine structures. Expected outcomes include globally applicable novel models and management approaches developed by an interdisciplinary team of coastal and geotechnical engineers and coastal geomorphologist using innovative data. This is ....Managing the existing and emerging threats from coastal flow slides. This project aims to develop the first management strategies for coastal flow slides. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how flow slides are triggered, propagate inland and undermine structures. Expected outcomes include globally applicable novel models and management approaches developed by an interdisciplinary team of coastal and geotechnical engineers and coastal geomorphologist using innovative data. This is likely to provide significant benefits for planning and managing structures along coasts and bays against destructive flow slides. The project will enable the design and implementation of coastal works to protect existing structures against flow slides risks emerging with rising sea level.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the secrets of mangrove conservation success. This project aims to address the deterioration of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves support fisheries, shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. The project aims to identify social-economic conditions that enable effective conservation in mangroves over multiple spatial scales. The project will use state of the art datasets and innovative modelling approaches to understand how factors such as population, governance and access to markets i ....Unlocking the secrets of mangrove conservation success. This project aims to address the deterioration of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves support fisheries, shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. The project aims to identify social-economic conditions that enable effective conservation in mangroves over multiple spatial scales. The project will use state of the art datasets and innovative modelling approaches to understand how factors such as population, governance and access to markets influence changes in mangrove extent and restoration success. Expected outcomes include implementation of more effective environmental programs in Australia and overseas. This should provide significant benefits, including more cost-effective allocation of resources and increased delivery of ecosystem services.Read moreRead less
Changes of salt dynamics and distribution in coastal marshes. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms underlying salt transport and distribution in coastal salt marshes. Combining field measurements, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, the proposed research will tackle long-standing questions concerning accumulation of excessive salt in the marsh soil, which imposes significant stress on marsh plants. This project will examine how temporal and spatial salinity va ....Changes of salt dynamics and distribution in coastal marshes. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms underlying salt transport and distribution in coastal salt marshes. Combining field measurements, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, the proposed research will tackle long-standing questions concerning accumulation of excessive salt in the marsh soil, which imposes significant stress on marsh plants. This project will examine how temporal and spatial salinity variations lead to large density gradients that may trigger unstable pore-water flow and solute transport. The outcomes will advance our understanding of fundamental links between the marsh hydrology and ecology, and improve our scientific basis for evaluating the marsh ecosystem under different stress conditions.Read moreRead less
Physical and geochemical coupling in a subterranean estuary. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms governing chemical transport and transformation in a tidally dominated subterranean estuary. The project will be the first attempt worldwide to measure simultaneously the temporal and spatial variability of coupled physical and geochemical processes in the intertidal zone of a subterranean estuary. The project will generate much-needed understanding of the role of subterranean ....Physical and geochemical coupling in a subterranean estuary. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms governing chemical transport and transformation in a tidally dominated subterranean estuary. The project will be the first attempt worldwide to measure simultaneously the temporal and spatial variability of coupled physical and geochemical processes in the intertidal zone of a subterranean estuary. The project will generate much-needed understanding of the role of subterranean estuaries in controlling fluxes of land-derived chemicals to the ocean via submarine groundwater discharge. The outcomes will have important implications for assessing and minimising the impact of groundwater contamination on the coastal zone. It will provide better understanding of the pathway of land-derived nutrients and contaminants entering coastal waters, leading to improvement of strategies for sustainable coastal resources management and development, and integration of upland and lowland catchments management.Read moreRead less
A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding .... A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding the critical exchanges of water and greenhouse gases (GHGs) combining field methodologies and hydrological models, under different climatic conditions. The intended outcomes will benefit management of GHG emissions, coastal flooding and vulnerable groundwater dependent habitats.Read moreRead less
Advances in real-time satellite monitoring of flow in rivers and estuaries. This project plans to improve the monitoring of our waterways by developing a novel moving drifter system that takes flow and water quality measurements along the pathlines of the drifters. One of the key challenges for Australian water management lies in monitoring and managing rivers and estuaries effectively over large geographical areas. Traditionally, instrumentation at stationary points has been used for such monit ....Advances in real-time satellite monitoring of flow in rivers and estuaries. This project plans to improve the monitoring of our waterways by developing a novel moving drifter system that takes flow and water quality measurements along the pathlines of the drifters. One of the key challenges for Australian water management lies in monitoring and managing rivers and estuaries effectively over large geographical areas. Traditionally, instrumentation at stationary points has been used for such monitoring, under the simplifying assumption that a single point adequately represents a very large region of water. By contrast, the Real-Time Flow Logging of Water (RT-FLOW) system expects to provide information from large regions of our waterways, providing stakeholders with more information to enable them to better manage issues including storm surge and erosion. The project also aims to provide improved validation of hydrodynamic models.Read moreRead less
Understanding pollutant transport in estuaries and coastal rivers. By advancing pollutant transport modelling that use recent developments in drift sensors, this project aims to investigate water quality of estuaries and coastal rivers under pressure from urban growth. The project expects to generate a new capability for quantitative particle concentration predictions through detection and innovative analysis of Lagrangian Coherent Structures. The expected outcome is a new particle transport mod ....Understanding pollutant transport in estuaries and coastal rivers. By advancing pollutant transport modelling that use recent developments in drift sensors, this project aims to investigate water quality of estuaries and coastal rivers under pressure from urban growth. The project expects to generate a new capability for quantitative particle concentration predictions through detection and innovative analysis of Lagrangian Coherent Structures. The expected outcome is a new particle transport modelling framework and algorithms for shallow water systems, which effectively exploit extensive datasets becoming available from GPS-enabled drifters. This should provide significant benefits such as reliable assessment of possible effects of catchment and waterway changes on pollutant and sediment concentration which can impact waterway health.Read moreRead less
Mega spatial-scale, multi time-scale, ensemble assessment of climate change driven coastal change in South Eastern Australia. Climate change driven variations in mean sea level, storm surges, and waves will change the world's coastline. This project will, for the first time, develop innovative modelling methods to quantify the integrated impact of these climate drivers on coastal erosion along Australia's most developed and populated coastline: Sydney to Brisbane.
A study of turbulence and influence of anthropogenic inputs in small subtropical estuaries. This project aims to improve our basic understanding of mixing and dispersion processes in small subtropical estuaries, and to develop improved predictive models to assist with the management of natural ecosystems. This will be the first comprehensive study of mixing processes and the influence of anthropogenic inputs in small subtropical estuaries.