How iron is cycled in Southern Ocean waters. This project aims to probe the Southern Ocean phytoplankton’s ability to take up and retain iron, using iron isotope tracer techniques. The Southern Ocean regulates Earth's climate, but the supply of iron to Southern Ocean surface waters is low, restricting the ability of phytoplankton to flourish and draw down carbon dioxide. The results are expected to reveal survival strategies of phytoplankton in this iron-poor environment and their potential abil ....How iron is cycled in Southern Ocean waters. This project aims to probe the Southern Ocean phytoplankton’s ability to take up and retain iron, using iron isotope tracer techniques. The Southern Ocean regulates Earth's climate, but the supply of iron to Southern Ocean surface waters is low, restricting the ability of phytoplankton to flourish and draw down carbon dioxide. The results are expected to reveal survival strategies of phytoplankton in this iron-poor environment and their potential ability to adapt to environmental change. This knowledge could be used to develop models to manage this climate-sensitive region.Read moreRead less
Development of a mechanistic model of marine biological activity. The development of predictive models of marine biological activity lags that in physical oceanography. While modellers of ocean circulation use primarily physical laws, biological processes have typically been modelled using empirical approximations. Many biological processes in the ocean, however, are constrained by quantifiable biophysical limits. This study aims to improve our ability to predict the dynamics of biological po ....Development of a mechanistic model of marine biological activity. The development of predictive models of marine biological activity lags that in physical oceanography. While modellers of ocean circulation use primarily physical laws, biological processes have typically been modelled using empirical approximations. Many biological processes in the ocean, however, are constrained by quantifiable biophysical limits. This study aims to improve our ability to predict the dynamics of biological populations in the marine environment by the development of a model based on mechanistic descriptions of organisms interacting with their environment. The model's performance will be assessed by its ability to predict in situ and remotely sensed data from Australian waters.Read moreRead less
Coastal cold core eddies of the East Australian Current and their fisheries potential. Offshore eddies shed by the East Australian Current can draw in coastal water from the Stockton Bight on the NSW central coast. This area is anecdotally recognized as a fisheries nursery area. It is often enriched by upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters which can seed these eddies with larval fish and their food. We will test if such eddies nurture plankton communities and then transport them back to the co ....Coastal cold core eddies of the East Australian Current and their fisheries potential. Offshore eddies shed by the East Australian Current can draw in coastal water from the Stockton Bight on the NSW central coast. This area is anecdotally recognized as a fisheries nursery area. It is often enriched by upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters which can seed these eddies with larval fish and their food. We will test if such eddies nurture plankton communities and then transport them back to the coast, giving rise to a useful index for predicting future fisheries, as well as explaining biodiversity changes to marine park planners. We will provide a census of these eddies during El Nino-Southern Oscillation events and climate change of the past 15 years in unprecedented detail.Read moreRead less
Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will p ....Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will provide key information on the oceanographic mechanisms supporting Australia's coastal systems, linking nutrient supply, physical drivers and climate. By linking all these factors we will both assist in determining appropriate ecosystem management, and provide a knowledge base to support adaptation to future changes in Australia's climate.Read moreRead less
Benthic Processes and Oceanic Internal Waves. Direct observations will be made of the turbulent motion and sediment re-suspension near the sea bed of the ocean in regions strongly influenced by tides and internal waves. Combined with numerical models, the study will provide new insights into processes that are of fundamental importance to understanding the global dissipation of tidal energy and the role of internal waves in these processes. With observations from the continental slope region of ....Benthic Processes and Oceanic Internal Waves. Direct observations will be made of the turbulent motion and sediment re-suspension near the sea bed of the ocean in regions strongly influenced by tides and internal waves. Combined with numerical models, the study will provide new insights into processes that are of fundamental importance to understanding the global dissipation of tidal energy and the role of internal waves in these processes. With observations from the continental slope region of the Australian North West Shelf, results will also benefit the offshore engineering industry through knowledge of sediment scour and loadings on offshore structures.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the role of salps in marine food webs and organic carbon export. Australia has recently committed significant resources to the observation and forecasting of ocean temperature and circulation that will vastly improve the understanding of environmental forcing of regional scale biological processes. This project will use ocean circulation hindcasts, ship-board measurements and laboratory studies to capture the dynamics of the zooplankton community, and in particular a fast-growing cla ....Quantifying the role of salps in marine food webs and organic carbon export. Australia has recently committed significant resources to the observation and forecasting of ocean temperature and circulation that will vastly improve the understanding of environmental forcing of regional scale biological processes. This project will use ocean circulation hindcasts, ship-board measurements and laboratory studies to capture the dynamics of the zooplankton community, and in particular a fast-growing class of gelatinous zooplankton, the salps, in the waters off southeast Australia. During bloom events, salps can alter the functioning of marine ecosystems. This project will quantify the impact of salp blooms on fish resources and ocean uptake of carbon in southeast Australian waters.Read moreRead less
Development of a coupled physical-biological model of size-structured biota in marine waters. The marine environment contains highly valued economic, social and environmental resources. Natural resource management in Australia is shifting from considering the value of a single resource, such as the South Eastern Trawl Fishery, to considering complete ecosystems with their multiple uses, such as the South East Australian coastal and shelf waters. With such a shift in perspective, Australia is a w ....Development of a coupled physical-biological model of size-structured biota in marine waters. The marine environment contains highly valued economic, social and environmental resources. Natural resource management in Australia is shifting from considering the value of a single resource, such as the South Eastern Trawl Fishery, to considering complete ecosystems with their multiple uses, such as the South East Australian coastal and shelf waters. With such a shift in perspective, Australia is a world leader. A new suite of tools is required to understand ecosystem dynamics and to formulate management strategies. By providing well-defined manageable outputs from a complex natural system the coupled physical-biological model to be developed will provide such a tool.Read moreRead less
Coastal Processes Driven by the East Australia Current. Coastal waters of Northern NSW are dominated by the East Australia Current (EAC). Through its strength, variability in space and time, and its proximity to the coast, the EAC directly controls not only the longshore currents, but also the cross-shelf transport of nutrients, plankton and other biota. A knowledge of EAC dynamics and ocean productivity will be achieved in this project by comparison of results from high resolution ocean models ....Coastal Processes Driven by the East Australia Current. Coastal waters of Northern NSW are dominated by the East Australia Current (EAC). Through its strength, variability in space and time, and its proximity to the coast, the EAC directly controls not only the longshore currents, but also the cross-shelf transport of nutrients, plankton and other biota. A knowledge of EAC dynamics and ocean productivity will be achieved in this project by comparison of results from high resolution ocean models (having additional biological modules) with data from Research Vessel Franklin cruises in 1998 and 1999.Read moreRead less
Wave Climate in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Sea surface roughness has a major influence on global climate modelling. This project will provide a better understanding of the variability of sea waves in coastal waters. New technology of HF ocean radar can map wave fields over coastal waters and thus fill a gap between the open ocean satellite measurements and the point measurements from wave buoys. In this project we will improve the analysis of the radar echoes to produce sea wave spectra, a ....Wave Climate in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Sea surface roughness has a major influence on global climate modelling. This project will provide a better understanding of the variability of sea waves in coastal waters. New technology of HF ocean radar can map wave fields over coastal waters and thus fill a gap between the open ocean satellite measurements and the point measurements from wave buoys. In this project we will improve the analysis of the radar echoes to produce sea wave spectra, and evaluate focussing of waves by complex currents on the continental shelf to help improve wave forecasting in coastal waters. The HF radar will be used to experimentally test current theories of wind wave spreading.Read moreRead less
Next-generation ocean current forecasting to improve maritime safety . This project aims to measure upper ocean currents at scales of 10-100 km in Australia's marine estate using pioneering satellite radar technology. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will map currents at 10 times the resolution of present-day satellites and revolutionise our understanding of ocean dynamics. Expected outcomes include validation of SWOT data in Australian waters and merging this data into Bure ....Next-generation ocean current forecasting to improve maritime safety . This project aims to measure upper ocean currents at scales of 10-100 km in Australia's marine estate using pioneering satellite radar technology. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will map currents at 10 times the resolution of present-day satellites and revolutionise our understanding of ocean dynamics. Expected outcomes include validation of SWOT data in Australian waters and merging this data into Bureau of Meteorology ocean models. Downstream benefits include improved ocean forecasts for maritime safety, search-and-rescue, spill modelling, and marine conservation. At the same time, the project will build sovereign capability in emerging remote sensing technology with a legacy beyond the life of the SWOT mission.Read moreRead less