Since 1980 there have been 30 government inquires and reports into various aspects of development in the coastal zone. These tell of poorly planned coastal developments, urban sprawl, declining water quality, increasing conflict amongst users, and fragmented, duplicated and uncoordinated management.

Effective management of growth and development in the future depends upon scientists, engineers and planners gaining a clearer understanding of the physical, geomorphological and ecological processes which are responsible for the formation and protection of beaches and coastlines. These forces also influence the health of major marine habitats and coastal ecosystems. Managing our marine resources depends on having a clearer picture of the dynamics involved.

Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science are studying these systems using information collected by satellites, from aeroplanes and boats. The research team then combines the data to create computer simulations of the physical dynamics at work in the ocean. Management authorities and scientists can then use these models to help visualise the myriad of variables involved in various ocean processes, from the transport of larvae to the potential pattern of an oil spill along the coast.

The project team is also working on gaining a clearer picture of climate change and variability. Researchers are studying patterns of coral reef growth and linking historical climatic records with current information and creating models of climate change through time. Their findings will allow researchers to link present assessments of our ecosystems’ sensitivity to climate variations with the potential effects of climate changes in the future.

During the next three years, AIMS researchers intend to fill a number of gaps in existing knowledge by understanding more clearly the roles played by water circulation, waves and associated mixing processes in transporting marine organisms, ocean constituents and pollutants in Australia’s tropical coastal and shelf waters. Scientists also hope to gauge the impact of these forces on natural ecosystems such as coral reefs and coastal habitats, and man-made structures.

The research will provide science with new capabilities, offering researchers the ability to map sea surface temperatures, solar radiation, topography and currents with information from satellites, verified by high quality readings taken directly from the ocean.

Seven sub-projects at AIMS will examine different aspects of oceanographic processes, using a variety of technologies and new approaches to produce a clearer picture of the forces influencing coastal and marine habitats.

These sub-projects include:

• Modelling Impacts on Coral Reefs
• Modelling Impacts on the Coastal Zone and Continental Shelf
• Remote Sensing of Tropical Waters
• Oceanographic Environmental Management
• Long-term Variability in Marine Environments
• Modelling of Uncertainty in Marine Environments and Ecosystems
• Engineering Guidelines for Infrastructure Developments in Coral Reef and Coastal Environments

Many of these projects involve collaborative work across project teams at AIMS as well as ventures with outside institutions. In this way oceanography is linked to biology, and also to industry. For instance it helps to assess the risk and dispersal of oil spills along the coast or creates more effective strategies for sea search and rescue efforts.

For example, the information gathered through the project team investigating wave action and other forces on coral reefs will be combined with information from the project team examining the forces at work on the coastal zone and Continental Shelf. Researchers can then adapt these current circulation models in order to assist AIMS biologists in interpreting larval fish dispersal data in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The oceanographic research can also help biologists understand the influence of wave and tide-induced flushing currents on larval dispersal, both in the GBR and on Ningaloo Reef on the northwest coast.

Information gathered by the sub-project team modelling the impacts on the coastal zone and Continental Shelf will also be used by AIMS biologists examining phytoplankton activity on the North-West Shelf. Biologists are examining how tidally-generated internal waves affect vertical and horizontal movement of phytoplankton, as well as the mixing of phytoplankton and other nutrients which occurs.

Information gathered by the remote sensing team will be used by the Institute’s Monitoring and Mapping of Marine Biota Project to help estimate primary production in selected ocean regions. In addition, satellite data is useful in detecting river plumes, information important to the Marine Biogeochemisrty Project, which is monitoring the effects of river run off on the coastal environment. As part of the collaborative project, researchers are also exploring new techniques for mapping sea surface salinity using airborne microwave instrumentation and applying this information to help map river plumes.

Oceanographic information and the computer simulated models produced by the sub-project teams also undertake the following: help predict larval dispersal of crown-of-thorns starfish; estimate the probable impact of river flooding on coral reefs; understand the effects of wave motion and small scale circulation on coral skeletal development, as well as the influence waves and currents might have on the erosion of the coastline and benthic environment.

Researchers with the Predicting the Coastal Marine Environment Project are focusing on making clearer the forces which are shaping our coasts and the marine environment. New and emerging technologies are being developed by AIMS researchers for processing and assimilating oceanographic information and satellite data. Engineering guidelines are being developed to provide conservation and management agencies (for instance, GBRMPA) and tourist operators with a basis for understanding and applying sound engineering practice to coral reef regions. With this information, authorities can better manage our marine resources, plan coastal and reef infrastructure developments more carefully and understand the complex matrix of life in our oceans.