A statistical assessment of wave, tide, and river power was carried out using a database of 721 Australian clastic coastal depositional environments to test whether their geomorphology could be predicted from numerical values. The geomorphic classification of each environment (wave- and tide-dominated deltas, wave- and tide-dominated estuaries, lagoons, strand plains, and tidal flats) was established independently from remotely sensed imagery. To our knowledge, such a systematic numerical analysis has not been previously attempted for any region on earth.

Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of our mineral, energy and water resources. Increasingly earth scientists are now moving away from focusing on single domain research on understanding isolated parts of these intricate systems to adopting multidisciplinary, computationally intensive integrated methodologies to model and simulate the real world complexities of earth systems science. Simultaneously developments in information technology are increasing the capacity of computational systems to credibly simulate complex systems. Real world Solid Earth and Environmental Science data sets are extremely heterogenous, complex and large, and are currently in the order of terabytes (1012 bytes). However, the size and complexity of geoscience data sets are also exponentially increasing, as more powerful modern computing systems combine with enhanced engineering capacity to design and build automated instruments to collect more data and new data types. We are rapidly moving into an era when Earth Scientists will need to have the capacity to analyse petabyte (1015 bytes) databases if they are to realistically model and simulate complex earth processes. Although digital geoscientific data sets are becoming increasingly available over the Internet, current Internet technologies only allow for the downloading of data (if the connection is fast enough): integration, processing and analysis then has to take place locally. As data sets get larger and more complex, then large computational resources are required to effectively process these data. Such resources are increasingly only available to the major industry players, which in turn creates a strong bias against the Small to Middle Enterprises, as well as many University researchers. For those that do not have access to large-scale computing resources, analysis of these voluminous data sets has to be compromised by dividing the data set into smaller units, accepting sub-optimal solutions and/or introducing sub-optimal approximations. It is clear that if we are to begin grappling with accurate analysis of large-scale geoscientific data sets to enable sustainable management of our mineral, energy and water resources, then current computational infrastructures are no longer viable.

Physical and biological characteristics of benthic communities are analysed from underwater video footage collected across the George V Shelf during the 2007/2008 CEAMARC voyage. Benthic habitats are strongly structured by physical processes operating over a range of temporal and spatial scales. Iceberg scouring recurs over timescales of years to centuries along shallower parts of the shelf, creating communities in various stages of maturity and recolonisation. Upwelling of modified circumpolar deep water (MCDW) onto the outer shelf, and cross-shelf flow of high salinity shelf water (HSSW) create spatial contrasts in nutrient and sediment supply, which are largely reflected in the distribution of deposit and filter feeding communities. Long term cycles in the advance and retreat of icesheets (over millennial scales) and subsequent focussing of sediments in troughs such as the Mertz Drift create patches of consolidated and soft sediments, which also provide distinct habitats for colonisation by different biota. These physical processes of iceberg scouring, current regimes and depositional environments, in addition to water depth, are shown to be important factors in the structure of benthic communities across the George V Shelf. The modern shelf communities mapped in this study largely represent colonisation over the past 8-12ka, following retreat of the icesheet and glaciers at the end of the last glaciation (Harris et al., 2001; Ingólfsson et al., 1998). Recolonisation on this shelf may have occurred from two sources: deep-sea environments, and possible shelf refugia on the Mertz and Adélie Banks. However, any open shelf area would have been subject to intense iceberg scouring (Beaman and Harris, 2003). Understanding the timescales over which shelf communities have evolved and the physical factors which shape them, will allow better prediction of the distribution of Antarctic shelf communities and their vulnerability to change. This knowledge can aid better management regimes for the Antarctic margin.

The marine and terrestrial palynology of the Middle Jurassic Wanaea verrucosa Zone from the Perseus-3A, Sunrise-2 and Sunset West-1 wells of the North West Shelf of Australia was studied in detail. These three wells represent brackish and shallow marine successions from the Northern Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins respectively. The palynological data derived from these three wells constitute the basis for the formal definition of this important dinoflagellate cyst biozone and its three constituent subzones. The base of the Lower Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the inception of the index species and is a relatively sparse, low diversity microphytoplankton assemblage; species richness increases up-section. The base of the succeeding Middle Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the range base of Valvaeodinium spinosum, and the Upper Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the incoming of the large and distinctive species Endoscrinium kempiae. Other stratigraphically-important datums include the inceptions of ?Bradleyella adela in the lower subzone, Leptodinium spp. and Wanaea lacuna in the middle subzone, and Endoscrinium spp. and Ternia balmei within the upper subzone. Important range tops include Mancodinium semitabulatum and Phallocysta granosa in the middle subzone, and Nannoceratopsis deflandrei in the upper subzone. These and other datums are compared with European ranges to assign a Late Bajocian to Early Bathonian age to the Wanaea verrucosa Zone.

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Understanding and predicting the bio-physical relationships between seabed habitats, biological assemblages, and marine biodiversity is critical to managing marine systems. Species distributions and assemblage structure of infauna were examined on the oceanic shelf surrounding Lord Howe Island (LHI) relative to seabed complexity within and adjacent to a newly discovered relict coral reef. High resolution multibeam sonar was used to map the shelf, and identified an extensive relict reef in the middle of the shelf, which separated an inner drowned lagoon from the outer shelf. Shelf sediments and infauna were sampled using a Smith McIntyre grab. The three geomorphic zones (drowned lagoon, relict reef and outer shelf) were strong predictors or surrogates of the physical structure and sediment composition of the LHI shelf and its infaunal assemblage. Infaunal assemblages were highly diverse with many new and endemic species recorded. Each zone supported characteristic assemblages and feeding guilds, with higher abundance and diversity offshore.

Spatial interpolation methods are often data-specific or even variable-specific. Many factors affect the performance of the methods and there are no consistent findings about their effects. Hence it is difficult to select an appropriate method for a given dataset. This review provides guidelines and suggestions regarding application of spatial interpolation methods to environmental data by comparing the features of the commonly applied methods which fall into three categories, namely: non-geostatistical interpolation methods, geostatistical interpolation methods and combined methods. Factors affecting the performance, including sampling design, sample spatial distribution, data quality, correlation between primary and secondary variables, and interaction among factors, are discussed. A total of 26 methods are then classified based on their features to provide an overview of the relationships among them. These features are quantified and then clustered to show similarities among these 26 methods. A decision tree for selecting an appropriate method from these 26 methods is developed based on data availability, data nature, the expected estimation and the features of each method. A list of software packages for spatial interpolation is provided. Finally, some recommendations are made for applying the methods to marine environmental data.

Effective management of the global ocean requires an inventory of its features and marine living and non-living resources. To help meet this need, a new global seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM) has been created based on the analysis and interpretation of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 30 arc-second (~1 km) bathymetry grid. The new digital GSFM includes 131,190 separate polygons in 29 geomorphic feature categories. We present the first comprehensive identification, enumeration, inventory and quantitative analysis of the ocean's seafloor geomorphic features. The GSFM allows a more accurate assessment of features (proxies for benthic habitats, ecosystems and resources). GIS analysis of the GSFM illustrates that more than 50% of the area of 11 feature categories are located beyond the area of national jurisdiction, and less than 10% of 21 feature categories are protected in marine reserves globally, including shelf valleys, submarine canyons, mid-ocean spreading ridges and rift valleys.