Legacy product - no abstract available

A comprehensive black and white teachers' guide reviews the history and development of the United Nation's Convention on the Law of the Sea and its application to Australian marine jurisdiction. Case studies on the North West Shelf, Antarctica and Orange Roughy are included. 108 page booklet with student activities and suggested answers. Suitable for secondary geography and science students Years 8-12.

The Smartline Coastal Geomorphic Map of Australia is a detailed map of the coastal landform types - or 'geomorphology' of the whole of continental Australia and most adjacent islands (excluding the Great Barrier Reef). It has been compiled by combining mapped coastal landform data from over 200 diverse pre-existing datasets into a single nationally-consistent format and classification scheme. The Smartline map project was commissioned by the Department of Climate Change (formerly the Australian Greenhouse Office) and Geoscience Australia in 2007, because it was recognised that assessing the vulnerability of Australia's coast to sea-level rise required, amongst other things, detailed but national-scale mapping of coastal landform types.

The Fitzoy Estuary is one of several macrotidal estuaries in tropical northern Australia that face ecological change due to agricultural activities in their catchments. The biochemical functioning of such macrotidal estuaries is not well understood in Australia, and there is a pressing need to identify sediment, nutrient and agrochemical pathways, sinks and accumulation rates in these extremely dynamic environments. This is particularly the case in coastal northern Queensland because the impact of water quality changes in rivers resulting from vegetation clearing, changes in land-use and modern agricultural practices are the single greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. This report includes: 1 Aims and Research questions 2 Study Area 3 Climate and Hydrology 4 Geology 5 Vegetation and land use 6 Methods 7 Sampling strategy 8 Water column observations and samples 9 Bottom sediment properties 10 Core and bottle incubations 11 Data analysis 12 Results 13 Discussion 14 The roll of Keppel Bay in accumulating and redirecting sediment and nutrients from the catchment 15 Sediment biogeochemistry 16 Links between primary production, biogeochemistry and sediment dynamics: A preliminary zonation for Keppel Bay 17 Conclusions

This study investigated bio-environment relationships in Jervis Bay, a sandy partially enclosed embayment in NSW. Three decision tree models and a robust model selection process were applied to a wide-range of physical data (multibeam bathymetry and backscatter grids and derivatives, parameters that describe seabed sediment and water column physical/geochemical characteristics, seabed exposure) and co-located biological data. The models for selected infaunal species and three diversity indices explained 32-79% of data variance. Patterns of abundance and diversity were statistically related to a wide range of environmental variables, including sediment physical (e.g. mud, CaCO3, gravel) and geochemical properties (e.g. chlorophyll a, total sediment metabolism, total sulphur), seabed morphometric characteristics (e.g. local Moran's I of bathymetry, rugosity), seabed exposure regime and water column light attenuation. The modelled response curves together with results from an earlier habitat mapping study informed the development of a conceptual model that provides a process-based framework for the interpretation of biodiversity patterns in the southern part of the Bay. The conceptual model had three zones which were noted for: (i) fine-sediment resuspension and macroalgae accumulation (leading to anoxia; extreme); (ii) bioturbation (in-between); and (iii) exposure of the seabed to waves (extreme in places). Most bio-environment relationships pointed to complex relationships between multiple biological and physical factors occurring in the different process domains/zones. The combined use of co-located samples and bio-environment and conceptual models enabled a mechanistic understanding of benthic biodiversity patterns in Jervis Bay.

This record contains the processed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (.segy), field notes, and shapefiles collected on fieldwork at Old Bar and Boomerang Beaches, NSW for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 3 - 5 March 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with 250 MHz shielded and 100 MHz unshielded antennaes. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

This is a joint product developed by GA and Skyring Environment Entetrprises. It is an animated CDROM developed specifically in Authoware software for state of the art visual presentation.

Approximately 85% of Australia's population and much of its critical infrastructure is focused around the coastal zone. Continued migration to the coast and increasing coastal development creates challenges for coastal management and planning. It is anticipated that climate change will exacerbate these challenges in the coming decades through rising sea levels and more intense and frequent storms. These impacts will lead to increased risk of inundation, storm surge and coastal erosion which will damage beaches, property and infrastructure along susceptible shorelines and low-lying coastal areas and adversely affect a significant number of Australian coastal communities. The Australian Government's Framework for a National Cooperative Approach to Integrated Coastal Zone Management identified a need to 'build a national picture of coastal zone areas that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts to better understand the risks and interactions with other stressors in the coastal zone'. Decision-makers at all government levels need access to information to assist development and planning decisions and to identify valuable human and natural assets that require protection. Further to this aim, Geoscience Australia (GA) is assisting the Department of Climate Change to develop a 'first pass' National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment. This is providing fundamental information that will support decision-makers by identifying areas in Australia's coastal zone where potential impacts may be rated as high, medium and low. Potential climate change impacts have been assessed for cyclonic winds and coastal inundation from a combination of sea-level rise and storm surge scenarios.

To be completed

The OzEstuaries online GIS contains data for Australian estuaries (coastal waterways) and for oceans in the Australian region. Estuaries data include geomorphic habitat mapping, estuary condition, colour composite images (Landsat, MODIS and Quickbird satellite imagery and aerial photography), benthic classifications (from Landsat satellite imagery), bathymetry and population centres. Oceanic data include dissolved organic matter, chlorophyll concentration, suspended solids concentration and sea surface temperature (using MODIS satellite imagery) and bathymetry. The GIS provides facilities to search for and zoom to estuaries, integrate mapping and imagery datasets, and retrieve statistical information from the OzEstuaries database; allowing users to view spatial and statistical information. The oceanic imagery provides a regional context for coastal waterways. The GIS is part of Geoscience Australia's contribution to the Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Coastal CRC). The geomorphic habitat mapping was conducted by Geoscience Australia for the National Land and Water Resources Audit, and is also part of Geoscience Australia's contribution to the Coastal CRC.