This data represents the percentage of time the Shields parameter (Shields, 1936) exceeds 0.25. The Shields parameter (non-dimensional bed shear stress) value of 0.25 is assumed to be the threshold for creating disturbed patches on the seabed. This value is several times larger than that required to initiate traction bedload transport (~0.05) and falls in the middle of the ripple and dune bedform stability field. It represents conditions when the seabed is highly mobile and where patches of disturbed habitat are likely to be created. Shields, A. 1936. Application of similarity principles and turbulence research to bed-load movement. Mitteilunger der Preussischen Versuchsanstalt f¨ur Wasserbau und Schiffbau 26: 5-24

This data represents the integrated Shields (Shields, 1936) parameter exceeding 0.25 divided by the integrated total Shields parameter. The Shields parameter (non-dimensional bed shear stress) value of 0.25 is assumed to be the threshold for creating disturbed patches. This value is several times larger than that required to initiate traction bedload transport (~0.05) and falls in the middle of the ripple and dune bedform stability field. It represents conditions when the seabed is highly mobile and where patches of disturbed habitat are likely to be created. Shields, A. 1936. Application of similarity principles and turbulence research to bed-load movement. Mitteilunger der Preussischen Versuchsanstalt f¨ur Wasserbau und Schiffbau 26: 5-24

This data represents the average time between events when the Shields parameter (Shields, 1936) exceeds 0.25 based on a Peaks-Over-Thresholds (POT) analysis. The Shields parameter (non-dimensional bed shear stress) value of 0.25 is assumed to be the threshold for creating disturbed patches. This value is several times larger than that required to initiate traction bedload transport (~0.05) and falls in the middle of the ripple and dune bedform stability field. It represents conditions when the seabed is highly mobile and where patches of disturbed habitat are likely to be created. The unit for the dataset is day. Shields, A. 1936. Application of similarity principles and turbulence research to bed-load movement. Mitteilunger der Preussischen Versuchsanstalt f'ur Wasserbau und Schiffbau 26: 5-24

This data represents a dimensionless ecological disturbance index, as the ratio of ecological succession and disturbance recurrence interval times the fraction of the area disturbed in any event. Small values of the ecological disturbance index represent decreasing proportions of time when disturbed/recovering habitats are present.

The high frequency (10 min) and resolution (~2km) of Himawari-8 data provides an enormous opportunity for the monitoring and investigation of highly dynamic oceanographic phenomena. This presentation aims to demonstrate the value of himawari-8 SST data for studies of the Bonney Coast upwelling, East Australian Current (EAC) and Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) diurnal SST (dSST) variations. During the 2016–17 summer, we identified three distinct upwelling events along the Bonney Coast. Each event surpassed its predecessor in area of influence, minimum temperature and duration. The EAC’s mapped between July 2015 and Sept 2017 showed clear seasonal and intra-seasonal variations. During summer, the EAC and its extension frequently encroached into the coastal areas of northern NSW and eastern Tasmania. A composite analysis based on MJO phases during the summer seasons of 2015–16 and 2016–17 showed that the dSST typically peaked during phases 2 and 3 off the northwest shelf, prior to the onset of the active phases of MJO (phase 4). The analysis indicated that dSST is negatively correlated with the surface wind speed but positively correlated with short-wave latent heat flux. In future, these monitoring and analytical capabilities can be effectively implemented in Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth Australia platform. Abstract submitted/presented to 2019 Australian Marine science Association AMSA Conference (https://www.amsa.asn.au/2019-fremantle)

Dense water formed in the Mertz Polynya supplies the lower limb of the global overturning circulation and ventilates the abyssal Indian and Pacific Oceans. In February 2010, an 80 km section of the Mertz Glacier Tongue calved, altering the regional distribution of ice, and the polynya activity. After calving, the absolute salinity and density of dense shelf water decreased abruptly, and surface waters freshened by up to 1 g kg-1. Break-out and melt of thick multi-year sea ice, likely rich in iron, provided a favourable light and nutrient setting for a bloom of large diatoms, doubling carbon uptake relative to pre-calving conditions. These observations highlight the sensitivity of bottom water formation, biogeochemical cycles and biological productivity to changes in the Antarctic icescape.