SRFME Core Projects

The three core projects which will be conducted by CSIRO are:

• Integrated Modelling for the WA Marine Environment
• Bio-physical Oceanography off WA
• Coastal Ecosystems and Biodiversity in WA

These projects will make a significant impact on the current level of knowledge and understanding of coastal and shelf ecosystems in WA. A total of about $15.3 million will be invested in the projects over a five-year period.

Integrated Modelling for the WA Marine Environment

Southwestern shelf and coasts of Western Australia contain diverse marine flora and fauna, and support important economic development in the region. The marine environment in this region is complex and sensitive to influences from human use and development. It is also strongly influenced by climate and large-scale oceanographic variability. The resilience of these systems to human use is poorly known. Limited observations reveal that large-scale climate patterns, such as ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation), do impact oceanographic processes (such as the Leeuwin Current) and ecological processes on the Western Australian shelf. However, the extent of influence on shelf and coastal processes remain largely unknown. Despite the importance of marine resources and ecosystems to regional development, there is no integrated study for this region that would allow an evaluation of the impacts of different development scenarios on marine systems.

Modelling provides the capacity to integrate the findings of empirical research sometimes with large numbers of observations, in ways which enable an understanding of the components of complex marine ecosystems. Models can also be used to help understand the importance of a range of unknown environmental parameters, to generate hypotheses which can then be tested by empirical research and models can be used to develop a predictive capacity.

For SRFME, the modelling project provides the capacity to take a range of existing data collected from WA waters and synthesise this with new data generated from the SRFME program of research projects.

The key aims of the modelling project are to:

• identify and simulate key physical factors that have significant impacts on ecological processes on shelf and coastal areas of southwestern WA and;
• develop physical, ecological and risk assessment models that can be used to assess impacts of multiple human use on coastal and shelf environments.

Outcomes of the modelling project will be:

• analysis of large scale climate forcing and its impacts on WA continental shelves;
• development and application of regional and coastal scale oceanographic models for shelf and coastal ecosystems;
• development of integrated biogeochemical/ecological models which link key physical processes to ecological interactions;
• development and application of coastal human use impact models.
• risk assessment methods that evaluate impacts of human use on shelf production and coastal ecosystems.

Bio-physical Oceanography off WA

Western Australia is arguably the region with the greatest sensitivity to climate variability in Australia. The strength of the Leeuwin Current and Indonesian throughflow all respond strongly to the ENSO cycle and their importance to climate, fisheries and coastal ecosystem productivity is becoming better known through some of the excellent physical oceanographic work done in WA in the past. However, the present understanding of the region's biological oceanography in particular is still rudimentary. The seasonal cycles of biological productivity on the continental shelf and slope, and the spatial distribution of production regimes still remain largely unknown.

To tackle some of these issues, the Biophysical Project aims to:

• undertake a quantitative assessment of the biophysical dynamics across the continental shelf through examination of climate forcing influences nutrient, plankton and nekton dynamics

The key outcomes will be: an understanding of coastal and cross-shelf oceanographic regimes (physical, chemical and biological), their seasonal cycles and interannual variability leading to:

• applications to our emerging understanding of the characteristics of the bio-physical characteristics of the region to understanding specific issues in fisheries, marine protected areas and the management of the coastal zone
• informed strategies for long term monitoring
• data inputs on physical, chemical and biological variables to enable ecological and oceanographic modelling

Coastal Ecosystem and Biodiversity in WA

The southern and western coasts of Western Australia contain diverse marine flora and fauna, and support important economic development in the region. The marine environment in this region is complex and sensitive to influences from human use and development.

This project has been designed to provide the Western Australian Government and its agencies with improved understanding of the coastal marine environment. It is envisaged that a much-improved knowledge of the WA Coastal waters environment will provide long term benefits with regard to assisting decision making about coastal development and resource use and sharing.

The aims of the project are broad and include:

• To evaluate the dynamics of biogeochemical processes in the water column, sediment, and benthic community assemblages, with special reference to the influence of natural variability and the response/resilience/vulnerability to selected anthropogenic stressors; and,
• To enhance environmental data gathering for coastal regions by the development, calibration and validation of remote sensing techniques. This includes both satellite remote sensing and the use of in water acoustic techniques.

The broad outcomes sought are to obtain:

• An understanding of characteristics and natural spatial and temporal variability in coastal marine ecosystems and their likely response to human influences, such as input of nutrients and organic matter, chemical contaminants, biological introductions, habitat alteration or destruction and other uses of coastal waterways.

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