The Coastal Research and Management project provides geoscientific and environmental information on estuaries and the coastal zone around Australia. Research in the field and desktop studies are carried out, often with other agencies, to assess and predict changes in coastal water quality resulting from land use in coastal catchments. An integrated approach is used and includes geological, biogeochemical and hydrodynamic processes and conditions. Some observed effects of deteriorating water quality are algal blooms, fish kills and loss of aquatic habitats. Sediment and nutrient retention and transformation are studied in tropical estuaries as part of the project on Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge which is funded through the Commonwealth Environmental Research Fund and associated funding partners. Nutrient sources and sinks are studied in South Australia's Coorong, lower lakes and the River Murray mouth in collaboration with the CSIRO Flagship Water for a Healthy Country and the associated CLLAMMecology cluster.
The project provides information and advice to support effective management of Australian estuaries and coastal waterways. In particular, new environmental data are acquired and compiled to establish a national overview of coastal water quality and develop agreed methods and indicators for the assessment of water quality and ecosystem integrity.
1. Progress report of surveys on nutrient retention and transformations in intertidal sediments of Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory will be carried out during the wet and dry season to determine nutrient and gas fluxes in intertidal sediments in the field. Sediment samples will be collected also for later geochemical analysis. Nutrient fluxes and processes in pristine areas will be compared to areas affected by urban run off. The project is part of the Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) funded program on Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge.
2. Report on nutrient sources and sinks and their relation to salinity changes in the Coorong in South Australia . A winter and a summer survey will be carried out to determine the magnitude of nutrient fluxes released from sediments and to determine the chemistry of the pore water in sediments. Possible precipitation of phosphorous containing minerals will be predicted using thermodynamic models and using mineralogical techniques. The project is carried out in collaboration with CSIRO Flaghip Water for a Healthy Country
3. Report on historical changes of water quality in Stokes Inlet and Wellstead Estuary in Western Australia. A
range of proxies for changes in the estuarine water quality are studied in the sediment record from Stokes Inlet
and Wellstead Estuary on the south coast of Western Australia. The derived information will reveal water quality
conditions before land use in the catchment began and the trends of human-induced changes. The project is being
carried out in collaboration with the Water and Rivers Commission in Western Australia.