As part of the project Predicting the Coastal Marine Environment, the impacts of natural and human-induced factors on the status, evolution and physical degradation of coral reef ecosystems are assessed using observational studies and predictive models. The effects of physical processes such as waves, tides, turbulent flows and circulation around coral reefs, acting in concert with non-conservative chemical processes and active behaviours of marine larvae are taken into account to develop new understandings of their interactions and effects on the dispersal and evolution of coral reef organisms and structures. New elements in this project are the studies of the flow induced by waves and their impact on the flushing of the reef and mixing processes on the reef top. In situ data on physical factors (waves, currents, tidal levels) are acquired from deployments of oceanographic instruments and used to verify numerical modelling results. The aim of this study was to obtain a comprehensive data set on the physical oceanographic processes that influence the circulation and flushing of the reefs in this region. The data obtained will now be utilised to verify theoretical and numerical models of these oceanographic processes, such that these models can be generically applied to the Ningaloo Reef region as a whole.

The Tantabiddi transect is a subset of and extension to measurements made in the NW Cape region over the summer of 1998/99. Intensive sampling occurred from March to May 1999 with more instrumentation available. Of note was Cyclone Vance, which passed through Exmouth Gulf in Late March 1999. The sites were re-occupied from March 2002 and will be recovered and possibly redeployed in November 2003. The siting of the moorings was made to enable monitoring of the Leeuwin current and the counter Ningaloo current, which is primarily wind-driven. The Leeuwin current intensifies significantly at NW Cape, so it is at a key location that will be useful to compare with other regional ocean current measurements.

Water movement, due to tides and surface waves, is the basic forcing mechanism for nutrient fluxes, sediment dynamics and the fate of pollutants within the Exmouth Gulf. The dominant hydrodynamic process in this shallow basin is tidal motion, with a predominant semi-diurnal constituent. Large surface waves are only generated during tropical cyclones but their development is limited by water depth and bottom friction. Therefore, our hypothesis is that long-term water mass balance is predominantly governed by tidal motion and wind-induced currents. To estimate the water mass balance within the Gulf, field observation and numerical modelling were carried out in parallel. During the first stage of the field study, waves, wave-induced velocities and tidal elevations were measured at various locations in the Gulf. This study revealed that outside of cyclone episodes, wind-generated waves are only important at the entrance to the Gulf and wind-induced velocities are less than 0.5 m sec-'. The second stage of the field study involved measuring water velodties along sixteen transects widely distributed throughout the Gulf. Both vertical and horizontal velodties were recorded from the surface to the bottom at a resolution of 0.25 metres, every 10 seconds. Tidal elevations were aiso observed at two locations. The data collected during the field studies are now used for calibration of a computer model of tidal circulation in the Gulf. It is expected that this model will provide a long-term water mass balance for the Gulf and quanhfy the net fluxes of various suspended organic and non-organic substances into and out of the Gulf. The distribution of water flow intensity, also provided by the model, will indicate areas of potential erosion and areas vulnerable to potential pollution.

The Victoria Moorings Sub-Facility is part of the National Mooring Network Facility. Victorian Moorings is responsible for a mooring deployed in the Bonney Coast region off Cape Bridgewater (Victoria). This region of the Victorian coastline has strong seasonal upwelling and supports one of the most productive regions of temperate Australian coastal waters. Not only does this region support large populations of migratory whales, fur seals, sharks, and bluefin tuna, it is also an important region from fisheries. Victorian Moorings fill a historical gap in the national backbone or coastal moorings, providing valuable information on the hydrodynamics of upwelling processes that underpin the productivity off the Bonney Coast.

The North Nambucca (NNB) HF ocean radar site (32.031 S, 115.746 E) is one of two HF ocean radars covering the waters off Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The other HF ocean radar station is at Red Rock. The NNB HF ocean radar is a WERA phased array system with a 16-element receive array. This radar operates at a frequency of 13.912 MHz, with a bandwidth of 100 KHz, a maximum range of 100 Km and a range resolution of 1.5 Km. Azimuthally the radar covers a sweep 60 deg either side of a bore sight direction of 285 deg true east of north (approximately west by north-west). Within the HF radar coverage area surface current radials are measured. Data are also collected from which wind directions and significant wave height can be calculated.

Radial data files contain radial components of sea surface parameters measured by HF ocean radars operated by Ocean Radar (formerly known as the Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network (ACORN)), a facility of Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). Regardless of the radar system (WERA or SeaSonde), the primary product is the radial component of the sea surface current along a line between the radar station and a point on the sea surface. By combining radials measured at two stations surface current vectors can be constructed. These surface current vectors can then be used to study tides, wind-driven currents and perform lagrangian particle tracking. Raw data collected at each radar site are re-processed by the facility in order to assign quality control flags to data points. This is not possible in real-time because real-time data are produced by proprietary manufacturer software without quality control flags and it is not feasible to transfer the raw data to the facility in real-time. Each radial file contains a set of standard metadata fields, such as radar system type, operating frequency and bandwidth. Other metadata fields describe radar system type-specific parameters. Radial file metadata fields are described in a separate Ocean Radar data document. In addition, for WERA radar systems, the facility provides quality controlled heights of left and right bragg peaks, from which the wind direction can be inferred.

The Guilderton (GUI) HF ocean radar site (31.342 S, 115.489 E) is one of two HF ocean radars covering Rottnest Shelf and Perth Canyon off the coast north of Perth. The other HF ocean radar station is at Fremantle. The HF ocean radar coverage is from the coast to beyond the edge of the continental shelf. The GUI HF ocean radar is a WERA phased array system with a 16-element receive array. This radar operates at a frequency of 8.512 MHz, with a bandwidth of 33 KHz, a maximum range of 200 Km and a range resolution of 4.5 Km. Azimuthally the radar covers a sweep 60 deg either side of a bore sight direction of 230 deg true east of north (approximately south-west). Within the HF radar coverage area surface current radials are measured. Data are also collected from which wind directions and significant wave height can be calculated.

Wave height, direction and sea surface temperature are recorded daily at 12 sites on the Coast of Queensland. Cairns, Weipa, Townsville, Mackay, Hay Point, Emu Park, Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Tweed River, Caloundra, Mooloolaba are monitored daily by waverider buoys fitted with a accelerometer. This website also contains data from Storm surges from Mornington Island down to Caloundra.

The Acidification Moorings sub-facility is responsible for building an ocean carbon and acidification monitoring network for Australian waters. These moorings provide key observations to help us understand and address the problem of increasing ocean acidification. Each mooring is equipped with surface CO2 systems, using proven and robust technology. Three sensors will determine surface CO2, temperature and salinity. The hydrochemistry sampling at the National Reference Stations will also provide total alkalinity data, as will future pH sensors on the moorings, allowing for a complete determination of the carbonate system and pH. Acidification moorings are co-located at three National Reference Stations: * the Yongala NRS in Queensland (replaced in September 2013 after Tropical Cyclone Yasi) (instrumentation: Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitor, Aanderaa Oxygen Optode and a WETLabs WQM) * the Maria Island NRS in Tasmania (instrumentation: Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitor, Aanderaa Oxygen Optode and Sea-bird Electronics, model SBE16plus V2 SEACAT), and * the Kangaroo Island NRS in South Australia (removed in June 2013, and redeployed in May 2014) (instrumentation: Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitor, Aanderaa Oxygen Optode and Sea-bird Electronics, model SBE16plus V2 SEACAT). A fourth acidification mooring is located adjacent to the Heron Island reef slope in the Wistari channel on the Great Barrier Reef (instrumentation: Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitor, Aanderaa Oxygen Optode and Sea-bird Electronics, model SBE16plus V2 SEACAT). The Yongala, Wistari and Maria Island acidification moorings are located to characterise changes down the east coast of Australia and the influence of the East Australian Current on CO2 uptake and acidification from the Great Barrier Reef to the Southern Ocean. The Kangaroo Island mooring monitors the deeper waters upwelled on the South Australian shelf which are expected to have higher CO2 and thus could accelerate the exposure of ecosystems to acidification earlier than in other regions.