NSW-IMOS Node Science and Implementation Plan (NSIP) July...

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NSW-IMOS Node Science and Implementation Plan (NSIP) July 2009-June 2013

NSW-IMOS: An Integrated Marine Observing System

for south-eastern Australia

The East Australian Current, its separation from the coast and its interaction

with coastal ecosystems

IMOS Node: New South Wales - Integrated Marine Observing System

Lead Institution: Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS)

Co-Node Leaders: Prof. Iain Suthers, SIMS/UNSW, 02 9385 2065/8987 9924; [email protected]

Dr. Moninya Roughan, SIMS/UNSW, 02 9385 7067;

[email protected]

Deputy Node Leader:

Dr Martina Doblin, SIM/UTS, 02 9514 8307 [email protected]

Collaborating Institutions:

University of New South Wales; Macquarie University; University of

Sydney; University of Technology Sydney; NSW Department of

Environment, Climate Change & Water (DECCW); NSW Department of

Service Technology and Administration; NSW Department of Industry and Investment; Sydney Water Corporation.

Date 30 August 2010; file NSW-IMOS-NSIP-Aug10-v10.doc

Prepared by Moninya Roughan, Iain Suthers, Bradley Morris, Leanne Armand, Mark Baird,

Andrew Boomer, David Booth, Gary Brassington, Maria Byrne, Doug Cato, Melinda Coleman,

Ed Couriel, Bob Creese, Martina Doblin, Will Figueira, Bill Gladstone, Rob Harcourt, Katy Hill,

Neil Holbrook, Rob McCauley, Tim Pritchard, Peter Ralph, Anthony Richardson, Robin

Robertson, Tracey Rogers, Milton Speer, Peter Steinberg, Matthew Taylor, Hua Wang, Stefan

Williams and others.

SIMS Contribution #: XXXX Wednesday, 1 September 2010

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Summary

The marine environment on the narrow continental shelf along the coast of NSW is dominated by

the poleward flowing East Australian Current (EAC) and the eddy field it produces. The EAC

sporadically stimulates upwelling and transports the resulting phytoplankton blooms and marine

larvae south along the coast or into the Tasman Sea. Depending on the configuration of the eddy

field, the EAC can transport waters poleward to Tasmania, or east toward New Zealand. Due to

its broad geographical reach, the EAC influences the climate and marine economies of nearly half

the Australian population, from Brisbane to Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne.

The poleward extension of the EAC is strengthening, shown by an increase of over 2ºC per

century at the Maria Island reference station off eastern Tasmania. The water temperature regime

has therefore been shifted ~350 km southwards. The EAC, and its changing nature, will impact

the climate and weather of NSW, as well as the state‟s ecological and socio-economic values.

The natural variability of the EAC, driven largely by the mescoscale eddy field, makes it difficult

to forecast, and even hindcast, Tasman Sea currents. Much of the variability has its origin in the

separation dynamics of the EAC off central New South Wales, and the subsequent formation of

warm and cold core eddies. To focus on this behaviour, more observations of currents around the

separation zone are required. The vertical distribution of bio-physical properties is essential to

understand the implications of what has mostly been interpreted from remote sensing. The EAC

eddy field has been related to the sudden overnight intensification of East Coast Lows (ECLs)

and severe winter storms. In June 2007 five ECLs led to 10 deaths, the grounding of a ship,

severe flooding and coastal erosion. ECLs are also responsible for 10-20% of coastal rainfall and

substantial filling of our reservoirs. Our focus on processes north and south of the separation

zone off Coffs Harbour (30ºS) and Sydney (34ºS) is complemented by similar observations off

Eden (37ºS), off Hobart by Tas-IMOS (43.5ºS), and by the full depth monitoring of the EAC off

Stradbroke Island by Q-IMOS (28ºS). These observations parallel those made for the poleward

Leeuwin Current, to understand common ENSO and SOI phenomena and other teleconnections.

For example northward propagating coastally trapped waves are driven by storms in Bass Strait

and the Great Australian Bight, contributing up to 50% of the current variability off Sydney.

Biological observing is increasingly important as we begin to understand the implications of the

strengthening and variable EAC. Biological outcomes underlie most of the socioeconomic drivers

or ecosystem properties relevant to ocean observing in general. For example, offshore fishing

permits are now managed by water mass properties (SST), rather than static latitudinal rules.

Warming, combined with urbanization, has been linked to fundamental changes in pelagic and

temperate reef ecosystems, particularly to the demise of kelp and changes in the distribution of

sea urchins along the coast of southeastern Australia. We will use both water column and deep

reef observing to monitor changes in these fundamental marine primary producers and

“ecosystem engineers”. The effect of different water masses and eddies of the EAC on

phytoplankton (pigments) and zooplankton diversity/abundance must be quantified, as these

organisms underlie all ocean food webs.

Other ecosystem impacts will also be tracked through observations of benthic habitats, fish

behaviour and by monitoring animal vocalisations, in relation to oceanographic signals. For

example, in late summer 2009, 3 separate shark attacks occurred in Sydney Harbour or

neighbouring beaches – the first for the region in nearly 50 years. At the time Sydney

experienced heat-wave conditions, associated with strong upwelling favourable NE winds, and

unusually cool water temperatures along the coast.

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The key research aims pertinent to NSW-IMOS are:

1) To contribute to national observations of decadal changes and climate variability of the

EAC, Leeuwin, and Flinders Currents using common platforms and metrics.

i) To determine the variability in EAC strength from its source in the Coral Sea, the

seasonal and spatial variability in the separation of the EAC from central NSW, and the

EAC‟s southward extension;

ii) Contribute to monitoring the Bass Strait outflow and the northward coastally trapped

wave propagation;

iii) Contribute to the national backbone through the National Reference Station network

and the supplementation of Satellite Remote Sensing products with local data.

2) To investigate the EAC, its separation from the coast, and the resultant eddy field along

the coast of SE Australia.

i) To determine the frequency, form and function (horizontal and vertical) of EAC

eddies;

ii) To understand air sea interactions, particularly to determine the development of East

Coast Lows and severe winter storms in relation to warm core eddies;

iii) Quantify the impact of key physical processes such as onshore encroachment of the

EAC, slope water intrusions, upwelling, downwelling and internal waves.

3) To quantify oceanographic processes on the continental shelf and slope of SE Australia: i) Examine the coastal wind and wave climate in driving nearshore currents and the

northward sediment transport;

ii) Quantify the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (nutrients and phytoplankton

composition);

iii) Determine the transport and dispersal of passive particles (e.g. larvae, eggs, spores)

and the degree of along coast connectivity and trophic linkages.

4) To integrate the ecosystem response with oceanographic processes:

i) Quantify the daily to decadal variation of planktonic communities in relation to

oceanographic and climate-driven changes in physical and chemical ocean properties;

ii) Quantify rocky reef biota variables (kelp distribution and abundance) associated with

climate variability, at deep reefs along the NSW to Tasmanian coast;

iii) Relationship of the EAC, its eddies and oceanographic conditions on fisheries, and

movements by fish and sharks;

iv) Quantify the seasonal and yearly variation of upper-predator (fish and marine

mammal) communities.

We are addressing these aims by the following essential observations:

Maintaining an array of oceanographic moorings north and south of the separation zone:

2 moorings off Coffs Harbour (30ºS), 4 moorings off Sydney (34ºS), and 2 moorings off

southern NSW (Batemans Bay/Eden-37ºS), measuring temperature, salinity, dissolved

oxygen and velocity; some augmented with bio-optical sensors (turbidity, chlorophyll-a

fluorometer) to support autonomous ocean glider deployments and Satellite Remote

Sensing;

Continued monthly biogeochemical sampling along the National Reference Transect

(Port Hacking, near the Sydney Mooring array) for determination of phytoplankton and

pigment diversity and concentration, zooplankton abundance and diversity, suspended

particulate matter, and concentration of colour dissolved organic matter for bio-optical

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sensor calibration to interpret Satellite Remote Sensing products and to maintain one of

three of the longest ocean time-series in Australia;

Deployment of a high frequency coastal radar (WERA) off Coffs Harbour (30ºS) which

will provide surface current velocities, and when combined with the data from the

waverider buoy network will provide important information regarding the wave climate

along the coast of NSW;

The deployment of autonomous ocean gliders with bio-optical sensors to make repeat

transects across the NSW shelf and into EAC eddies, and to fill-in observations where

ARGO is unable to sample;

Sustained observing of fish and shark migration using shore-normal arrays of acoustic

receivers off Sydney and Coffs Harbour, in collaboration with our industry partners‟

receivers;

Using Satellite Remote Sensing, the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR-SOOP) as

well as bio-acoustic measurements to examine latitudinal variations in zooplankton and

phytoplankton species composition;

Undertaking sustained observations of benthic habitats, especially kelp distributions using

an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to measure changes in deep water reef biota

in response to predicted changes in the EAC;

Deploying passive-acoustic moorings to provide information on biological community

change, and multiple species (e.g. fish, mammals, turtles etc), which will be useful to

monitor long-term changes in community composition.

The expected outputs from NSW-IMOS with respect to national IMOS priorities (Fig. 1):

Providing a national backbone for observing boundary currents

Continued development of ocean circulation models particularly over the continental shelf

region, ranging from hindcasting, nowcasting and forecasting;

Enhanced models of biophysical coupling through enhanced measurement of mechanistic

parameters driving biological variability (e.g. light) and via mapping of biological

parameters onto the physical variability of the EAC;

Increasing the accuracy of spatially broad, synoptic satellite remote sensing products such

as ocean colour, phytoplankton productivity, and particle concentration;

Continuing to build institutional strengths into national capability

Training of multi-disciplinary post graduate students in quantitative ecology,

geomorphology, oceanography and meteorology;

Building IT and instrumentation skills and ocean mooring capability within SIMS and the

NSW community;

Communicating IMOS outputs to the community, and especially informing K-12 students

and educators about the East Australian Current.

Exploring the potential for whole-of-system approaches

Understanding of latitudinal, seasonal and annual patterns in plankton diversity off the

continental shelf;

Understanding of cross-shelf flows, deep water intrusions and the impact they have on

diversity and abundance of lower trophic levels;

Linking up-stream (Q-IMOS) and down-stream (Tas-IMOS) observations of the EAC for

understanding oceanographic and biological impacts of upstream changes in the strength

of the EAC;

Improved predictions of fish landings based on rainfall and oceanographic variation.

Driving down the cost per observation

Validating contemporary Satellite Remote Sensing derived estimates of chlorophyll-a,

primary productivity, and particle concentration against direct IMOS observations;

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Creating and developing the information infrastructure

Parameterization of future ecosystem models and the evaluation of forecasting abilities

through the collection of biological and geochemical data streams;

Improved data products for assimilation into and verification of ocean, wave, climate and

weather prediction models;

Highly desirable observations for coming decade not presently funded:

Long-range HF radar (CODAR or WERA) observations over 30-35ºS, of the EAC

separation zone and eddy formation;

A pair of cross-shelf moorings within the separation zone, off the Stockton Bight and in

southern NSW waters (Eden/Batemans Bay);

Real-time telemetry for the Coffs and Eden moorings to be incorporated into real-time

and forecasting models;

Augmentation of the Coffs and Eden moorings with bio-optical sensors;

Complement the glider program with cross-shelf transects of T, S and bio-optics with a

REMUS AUV;

pCO2 sensors to monitor ocean acidification along the Sydney mooring array;

In-situ monitoring of nutrients at the National Reference Station and on other moorings;

Development of high resolution remote sensing capability in optically-complex coastal

and estuarine waters with locally derived algorithms;

Development of passive acoustics with a high frequency capability (e.g. for Odontocete

cetaceans).

Figure 1: Conceptual model of NSW-IMOS research themes in relation to national IMOS.

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List of Contents

Summary 2

1. Socio-Economic Context 8

2. Scientific Background

a) The East Australian Current -a current of eddies 13

b) Continental Shelf Processes 15

c) Research Questions 23

d) National context of NSW-IMOS within a national IMOS 24

3. Pre-existing observations

3-1) pre-IMOS 26

3-2) Existing IMOS 2007-2009 and justification of on-going need 28

4. Observations needed

4-1) During 2009-2013 and beyond (Table of priorities) 35

4-2) Addressing the Research Questions (Summary table) 42

5. NSW-IMOS Implementation Plan July 2007-June2013

a) Ocean Moorings (ANMN) 54

b) Passive Acoustics (ANMN) 54

c) Coastal Radar (ACORN) 55

d) Ocean Gliders (ANFOG) 57

e) Underwater Vehicle (AUV) 57

f) Animal Tracking (AATAMS) 58

6. Use of IMOS data 59

7. Impact of IMOS observations regionally, nationally, globally 65

8. Governance, structure and funding 67

9. References 70

Appendix 1. List of NSW-IMOS members 76

Appendix 2. List of honours, post-grad students and post-docs using IMOS data 78

Appendix 3. Future IMOS goals and infrastructure:

a. Long range coastal radar at the separation zone 30-35ºS 80

b. REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle 81

Appendix 4. Guidelines for Prioritisation of Infrastructure Needs (K. Hill) 83

Appendix 5. Deep Sea Research II Special Issue 84

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Acronym list:

ANMN Australian National Mooring Network facility of IMOS

ACORN Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network facility of IMOS

ADFA Australian Defence Force Academy-UNSW

AIMS Australian Institute of Marine Science

ANFOG Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders facility of IMOS

ARC Australian Research Council

AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle facility of IMOS

AATAMS Australian Animal Tracking and Monitoring System facility of IMOS

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organisation

CMAR CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research

DECCW NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change & Water

DMS Defence Maritime Services

DIISR Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry Science and Research

DSTO Defence Science & Technology Organisation

EIF Education Investment Fund (the second funding source for IMOS, 2009-2013)

eMII Electronic Marine Information Infrastructure facility of IMOS

GBR Great Barrier Reef

II NSW NSW Dept. of Industry & Investment (formerly DPI, Dept. Primary Industries)

LJCO Lucinda Jetty Colour Observatory (Queensland)

MACU Macquarie University

MHL Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (NSW Department of Commerce)

NCRIS National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (the initial funding source for IMOS 2006-2011, sometimes referred to as IMOS-1)

NSIP Node Science & Implementation Plan

OFS Oceanographic Field Services

ORS Ocean Reference Station (3 km off Sydney in 65 m)

SARDI South Australian Research & Development Institute

SIMS Sydney Institute of Marine Science

SRS Satellite Remote Sensing facility of IMOS

UNSW University of New South Wales

UTS University of Technology, Sydney

USYD University of Sydney

WAMSI West Australian Institute of Marine Science

WQM Water Quality Meter

WRL UNSW Water Research Laboratory

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1. Socio-economic context

Introduction

Most of Australia‟s urban population is located on the narrow eastern and southern seaboards

(Fig. 2), making the associated coastal waters among the nation's most exploited and often

stressed environments. More than 80% of Australians are located within 50 km of the coast and

more than half the nation lives within the coastal fringe from Brisbane to Melbourne (Fig. 2).

The major problems for this coastline are urbanization, water quality, freshwater supply, severe

storms and beach erosion.

Perth

0 500

kilometres

1000

Adelaide

Melbourne

Brisbane

Sydney

Figure 2: Australia and its continental shelf in light brown (200 m isobath), illustrating the

particularly narrow shelf and proximity of the EAC off New South Wales (Figure

modified from GeoScience Australia).

Climate Change

Future climate change will have wide ranging effects on the coastal and marine environment of

NSW. The East Australian Current (EAC) is predicted to both strengthen and warm significantly

which will have many diverse effects from changing weather patterns to shifts in marine species

distribution. There is also predicted to be an increase in storm frequency and intensity which

will cause significant changes in rainfall patterns and the wave climate potentially resulting in

greater beach erosion, storm surge and coastal inundation. Species range shifting as a response

to these and other climate change effects will have impacts for biodiversity, invasive species and

fisheries. The most dramatic changes are being observed on the Tasmanian coastline, with the

demise of native kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) due to the southern range extension by the sea

urchin Centrostephanus rogersii (Ling et al. 2009).

Water

The coastline of NSW alone has over 450 coastal discharge sites along the NSW coast, the

largest three being off Sydney amounting to nearly 1000 ML.d-1

. Phytoplankton blooms (red

tides) were of intense concern in relation to Sydney‟s deep water sewage outfalls, but were

linked to oceanographic events such as those at the EAC separation zone (Dela-Cruz et al.

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2003). Declining rainfall has resulted in Sydney‟s storage being as low as 33% capacity and

other major centres (Goulburn) to much lower capacities resulting in closure of local business

and temporary re-location of the Police Academy. A desalination plant is now operational in

Sydney (Kurnell) as part of the plan to address the water shortage in Metropolitan Sydney (up to

250 ML d-1

).

Storm events – East Coast Lows

In recent years severe storm events generated by East Coast Lows (ECLs), have caused

fatalities, severe flooding (e.g. Newcastle and northern NSW) and erosion and caused hazards

for shipping (e.g. the Pasha Bulker grounding in June 2007). The severe storms of 1973 and

1974 (Sygna storm) had extreme winds, causing large waves and massive amounts of coastal

erosion (Speer and Leslie 2000). These storms led to the installation of 7 waverider buoys along

the coast of NSW. The storms of Aug. 1986 were implicated in 6 deaths, and produced the worst

flooding in Sydney for over a century (450 mm in 3 days), while the 5 ECL events in June 2007

caused nearly $1000 M in damage and were the cause of 10 deaths. ECLs also provide NSW

with significant amounts of needed rainfall. Some 10-20% of coastal rainfall in NSW is

attributed to ECLs and 66% of high inflow (days > 100 GL) for the Sydney catchments are

attributed to ECLs. Most ECLs occur in winter and are associated with warm SST anomalies

(Hopkins and Holland 1997).

Waves and beaches

Prevailing sand transport along the NSW coast is from south to north. This is in spite of the

prevailing ocean currents (EAC) being from north to south. The sand transport occurs because

of the dominant south-easterly incident direction of the wave climate but the role and rate of

different transport paths is virtually unknown. Changes in the wave climate such as an increase

in wave height, change in the angle of incidence or increased frequency of high magnitude

waves affect the energy at the beach zone and alters sediment transport. Given that the NSW

coast has many substantial shoreline erosion hotspots more monitoring data is essential to give

insight into the role of offshore processes in nearshore beach form, sand volumes and

configuration.

Developing an understanding of the nearshore wave climate is also crucial from the perspective

that remaining stocks of major sand mines around Sydney are close to depletion. The mining of

offshore sand is again receiving consideration in the absence of any substantial field monitoring,

despite the fact that wave direction is known to play an important role in determining nearshore

bed formation.

Marine Tourism

Our largest marine industry is marine tourism, the second largest of all states contributing 22%

of the national marine industry ($27 billion in value added during 2002-03, The Allen Report

2004). The value of the marine industry (i.e. all recreational and light commercial vessels) in

NSW is valued at over $2 billion pa and employs over 11,000 – both figures are almost

equivalent to all other states combined (mostly Victoria and Queensland,

http://www.bia.org.au/data.html). Over a third of the national marine industry employment

(36%) is in NSW – and mostly in marine tourism. These figures are more remarkable

considering that our estuaries, while numerous (>130) are small and we have the nation‟s

narrowest continental shelf (only 20-60 km, Chapman et al. 1982).

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Fishing

Most of the marine technology industry is related to recreational fishing, which faces significant

problems of declining catch rates. Nearly 20% of the Australian population fish at least once a

year (17% in NSW), and recreational fishers harvest up to 27,000 t of finfish with an annual

value of around $2 billion (Henry and Lyle 2003). Recreational fishing effort increases annually,

sometimes up to 7.5% on the previous year (Gwynne 1994) and this is especially important

around Australia‟s largest and fastest-growing cities on the eastern seaboard. In NSW the

recreational catch is about 30% of the commercial catch, but for 6 major species the recreational

catch is actually greater than the commercial. In NSW the recreational fishing fee bought out

commercial fishing licenses in 25 estuaries in 2001, now described as recreational fishing

havens. Target species that are especially relevant to recreational fishing, tourism and IMOS are

bream, flathead, mulloway, prawns, Australian salmon, grey nurse shark, bullshark and white

shark. The Recreational Fishing Trust is driving research on fish attraction devices (FADS,

moorings up to 20 km offshore), re-stocking projects, and on estuarine artificial reefs. Large

artificial reefs are proposed for the continental shelf off Newcastle, Sydney and Port Kembla

with the main issue being whether these structures are fish-attractors or fish-producers.

NSW managed fisheries‟ main species are oysters (aquaculture), prawns, abalone and sea

mullet. The gross value has declined by around 10% over the past 10 years to around $120 m

(ABARE 2007). This value is about 20% of the national value. The major sectors include

(http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/commercial/eight-fisheries):

Abalone fishery – 48 licence holders, worth around $5 million per annum (m pa);

Estuary General Fishery - the most diverse commercial fishery in NSW with around 700

fishers operating in 102 estuaries along the coast;

Estuary Prawn Trawl Fishery - operates in 3 estuaries harvesting prawns, and in some

estuaries squid and fish;

Lobster fishery - a small trap fishery with 151 licence holders, ~$4.6 m pa

Ocean Hauling Fishery - 3,500 tonnes pa, worth ~ $6 m pa;

Ocean Trawl Fishery - targets prawns ($16 m landed value, 318 licence holders) and

fish (silver trevally, tiger flathead and redfish, 98 licence holders);

Ocean Trap and Line Fishery – a diverse fishery

Commercial fishing is not large in the EMP (East Marine Planning region Fig. 3), valued in

2002-2006 at around $320 m and 1.4% of the national value. These AFMA managed fisheries

(http://www.afma.gov.au/fisheries/default.htm) included the East Coast Deepwater trawl

fisheries, from NSW to LHI (10 concessions, using demersal and midwater trawling); the

Commonwealth Trawl Sector (formerly South East Trawl Fishery), with nearly 60 concessions,

54 vessels using otter trawl and Danish seine methods, some midwater trawling; the Eastern

Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) with over 100 permits, 72 vessels using pelagic longline,

minor line (handline, troll, rod and reel).

The combination of phytoplankton cycles and blooms with upwelling, EAC strengthening and

sea-surface warming or an increase in ECL‟s, have yet to be investigated against fish

occurrences and stocks. Natural algal food sources for in-situ aquaculture farming also require

observation against increasing sea-surface temperatures and associated shifts in plankton stocks,

cycles and dispersion.

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Figure 3. The East Marine Planning region (excluding the GBR but including the Coral

Sea and much of the Tasman Sea between the NSW coast to Lord Howe Island). The

colours represent annual average tonnage 2002-2006 recorded by AFMA (i.e.

Commonwealth fisheries beyond 3 nm). Note the distribution is largely restricted to the very narrow, continental shelf (after Moore et al. 2007).

Shark Attacks

In February-March 2009, 3 separate shark attacks occurred in Sydney waters and the first for

nearly 50 years, despite observations of sharks in earlier summers. The presence of sharks in the

harbour surprised the public and resulted in a decline in beach attendance. This period was

distinguished by strong, wind induced upwelling which reduced local water temperatures at the

warmest time of the year from 25ºC to as low as 15ºC. The actual bio-physical relationships and

a risk model for management remain a challenge for NSW-IMOS.

Marine Parks

Marine parks in NSW are located at Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Lord Howe Island, Jervis

Bay, Port Stephens-Great Lakes and Bateman‟s Bay region, covering ~3,500 km2. The NSW

Marine Parks Authority (MPA) through NSW DECCW aims to establish and manage a system

of multiple-use marine parks designed to conserve marine biodiversity, maintain ecological

processes and provide for ecologically-sustainable use, public appreciation and education of the

marine environment. An important factor requiring consideration during marine park zoning is

the extent of connectivity among populations of the key species, although it is recognised that

this is a feature of marine populations about which we know relatively little. There are still

considerable gaps in our understanding of how the key habitats along the NSW coast are

connected by larval dispersal, whether existing marine park sanctuary zones act as larval

sources, sinks or neither, and how these locations vary seasonally and inter-annually. However,

it is clear that the EAC is a major driver of the spatial and temporal patterns of connectivity.

Information on post-settlement connectivity is also essential to ensure that the location, size and

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configuration of sanctuary („no-take‟) zones provides adequate protection to mobile species

during different life-history stages.

Marine parks in NSW undergo an extensive review of zoning arrangements approximately every

five years providing a clear mechanism to incorporate information on population connectivity

into the zoning review. To assist with adaptive management of these parks and their zoning a

more thorough understanding of connectivity amongst areas, and the degree of “spill-over” is

required. Moreover, knowledge of how economic and ecologically important benthic habitats

(e.g. kelp forests) are influenced by the EAC and climate will aid in determining marine park

success in achieving its goal of conserving biodiversity.

Shipping

For 2005-2006, ports of the East Marine Planning region (mostly Newcastle, Sydney (Sydney

Harbour and Botany Bay), Brisbane, Port Kembla) accounted for 42% of the nation‟s exports

and 51% of national imports by tonnage (Anon. 2007). These ports accounted for 18% of freight

loaded and 67% unloaded by all Australian ports. The busiest sea lanes are through the Coral

Sea.

Marine Biotechnology

Bioprospecting – the use of naturally derived compounds for the development of drugs or other

products – has a rich history (> 30% of current drugs come from natural sources), and has

obvious socio-economic benefits. The complex oceanography in the NSW region associated

with mixing of the EAC with coastal water and in the generation of eddies suggests a relatively

diverse source of potential microbiological targets for use in medicine and other industries.

Mining

There are no mining activities off NSW, but there is potential for sand mining, manganese

nodule harvesting, or base/precious metals on the Lord Howe Rise. Sand mining has the greatest

potential for NSW in light of beach erosion and construction needs. An EIS for sand mining off

Sydney was conducted during 1990s.

Defence

One of the two major RAN centres is based in Sydney-Garden Island, with additional bases at

Jervis Bay (HMAS Creswell; HMAS Albatross). The RAN‟s primary need from IMOS is

supporting data to improve operational ocean forecasts (BLUElink), especially wave forecasts.

Summary

In summary the common, socio-economic issues of relevance to NSW and IMOS are: the

warming and strengthening of the EAC, severe storm (wind, wave and rainfall) events which

lead to storm surge and beach erosion, marine park planning and kelp distribution, invasive

species, shark attack, marine tourism and fisheries.

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2. Scientific background

2a) The East Australian Current -a current of eddies

The East Australian Current (EAC) is the major western boundary current of the South Pacific

Gyre, flowing from the southern Coral Sea and along the northern NSW coast (Ridgway &

Dunn 2003). The EAC is Australia‟s largest current and is typically 30 km wide, 200 m deep

and travelling up to 4 knots (2 ms-1

), with a variable annual transport variously estimated as 20-

30 Sv (Mata et al. 2000; Ridgway & Dunn 2003) (1 Sverdrup (Sv), = 106 m

3 s

-1). For

comparison, the EAC has ~5 fold greater volume transport than the seasonally flowing Leeuwin

Current on the west coast. The core of the EAC is centred over the continental slope, although

its coastal presence is felt by eddy encroachment.

Its source water in the south Coral Sea is derived from the South Equatorial Current which has

spent 1-2 years flowing across the Pacific (15ºS), producing a tropical and nutrient poor water

mass. The sea level elevation in this warm pool may be up to a metre higher than the

surrounding sea (the steric height). Ridgway and Dunn (2003) describe 4 stages to the EAC –

the formation in the south Coral Sea (15-24ºS); the intensification of the current off northern

NSW (22-35ºS); the separation stage from the coast (31-33 ºS); and then declining to eddies and

coastal fingers off Tasmania and as far south as 38ºS. The EAC also transports tropical reef fish

well outside their normal range, to almost 6º latitude further south (Booth et al. 2007; Figueira

and Booth 2010).

During intensification the current deepens and accelerates, especially off Smokey Cape (31ºS)

where the shelf is its narrowest (~15 km). Thereafter most of the current separates from the

coast, forming the Tasman Front, which trends eastward towards Lord Howe Island and NZ,

leaving behind a coastal southward flow and a series of large warm core and cold core eddies

(Fig. 4a). The Tasman Front is the middle of 3 eastward branches of the EAC, bounded by the

weak North Tasman Current and the sub-tropical convergence (Wilkin & Zhang 2007). The 7

meanders of the Tasman Front typically occur in specific locations and seem related to the

bottom topography (references in Ridgway & Dunn, 2003). The EAC goes on to form the East

Auckland Current. The separated EAC and Tasman Front are source regions for southwest

Pacific subtropical mode water (Holbrook and Maharaj 2008).

Off NSW, the mesoscale variability is so large that very often a single continuous current cannot

be identified. This characteristic of the EAC distinguishes it from other western boundary

currents (Godfrey et al. 1980b; Wilkin & Zhang 2007). The separation has variously been

ascribed to wind stress, coastal geometry (i.e. the westward retraction of the coast), bottom

topography, or the island circulation around NZ: the reality is complex (Ridgway & Dunn

2003). After separation the EAC retroflects northward and can feed back into the EAC, as an

anticyclonic eddy. Further separations and retroflections are evident along the NSW coast

around 34 and 37ºS (Ridgway & Dunn 2003). The eddies are formed at 90 to 180 d intervals

driven in part by intrinsic instabilities (Marchesiello and Middleton 2000; Bowen et al. 2005).

The anticyclonic eddies clearly transport considerable amounts of heat into the Tasman Sea, or

may turn northeast and coalesce back into the main current. Off Sydney, up to 50% of the

current variability is driven by coastally trapped waves that propagate from storms in the Great

Australian Bight (Middleton and Bye, 2007).

Southeast Australian waters have experienced a multi-decadal warming over recent decades at a

rate of between three and four times the global average (Holbrook and Bindoff 1997; Ridgway

2007) – the global average warming rate being about 0.5-0.6oC century

-1. The southeast

14

Australian region is a global hot-spot for ocean temperature change. Holbrook and Bindoff

(1997) calculated a depth-averaged warming to 100-m depth of 1.5oC century

-1 off Tasmania

based on objectively mapped historical vertical temperature profiles over 34 years (1955-1988).

More recently, using the Maria Island long term quasi-monthly monitoring station (1944-2002,

almost 60-yr), Ridgway (2007) reports a SST warming rate of 2.3 ºC century-1

and increasing

salinity of 0.34 century-1

. Ridgway (2007) and others have noted the remarkable impact of the

EAC‟s southward penetration off Tasmania. The Tasman Sea region, and particularly the

poleward extension of the EAC, is predicted to be strongly impacted from climate change (Cai

et al., 2005). The strengthening of the EAC is predicted to further warm Australian waters by 1-

2ºC by 2030 and 2-3 ºC by 2070s, particularly off Tasmania (Poloczanska et al. 2008). In a

recent review, Murphy and Timbal (2007) investigated the relationship between rainfall,

maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperature (Tmin) of continental southeastern

Australia (SEA) and three SST indices (NINO4 – an equatorial Pacific index, Indian Ocean

Index, IOI, representative of the eastern arm of the Indian Ocean Dipole, and an index of the

Tasman Sea, TSI – mean of 150-160E, 30-40S). TSI was more strongly correlated with rainfall,

Tmax and Tmin of SEA in autumn than either NINO4 or IOI, and was the best overall predictor

of temperature throughout the year. It is clear that temperature dependent crops (i.e. frost

sensitive) and those crops that depend on autumn rainfall are sensitive to the variability and

potential changes in the Tasman Sea.

The effect of Tasman Sea state on marine ecosystems is more direct. The Tasman Sea is best

characterised by water masses including the warmer Coral Sea waters which are biologically

unproductive while the cooler Tasman Sea waters are more productive (Baird et al. 2008).

Under this simplified view, warm-core eddies represent regions of pinched-off meanders of

Coral Sea (EAC) water surrounded by Tasman Sea water. Any shift in Coral Sea waters

southward, or in the characteristics of eddies produced by the EAC may change biological

productivity and alter the species of fish caught – and therefore the economics of southeast

Australian fisheries (Hobday and Hartman 2006). One study has revealed that the increase in

water temperature of the Tasman Sea has increased the growth rates of juvenile commercial fish

such as redfish and jackass morwong, which generally reside in the upper 250 m (Thresher et al.

2007). Conversely, they found the juvenile growth rates of deep water fish (orange roughy and

oreos, >1000 m) actually decreased, although the authors anticipated that under climate change

this would eventually reverse. The cause of this decreased growth was also related to cooler

temperatures, possibly as a result of increasing flow by the enigmatic EAC undercurrent

(Cresswell 1994). Changes to the benthic habitats and epibenthos could therefore be very useful

integrators of climate change and adaptation.

Another interesting interaction between climate and marine ecosystem processes is created

through dust deposition. Aeolian dust is enriched in iron which is often a key limiting nutrient in

waters that are otherwise rich in nitrogen and phosphorous. The potential for dust export from

continent to ocean will increase as the Australian continent becomes drier and more prone to

bush fires (McGowan, et al. 2000; Murphy & Timbal 2007). Dust from central Australia

typically exits the continent over Victoria and across the Tasman, sometimes being deposited on

NZ shores. This transport may significantly reduce solar radiation, increase nitrogen and iron

inputs, possibly increase phytoplankton growth and carbon draw-down.

In summary, until now there has been no sea level analogue, to compare with the Leeuwin

Current and its relationship with Fremantle sea level, for poleward current strength in the EAC

(although results reported by Holbrook (2010) and Holbrook et al.(2010, in press) suggest that

the Fort Denison sea level record may be useful in this regard). The Maria Island record clearly

shows the southward penetration of isotherms is occurring. BLUElink (Australia‟s ocean

15

forecasting system) and the data supporting it is our only tool, although still limited at 10 km2

resolution, and accuracy is limited on the narrow continental shelf where most of the sailing and

fisheries occur. Reanalysis (BRAN) provides useful input at the boundary of higher resolution

models that are designed for continental shelves. Ocean forecasts may under-represent cyclonic

cold core eddies, and the Tasman Sea shows persistent deviation between observations and

forecasts. Studies have been made of large anticyclonic eddies (>100 km diameter), but we have

no understanding or index of smaller scale features (<50 km diameter). Our knowledge of

processes at the shelf break (200 m isobath) is very limited; we have no knowledge of the EAC

Undercurrent noted by George Cresswell. The Leeuwin Undercurrent is important in forming

counter-rotating eddies. By comparison to the knowledge of the behaviour and variability of

other western boundary currents such as the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio there has been

remarkable lack of investigation into the EAC and its eddy field, for a current renowned for its

mesoscale variability.

2b) Continental Shelf Processes

Upwelling, cross-shelf flows. In the last decade, there have been a number of studies

undertaken on the dynamics of coastal ocean processes off the NSW coast. Much work has

focused on measurement and modeling of regional and coastal circulation together with the

hydrological structure. Objectives have included understanding the effects of the forcings (by

the EAC as a boundary current, and by wind) on the response in surface, midwater and bottom

boundary layer regions of the continental shelf waters. Models have included both 2

dimensional and 3 dimensional configurations using the Princeton Ocean Model and more

recently the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This has been complemented by

extensive observational studies focused on slope water intrusion dynamics on the continental

shelf. The structures are complex and an understanding of these processes is essential for

development of an understanding of the regional physical oceanography, for future physical

model developments and as a supporting science for other marine disciplines and for

atmospheric studies.

The EAC accelerates off northern New South Wales where the continental shelf off Smoky

Cape (~31ºS) narrows by half in less than 0.5º latitude, to just 16 km wide. The acceleration

pushes up cool nutrient rich water generating marked upwelling signatures in Sea Surface

Temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a, typically between 30-33ºS (Oke and Middleton 2000;

2001; Roughan and Middleton 2002; 2004; Roughan et al. 2003). The separation point and fast

current can sporadically generate upwelling of cooler water, rich in nitrate and phosphate,

particularly during the summer (Fig. 4b,c).

Further uplifting is facilitated by the strength of the EAC, by the eddies, by topography and by

summer north-easterly winds (Roughan and Middleton 2002), all of which can stimulate

phytoplankton blooms and red tides. The separation zone north of Port Stephens is responsible

for most of the red tides off Sydney (Dela-Cruz et al. 2003; 2008). The green ocean colour off

Port Stephens is consistently observed in MODIS and coupled bio-physical models of the region

(Baird and Suthers 2007). The nutrient load delivered by these upwelling events outweighs that

delivered by river discharge or sewage discharge (Pritchard et al. 2003) by an order of

magnitude. Nevertheless it is worth noting that upwelling is sporadic, while sewage discharge is

continuous and rich in the more biologically available forms of nitrogen (such as ammonium).

For example using stable isotope methods, more than 50% of N in a planktivorous fish was

derived from a coastal outfall in Jervis Bay (Gaston et al. 2004). Estuarine plumes off Sydney

(from the Hawkesbury River) can sometimes extend up to half way across the continental shelf

(15 km, Kingsford and Suthers 1994).

16

Topographic steering of the Tasman Front is evident, but at the regional scale flow disturbance

around seamounts, headlands and islands is also evident and has great potential to structure

plankton and influence larval transport. Creswell (1983) also noted the presence of weak

clockwise cells in the embayments of northern NSW (e.g. between Smoky Cape and Korogoro

Pt, Hat Head and Crescent Head; Crescent Head and Pt Plomer). These local circulations could

have significant importance for genetic structuring of benthic invertebrates and other marine

organisms (Banks et al. 2007).

In addition to the EAC inducing mixing through interactions with topographic features, tides

interact with these features generating internal tides and waves. Internal waves and tides are a

significant source of mixing in the ocean and there are indications that internal tides occur in the

coastal waters off eastern Australia (Egbert and Ray 2001; Holloway and Merrifield 1999).

Internal tides interact non-linearly with currents, both generating mixing (Robertson 2006,

2009) and impeding the current flow (Robertson 2005). Like upwelling, this will impact nutrient

availability and although the nutrient flow may be small in comparison to upwelling events,

tidal pumping is regular, even if it only occurs fortnightly during spring tides. Furthermore, both

the chain of seamounts and the continental slope will experience diurnal critical latitude effects

in this region. At the critical latitude, where the inertial frequency equals the tidal frequency,

resonant effects become prominent, internal tidal effects are amplified, and even relatively flat

slopes can generate internal tides (Baines 1986; Middleton and Denniss 1993; Robertson 2001).

The chain of seamounts off Eastern Australia provides an excellent opportunity to investigate

critical latitude effects on currents and mixing. Although it is cost prohibitive to design the

needed moorings to investigate the internal tides in this region, observations are necessary to set

up realistic initial conditions for modelling studies and to verify and evaluate model

performance. The internal tidal fields from these simulations will be available to the RAN to

evaluate the effects of internal tides on sonar operations. Preliminary investigations in the

Indonesian Seas have found sound channels to come and go with the tidal cycles.

Marine Parks. Understanding connectivity patterns is crucial to unlocking the long-standing

“black box” of dispersal in marine organisms. Connectivity has particular relevance to marine

resource management because areas protected from fishing (e.g., marine protected areas) can be

a source of larvae to replenish habitats over broad geographic scales. Less tangible benefits of

marine parks to surrounding non-protective areas (e.g., for fisheries) due to enhanced export of

larvae are more difficult to measure and depend strongly on the wider network in which the park

is located (Gladstone, 2007). Marine park design requires strategic choice of appropriate and

sufficient habitat and an understanding of its biological connectivity with adjacent

habitats/parks. The spacing of protected areas for optimal metapopulation performance

(maximum benefits to population persistence across its whole geographic range) will depend on

the life histories of protected species and the dynamics of local oceanography (Botsford et al.

2003; Palumbi 2003; Lipcius et al. 2005; Roughan et al. 2005).

The coast of southeastern Australia comprises species-rich and diverse habitats across eastern

Australia‟s tropical-subtropical and temperate transitions. This, together with the pervasive

influence of the Eastern Australia Current (EAC) on marine connectivity is a challenge for

managers as they strive to understand the mechanisms underlying resident biodiversity. There is

a poor understanding of how habitats along the NSW coast are connected by larval dispersal,

whether existing marine park sanctuary zones act as larval sources, sinks or neither, and how

these locations vary seasonally and inter-annually (Roughan et al. 2010c). The complex issues

involved include variation in reproductive timing, life histories, planktonic durations and larval

behaviour.

17

SE Australia is a global hot-spot for ocean temperature anomalies (Hill et al. 2008; Thompson et

al. 2009) and its marine ecosystems will be strongly affected by global climate change.

Predictions indicate a further strengthening (Cai et al. 2005) and southward migration (Ridgway

2007) of the EAC throughout the century. The net effect of these changes on the biological

connectivity of coastal populations is a critical concern for coastal management. Circulation

modelling from the Solitary Islands and the NSW coast will directly feed into the assessment

and review of marine park zoning as demonstrated by similar research in California Marine

Parks (Roughan et al. 2005; Mace and Morgan 2006).

Mesoscale EAC features. Sometimes cyclonic (clockwise, cold-core) coastal eddies are

generated as the EAC meanders and separates from the coast in the vicinity of Port Stephens and

the Stockton Bight, sometimes entraining coastal water from this enriched separation area. Such

eddies are reported to hold the key to survival and recruitment of fish larvae in the Kuroshio

system (Kasai et al. 2002). It is therefore thought that entrainment of coastal separation zone

water into cold-core eddies off NSW could provide an oceanographic index of fisheries yield.

By comparison, the EAC‟s large anticyclonic warm core eddies are essentially a marine desert

(Griffiths and Wadley 1986). Warm core eddies can induce upwelling at the perimeter (Tranter

et al. 1983), but there is little data regarding the EAC‟s cyclonic cold-core eddies.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN), which has designated exercise areas in the Tasman Sea, has

a requirement to understand mesoscale features, in order to assess the acoustic properties of the

ocean for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) applications (Jacobs et al., 2009). Knowledge of

current structures is also used by the Navy for planning the most efficient passages, and would

be used in the event of Search and Rescue (SAR) activities. For this reason, the RAN is a

participant in the BLUElink project, which uses IMOS data streams for data assimilation, and is

engaged in NSW-IMOS through its R&D arm, the Defence Science and Technology

Organisation (DSTO).

Biological and Ecosystem Responses

Phytoplankton. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

has collected data at two stations offshore from Port Hacking (50 m and 100 m station) since the

1940‟s, one of Australia‟s longest ocean time-series data records. Studies at these stations have

included variations in plankton pigments (Humphrey, 1960, 1963; Hallegraeff, 1981), water

quality parameters (Newell, 1966) and their relationship with phytoplankton abundance (Grant

and Kerr, 1970; Grant, 1971), and the seasonal succession of phytoplankton in relation to the

hydrological environment (Jeffrey and Carpenter, 1974; Hallegraeff and Reid, 1986, Pritchard et

al. 2003). The long-term variability of the oceanographic data at the Port Hacking stations has

been summarised by Sydney Water (Water Board, 1988) and was discussed by Hahn et al.

(1977), Hallegraeff (1993) and more recently by Thompson et al. (2009).

Hallegraeff (1993) suggested that nitrate and phosphate concentrations had increased at these

stations between 1960 and 1990. Similarly, he noted that there has been an apparent increase in

the frequency, strength and extent of visible algal blooms between 1984 and 1993, with only a

handful reported prior to this time. Hallegraeff and Reid (1986) investigated phytoplankton

species successions at the 100m station in relation to physicochemical factors and confirmed the

species sequence found by previous investigations.

Ajani et al. (2001) continued investigations into Port Hacking 100m phytoplankton assemblages

and their physicochemical environment during the year 1997-98. Phytoplankton blooms of

similar frequency and magnitude seen in this study had been previously recorded, however, in

contrast to earlier work, where a variety of taxa dominated throughout the year, the small diatom

18

Thalassiosira partheneia generally dominated blooms throughout the 1997-98 sampling year.

In addition, presence/absence data for the heterotrophic dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans,

indicated a higher frequency of occurrence for this species than previously documented.

Since 1998 CSIRO/DECCW have continued to monitor physicochemical parameters

(temperature, salinity, dissolved nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and chl-a) and archive monthly

phytoplankton net samples from the 100m station. There have been no studies in terms of

phytoplankton composition and seasonal patterns since Ajani et al. (2001), however, research is

currently underway to complete a decadal time-series (from 1998) record of phytoplankton

occurrence at Pt Hacking (P. Ajani, PhD Macquarie University) and assess impacts of climate

variability on NSW microalgal coastal blooms over the last 20 years (Ajani et al., in-

prep/submitted in 2010). Thompson et al. (2009) showed from the data accumulated to date that

the strengthening of the EAC and the variation between El Niño/La Niña events has impacted

on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the Australian temperate water systems

down to Maria Island, Tasmania. Increased strength and impact of the EAC, and declining

silicate concentration levels have the potential to influence the relative abundance of diatoms to

flagellates in the autumn bloom period.

Changes in Kelp Distributions. The East Australia Current (EAC) is the key oceanographic

feature off Australia‟s east coast (Fig. 4a) and is likely to be a major factor influencing the

distributions of benthic organisms. This warm water current is known to vary substantially

among years in its strength and southward extension and is forecast to change further given

climate change. This is of major concern for the long-term persistence of important ecosystem

engineers such as kelps; the forests of the sea. Kelps are characteristically cool water species

and any increase in water temperature (and associated decrease in nutrients) along the NSW

coast via strengthening of the EAC is likely to have a significant impact on kelp distribution and

abundance. Further, because kelps are the key habitat forming species on our temperate reefs

supporting extremely biodiverse communities (e.g. Edgar 1983, 1984; Coleman et al. 2007,

Ling 2008) and represent a key part of marine food chains, any changes in kelp abundance and

distribution will have cascading effects on associated biota and on coastal ecosystems in NSW

as a whole.

Recent observations from the east coast of Australia suggest that our most abundant and

conspicuous habitat-forming kelp, Ecklonia radiata may already be shifting its distribution

southwards in response to changes in SST and the more southerly intrusion of the EAC (pers.

obs. A.J.K Millar). Further, there may also be changes in depth distribution with Ecklonia

radiata restricted to depths greater than 20m in SE Queensland and greater depths at Norfolk

Island where it was once abundant in shallower waters (pers. obs. A.J.K Millar). Preliminary

observations indicate that kelp may be afforded refugia at depth because stratification and

cooler, nutrient rich water (upwelled from the shelf break) are able to sustain populations.

Similar observations have been documented for the kelp, Eisenia galapagenis in the Galapagos

where cooler, deeper waters (> 60 m) provide refugia for healthy kelp forests and their

associated communities (Graham et al. 2007). Kelp forest communities in NSW have also

shown changes in distribution in response to local factors (nutrients, urbanisation), as evidenced

by the recent disappearance of the formerly abundant macroalga Phyllospora comosa in the

Sydney region (Coleman et al. 2008).

Marine Protected areas may play an important role in the long-term persistence of kelp forests in

NSW. First, since the effects of climate change (e.g. rising sea water temperature and increased

CO2) often act synergistically with local anthropogenic impacts to negatively affect the

abundance of kelp forests, the resilience of kelp forests to these climate change effects may be

enhanced by the use of marine protected areas where such impacts are restricted. That is, by

19

setting aside areas where anthropogenic impacts are limited (sanctuary zones) the effects of

climate change on kelp may be less severe. Second, marine protected areas may enhance the

abundance of kelp forests, and thus enhance overall coastal ecosystem diversity and productivity

via trophic cascades. This change may occur as a result of larger, predatory fishes returning to

protected areas, and subsequently decreasing the abundance/ distribution of herbivorous sea

urchins which can devastate kelp forests (e.g. NZ; Babcock et al. 1999, Shears & Babcock

2002). This aspect of coastal ecology also interacts strongly with climate change and the

influence of the EAC for a simple reason; if the EAC drives kelp southward and to greater

depths, their ability to repopulate protected areas may be compromised regardless of changes in

predator/grazer abundance. Given the importance of kelp forests for biodiversity and ecological

processes on subtidal reefs, understanding how the EAC might be driving changes in kelp

distribution will greatly assist adaptive management of established Marine Protected Areas in

NSW.

There is a broader national benefit that is focused on quantifying the effect of changes in the

major boundary currents on the east (EAC) and west (Leeuwin Current) coasts of Australia on

the distribution of Ecklonia radiata, and of relating reef community structure to environmental

parameters driven by the physics. Of particular interest are whether the strength of biophysical

coupling and rate of environmental change, with concomitant effects on E. radiata and

associated biota, is similar on reefs in the west and east; whether northern boundaries of E.

radiata and the balance in competitive interactions between the kelp and coral are changing

similarly in the east and west; and whether relegation of E. radiata to deep water refuges as

observed in other low latitude areas (Graham et al. 2007) is similarly evident in the east and

west.

Fish and shark distributions. The relationship between the EAC activity and fish movements

and distribution is not well characterised for NSW. The EAC transports larval fish from the

Great Barrier Reef to southern NSW (Booth et al. 2007). The strengthening EAC has shifted the

Temperature-Salinity properties 350 km south, and therefore enhanced over-wintering survival

of warm water fish (Figueira and Booth 2010). A recent report indicates a shift of 30 new,

warm water species into Tasmanian coastal waters and a corresponding decline in 19 cold water

species (White et al. in press, Global Ecology and Biogeography). One ecosystem outcome for

such shifts in Tasmania is evident in the demise of bull kelp and the rise in abundance of sea

urchins from NSW (Lind et al. 2009). The ecological effects of warming NSW waters are

unknown. Offshore, the Tasman Sea long line fishery is now managed in real time by SST

(Hobday and Hartmann 2006), which in turn is correlated with other water type characteristics

(pelagic habitats), with long term fluctuations in habitat area (Hobday et al. in press; Hartog et

al. in press).

Fish habitats on the continental shelf are influenced by eddy encroachment and sporadic

freshwater discharge (Kingsford and Suthers 1996). Temperate estuaries that feed the east

Australian coastal zone have the most variable seasonal freshwater inputs in the world

(Gillanders and Kingsford 2002), which has a strong effect on estuarine and coastal fisheries

(Gillson et al. 2009). Recent observations of juvenile white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

homing to surf beaches near Port Stephens (Barry Bruce pers. comm.), and the 3 shark attacks in

Sydney Harbour and surf beaches in late summer 2009, have renewed interest in shark

movements in relation to the EAC.

20

Figure 4a. Satellite image of sea surface temperature (left) and ocean colour (right) along

the east coast of Australia. The separation of the EAC from the coast is shown clearly, as

is the biological response represented by the ocean colour (Courtesy M. Baird).

21

Figure 4b. Climatological temperature-salinity properties of the southeast Australian

continental shelf, showing the annual cycle of surface T-S properties in the CSIRO Atlas

of Regional Seas version 2006a for the points closest to the 200 m isobath at 28ºS, 30ºS,

32ºS, 34ºS, 36ºS and 38ºS. Month labels are centred on the 15th of each month. The insert

shows the location of the CARS sites along the southeast Australian seaboard with the 200

m isobath drawn as a thin line. Note the shift in seasonal cycle in T-S from above and

below the separation zone (figure modified from Baird et al. in press).

22

Figure 4c. The nitrate climatology for the region, for <200 m from the surface, derived

from CARS (Suthers et al. submitted to DSR-II). Scale bar in μM.

23

2c) Research Questions to be addressed by NSW-IMOS:

The key research aims pertinent to NSW-IMOS are:

1) To contribute to national observations of decadal changes and climate variability of the

EAC, Leeuwin, and Flinders Currents using common platforms and metrics.

i) To determine the variability in EAC strength from its source in the Coral Sea, the

seasonal and spatial variability in the separation of the EAC from central NSW, and the

EAC‟s southward extension;

ii) Contribute to monitoring the Bass Strait outflow and the northward coastally trapped

wave propagation;

iii) Contribute to the national backbone through the National Reference Station network and

the supplementation of Satellite Remote Sensing products with local data.

2) To investigate the EAC, its separation from the coast, and the resultant eddy field

along the coast of SE Australia.

i) To determine the frequency, form and function (horizontal and vertical) of EAC

eddies;

ii) To understand air sea interactions, particularly to determine the development of East

Coast Lows and severe winter storms in relation to warm core eddies;

iii) Quantify the impact of key physical processes such as onshore encroachment of the

EAC, slope water intrusions, upwelling, downwelling and internal waves.

3) To quantify oceanographic processes on the continental shelf and slope of SE

Australia: i) Examine the coastal wind and wave climate in driving nearshore currents and the

northward sediment transport;

ii) Quantify the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (nutrients and phytoplankton

composition);

iii) Determine the transport and dispersal of passive particles (e.g. larvae, eggs, spores)

and the degree of along coast connectivity and trophic linkages.

4) Integrate the ecosystem response with oceanographic processes:


oceanographic and climate-driven changes in physical and chemical ocean

properties;

ii) Quantify rocky reef biota variables (kelp distribution and abundance) associated with

climate variability, at with deep reefs along the NSW to Tasmanian coast;



iv) Quantify the seasonal and yearly variation of upper-predator (fish and marine

mammal) communities.

24

2d) How will NSW-IMOS activities fit within a national IMOS, in relation to

the node-specific IMOS strategic priorities 2009-2013?

Ongoing development of a coherent, well-positioned Bluewater and Climate (BWC) Node

BWC provides essential context for our regional observations:

1) The SOOP-XBT line from Brisbane to Noumea provides the annual trends in the EAC

heat flux across the Tasman Front (e.g. Ridgway et al. 2008), while we in turn support

BWC with the resultant EAC-shelf interaction north and south of the separation zone.

2) Opportunistic profiles of temperature and salinity through selected EAC eddies are

provided by the ARGO program, while our gliders can be targeted to sample eddies that

are missed by ARGO floats;

3) NSW-IMOS welcomes sustained data from the SOOP-CPR line from Brisbane-Sydney-

Melbourne-Adelaide, which will provide long term data on the distribution of plankton

along the eastern and south-eastern Australian coast. In turn, our goal is to compare the

CPR and bio-acoustic data for the region with phytoplankton and zooplankton data from

the National Reference Transect off Port Hacking.

4) We need the Blue Water & Climate‟s EAC shelf to abyss mooring line off southern

Queensland as it will identify the full depth EAC transport and variability, which forms

the upstream condition of the EAC inflow along the NSW coast.

Providing a national backbone for observing boundary currents

NSW-IMOS contributes to the national boundary current observations through:

Biogeochemical sampling at the National Reference Station off Sydney, and to provide

validation data for bio-optical sensors and satellite match-up data for Satellite Remote

Sensing;

Continuing the long-term (70 year) biogeochemical sampling along the National

Reference Transect combined with the four oceanographic moorings off Sydney,

providing vertical structure of T, S and velocity. In addition the moorings off Coffs

Harbour, and especially the new mooring pair off southern NSW (Bateman‟s Bay/Eden),

will provide data in Australia‟s most variable region which is the most problematic

region for BLUElink ocean forecasts.

Observing detailed structure of the EAC and eddies (especially vertical structure from

gliders), to complement serendipitous ARGO profiles;

Contributing to the calibration of remotely sensed observations through addition of bio-

optical sensors to the mooring network and appropriate biogeochemical sampling.

Assessing the ecological implications of varying boundary currents by monitoring the

movements of nationally migrating specie (such as white shark); as well as

phytoplankton and zooplankton composition at the National Reference Transect;

Assessment of the distribution and abundance of kelp and other deep reef biota and how

this is changing at numerous locations in Australia.

The NSW-IMOS science plan provides essential “up-stream” observations for the waters

further south (i.e. relevant to Tas-IMOS), and examines the teleconnections of

meteorological and oceanographic forcing.

NSW-IMOS complements the Blue Water & Climate and Q-IMOS deepwater mooring

array at 27ºS (where the EAC is most coherent), with the Coffs Harbour mooring array

and HF radar measurements of surface velocity.

25

Ongoing development of the Regional Nodes?

At the mid-term Review, the progress of NSW-IMOS and SIMS since their independent

beginnings in 2006 was acknowledged, but “further institutional support was required from

within NSW to strengthen the node”. In March 2009 the deputy premier of NSW Carmel Tebutt,

along with the chair of the Ian Potter Foundation, and the chair of SIMS jointly announced the

release of $1.8M to support the development of SIMS in coastal geomorphology/oceanography

and marine biotechnology, and to lease the last remaining building at the Chowder Bay precinct.

In 2010, the NSW state government awarded NSW-IMOS $600,000 to contribute to IMOS

personnel to provide technical support through to mid 2013 to facilitate the deployment,

maintenance and analysis of NSW-IMOS data streams.

In May 2009, SIMS was successful with a $19.5M EIF grant to refurbish buildings, create

laboratories, improve seawater supplies and purchase vehicles and boats. In July 2009 Professor

Peter Steinberg took up position as Director of SIMS. Since the mid-term review in 2009 there

have been several marine academic appointments (tenured) in NSW with significant interests in

IMOS including: Dr Martina Doblin (UTS), Dr Leanne Armand (Macquarie U.), Dr Matthew

Taylor (UNSW), Dr Adriana Verges (UNSW), Dr Will Figueria (U.Syd), Professor William

Gladstone (UTS), Dr Peter Biro (Future Fellow, UNSW).

26

3. Pre-existing observations

3-1) What sustained pre-IMOS observations already exist in the region?

Prior to IMOS the main broadscale data supporting the EAC descriptions and models came

from: remote sensing (sea level elevation and sea surface temperature), two high density repeat

XBT sections from Brisbane (27◦S) to Fiji, and Sydney (34

◦S) to Wellington, NZ (Ridgway et

al., 2008) and from 2 years of moorings and hydrography off 30◦S (Mata et al., 2000). Extensive

regional data is also available from the RV Franklin surveys and short mooring deployments

conducted by CSIRO (e.g. Hamon, 1965, 1968; Cresswell, 1974, 1976; Cresswell et al., 1983;

Cresswell, 1994; Godfrey et al., 1980a,b, inter alia) and the UNSW Coastal and Regional

Oceanography Laboratory over the past 40 years (e.g. Griffin and Middleton, 1992; Gibbs et al.,

1998; Oke and Middleton, 2000; Roughan and Middleton, 2002, 2004; Baird et al., 2008, inter

alia).

Off Port Hacking, Sydney (34.05◦S) is one of Australia‟s longest running hydrographic

monitoring stations (since 1942), at the 50 m and 100 m isobaths (PH050, PH100). Instigated

initially by CSIRO Marine Research (now CMAR), in recent decades the monthly monitoring

has been run for CMAR by NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water

(DECCW).

Initially temperature was monitored (using reversing thermometers) at nominally monthly

intervals at the CSIRO long term monitoring stations: PH050 (d=0,10,20,30,40,50 m) and

PH100 (d=0,10,25,50,75,100 m). Monthly CTD profiles have been sampled by DECCW at

PH025, PH050, PH100 and PH125 since 1997 (Table 1; Fig. 5). Zooplankton samples have also

been collected at the two stations since 1997. In addition to the monthly sampling an intensive

period of weekly sampling was undertaken in 1997 (Ajani et al., 2001) to replicate studies

undertaken 20 years earlier (Hallegraeff and Jeffrey, 1993). Monthly plankton net samples from

PH050 and PH100 have been collected and preserved for the period April 1997 - March 1998

and then November 1998 to the present. Some of the data from this long term sampling are

presented in (Thompson et al., 2009). This valuable time-series assessment of the

phytoplankton composition is now being continued through PhD research at Macquarie

University and is supported by a Government APA, ABRS and NSW Safe Foods funding

(Ajani, 2010-2012).

Table 1. National Reference Transect: Port Hacking (Sydney)

Station (water depth) Latitude Longitude

PH025 (25m) S 34o 04.94‟ E 151

o 10.79‟

PH050* (55m) S 34o 05.35‟ E 151

o 11.35‟

PH100* (105m) S 34o 06.98‟ E 151

o 13.14‟

PH125 (125m) S 34o 08.88‟ E 151

o 15.37‟

* CSIRO collected or funded sampling for temperature and nutrients, since 1942.

Lobster puerulus have been collected monthly from collectors deployed during the spring-

autumn period off Coffs Harbour, Tuncurry, Sydney and Ulladulla since 1995. Associated

invertebrates were not retained except for 2006-2007 and 2008-09.

There is only one site of sustained moored observations of the ocean along the coast of NSW,

the Ocean Reference Station (ORS), which has been in operation off Sydney since November

1989. The ORS provides Sydney Water Corporation with oceanographic data, required as part

of their operating licence for the discharge of sewage. This mooring is currently operated by

Oceanographic Field Services (OFS). The ORS is located 3 km off Bondi Beach, in 65 m of

27

water (Fig. 5). Up until 2005 it had a large surface float with anemometers, two S4 current

meters at 17 and 52 m and 14 thermistors between the surface and 52 m. In 2006 it was

reconfigured with an upward looking ADCP, a thermistor string and CTD (11 m above bottom)

on a sub-surface mooring.

Seven waverider buoys have been maintained (for up to 30 years) by the Manly Hydraulics

Laboratory (MHL; NSW Department Service, Technology and Administration) (Kulmar et al.,

2005). Deployed in response to severe storms of 1974, the network constitutes one of the most

comprehensive datasets of its kind in the world. The buoys are typically in 70 m water depth and

between 6 and 12 km from the coast (Table 2; Fig. 5). Only three of the buoys are directional,

but these records show that nearly 50% of the waves are from the S-SE (Kulmar et al., 2005).

The data from the ORS and from the waverider network have been contributed to IMOS

archives as an in-kind contribution from our partners.

Table 2. NSW Waverider buoy stations at Dec 2004 (after Kulmar et al. 2005)

Wave Data Station Date site commissioned Directional buoy deployed

Byron Bay 14 Oct 1976 26 Oct. 1999

Coffs Harbour 26 May 1975 N/A

Crowdy Head 10 Oct 1985 N/A

Sydney 18 Jul 1987 3 Mar. 1992

Port Kembla 7 Feb. 1974 N/A

Batemans Bay 27 May 1986 23 Feb 2001

Eden 8 Feb 1978 N/A

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) holds data from expendable bathythermographic (XBT)

observations collected by RAN ships over many years, which gives temperature in the top 1000

m of the water column. This data is available through the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure

(ASDI), in accordance with Commonwealth policy for the provision of fundamental spatial data.

Work is currently ongoing to make this data available in a much more immediate and

convenient manner, through participation in the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN),

which is working with IMOS through the eMII project to make ocean data available through a

state of the art oceans portal.

The NSW DECCW and NSW Department of Industry and Investment (Fisheries) have

established, legislatively mandated, programs for monitoring coastal habitat along the New

South Wales coast (the Marine and Estuarine Reporting program and others) using aerial

photography, swath mapping, towed video and other technologies. These programs will

continue for the duration of this proposed IMOS program and are being incorporated as co-

investment into the program. Some of this data is for deep water reefs (video tows), most for

more shallow reefs (< 20 m).

Movements of white sharks (Chacharodon carcharias) tagged by CMAR off South Australia

(e.g. Bruce et al. 2006) show them to use the entire coastline of NSW. Their northward

migration has frequently pauses off Port Stephens and Newcastle (Stockton Beach), which is

related to frequent shark attacks. Two of the 3 shark attacks off Sydney in Feb. 2009 were by

juvenile white sharks. Grey nurse shark (Charcharias taurus) are considered endangered and an

extensive shark tagging program since 2005 is derived from the NSW Department of Industry &

Innovation with a latitudinal array of 70 VR2W receivers at key grey nurse shark aggregation

sites, known as “SEACAMS”. The NSW Department of I&I also have additional VR2W

receivers on headlands and at entrances to various estuaries.

28

3-2) Existing IMOS observations for NSW-IMOS already online and

justification of on-going need

3-2.1 Ocean Moorings (ANMN) – NSW sub-facility

Moninya Roughan, Brad Morris, Tim Pritchard, Hua Wang, Martina Doblin, Leanne

Armand, Iain Suthers, et al.

The NSW-IMOS ANMN sub-facility has been collecting temperature and velocity time series

data from the two Sydney moorings SYD100 and SYD140 (Fig. 5) since June 2008. Recently,

Water Quality Monitor data has been delivered from 28 m depth at SYD100 (since October

2009) and from the PH100 mooring (since May 2010). In addition, time series of temperature,

salinity and velocity from ORS065 (Ocean Reference Station) off Bondi (Fig. 5) have been

obtained as an in-kind contribution from Sydney Water Corporation (1989 to present). Details of

the NSW-IMOS moorings are shown in Table 3 and the data coverage to date for these data

streams is shown in Fig. 6. These data are now being delivered to eMII.

Figure 5. Map showing locations of NSW-IMOS moorings, including moorings already

deployed and the Eden mooring to be deployed. Also shown are the locations of the

current hydrographic sampling sites, the waverider buoy network, the ocean reference station, the HR radar coverage and the current AATAMS lines. (Roughan et al. 2010a)

Two moorings off Coffs Harbour, CH070 and CH100, locations shown in Fig. 5, were deployed

in August 2009. The data coverage for these data streams is shown in Fig. 6, and these data are

now being delivered to eMII. The temperature and velocity data sets from the mooring off Jervis

Bay, JB070 (Fig. 5), are currently being made available via eMII.

29

Figure 6 Data coverage to date for NSW-IMOS moorings; CH070, CH100, ORS065,

SYD100, SYD140, PH100 and JB070 from initial deployment (late June 2008- present).

These data are now flowing to the eMII Ocean Data Portal. T = temperature; V = velocity, BGC= Fluorescence, salinity and turbidity sensors.

Data from the seven waverider buoys deployed off the NSW coast (for locations see Fig. 5) are

supplied as an in-kind contribution by MHL to IMOS.

Monthly hydrographic sampling has been undertaken along the NSW-IMOS National Reference

Transect at 4 sites off Port Hacking (Fig. 5). Conductivity, Temperature & Depth (CTD) profiles

are taken at each site along with water quality, phytoplankton pigment sampling at PH50 and

PH100 plus a plankton net sample and a water sample for genetic analysis at PH100. These

biogeochemical data are being made available via eMII. There is considerable trawling around

PH50 and PH100 and this region is regarded as an unsafe location for a long-term mooring.

Nevertheless, because of the historical significance of the region, the PH100 mooring is being

trialled and has so far survived.

Table 3. Details of NSW-IMOS mooring sites.

Mooring Latitude Longitude Depth (m) Distance offshore (km)

CH070 S 30º 16.50‟ E 153º 18.00‟ 70 14.8

CH100 S 30º 16.08‟ E 153º 23.82‟ 100 24.2

ORS065# S 33º 53.85‟ E 151º 18.92‟ 65 2.1

SYD100 S 33º 56.57‟ E 151º 22.92‟ 100 9.9

SYD140 S 34º 59.66‟ E 151º 27.52‟ 140 19.0

PH100* S 34º 06.98‟ E 151º 13.14‟ 100 6.1

JB070 ̂ S 35º 04.98‟ E 150º 51.00‟ 78 1.5

ED100* S 37º 18.96‟ E 150º 19.50‟ 100 18.5

#Mooring maintained and operated by Sydney Water Corporation since Nov. 198.9

^Mooring deployed by UNSW ADFA.

*The actual location of this mooring is still to be finalised.

There is an ongoing need to continue collection of the data streams from all of the existing

mooring locations in order to obtain sustained observations of the EAC, its interaction with the

continental shelf along with the key continental shelf processes of SE Australia. Likewise data

collected at the National Reference Transect provides sustained observations of the

30

biogeochemical response to key oceanographic processes on the SE Australian continental shelf

and adds further value to the significant investment made in this > 60 y time series. See

Roughan et al. 2010a for a preliminary investigation of the data.

3-2.2 Passive Acoustic Observatory (ANMN)

Tracey Rogers, Rob McCauley, Doug Cato, et al.

The NSW passive acoustic observatory has recently commenced and we aim to continue to

sample at least until 2013, with the intention to extend sampling into the future. Passive-

acoustics is a robust data collection system; the data are largely independent of collection error

and inter-observer bias, and as the system is calibrated and the data archived, it provides the

information necessary to assess future abiotic (changes in shipping activity, wind and rain

intensity, and Antarctic ice stability) as well as biotic (changes in species community

assemblage; range shifts; and migratory paths) change within the marine system.

System specifics: The NSW passive acoustic observatory was deployed 9 Feb 2010, using the

vessel San Simone, a 42' Randall fishing boat owned and operated by Noel Gogerly out of

Forster/Tuncurry, in an area that is not fished (Table 4, Figure 7). The four sea noise loggers

sample:

1. 500 s of every 900 s starting on the hour at a 6 kHz sample rate with an effective

frequency range (calibrated) of 1 Hz to 2.8 kHz

2. 200 s once per day at 03:53 UTC at 22 kHz.

Table 4. Details of NSW-IMOS Passive Acoustic Observatory deployment.

NSW Feb 10 Pos 1 Logger 208 m 32 19.362 152 56.672 09-Feb-2010 20:28:42 UTC


NSW Feb 10 Pos 3 Logger 161 m 32 17.918 152 55.848 09-Feb-2010


Note: Positions in WGS 84

The centre logger has an acoustic release which pings at a 20 s interval for 35 minutes once per

day starting nominally at 03:35 UTC (the acoustic release clock will lose over an hour during

the deployment duration so its ping period will drift across the sea noise logger start time). A

ping received at each noise logger is used to synchronise three logger clocks to a fourth,

enabling a tracking capability. As well as the sea noise loggers the four moorings have an

AQUAtech temperature logger on the seabed. The three outside loggers (Pos 1, Pos 2 and Pos 3)

also have a temperature logger sitting 32 m above the seabed at the top of the buoy strings. The

buoy strings are located about 400 m south of each noise logger. The temperature logger at Pos

2 has a pressure sensor. The temperature loggers sample 5 samples at a 15 s increment every 30

minutes starting on the hour. We will make sure the temperature logger clocks are calibrated so

the data can be used as a spatial array. The gear is due for turnaround in Oct-2010 (a 10 month

service cycle to 2013 at this stage of IMOS). Each sea noise logger should collect 129 GB of

data assuming it runs to capacity.

31

Figure 7. Map showing the locations of the NSW-IMOS Passive Acoustic Observatory

deployment.

3-2.3 Ocean Gliders (ANFOG)

Iain Suthers, Mark Baird, David Griffin, Peter Oke, Robin Robertson, Moninya Roughan,

Martina Doblin, et al.

The gliders are the most geographically flexible observation platform available in the IMOS

infrastructure. They can obtain high-resolution observations of dynamic features such as eddies

and fronts, sometimes sampling eddies that ARGO floats either do not sample or only once per

10 d. By sampling between fixed observational platforms such as moorings and radar, gliders

can be used to integrate a range of observational platforms (Send et al. 2010). The gliders

provide data on the vertical structure of the ocean in relation to Satellite Remote Sensing

products, and provide data on bio-optics (chl-a fluorescence, CDOM, particulate backscatter),

which are being correlated with phytoplankton and zooplankton samples.

Our first Slocum glider deployment “Nemo-1” was into a warm-core eddy in Nov 2008 (Fig. 8).

The study was based on 16 days of observations by the glider, but also incorporated data from

the Sydney mooring array, satellite remote sensing, two ARGO floats, and CO2 measurements

from the SOOP program (Baird et al., in press, Roughan et al. 2010b). We learnt of the

importance of surface flooding of eddies by warmer buoyant EAC water, which can change

vertical mixing and lead to phytoplankton blooms. Five further glider deployments have been

undertaken. Two Slocum gliders (Nemo-2 in March 2009 and Nemo-3 in October 2009) and a

Seaglider (“Dory-1” in October 2009 – Jan 2010) have been navigated into cold-core and warm

core eddies, and a fourth Slocum glider (Nemo-4 in October 2009) has been deployed along the

NSW shelf. Nemo-5 was deployed into a cold core eddy (March 2010). Each deployment has

been implemented to take advantage of other IMOS platforms such as the SOOP program and

moorings, and voyages of the National Marine Facility, RV Southern Surveyor.

The gliders have increased our capacity to observe mesoscale eddies by providing quasi-

synoptic, depth-resolved snapshots of physical, chemical and bio-optical ocean properties within

and outside of these oceanographic features (Send et al. 2010). These sub-surface observations

32

introduce the possibility of expanding the 2D surface view of bio-optical properties provided by

satellite remote sensing (and at one depth on the Port Hacking NRS) into a 3D data set and

understanding.

The eddy field is dynamic, hence these sustained observations are justified because they will

allow us to understand the range of mesoscale behaviours evident in the Tasman Sea, and to

investigate longer terms trends in eddy dynamics. During the past 18 month period of discovery

we have learnt to navigate the gliders across the altimetric inferred currents, balanced with

observed displacement by the glider. We have learnt that plucking slocums after a short 3 week

deployment from energetic late summer eddies is a challenge. We are settling into a sustained

operational phase with two sea glider deployments into eddies from March to November in each

year (9 months, late summer-spring, avoiding retrievals during the strongest summer currents);

and only when currents are weaker will we deploy 2-3 slocums into the shelf waters off Port

Stephens.

Figure 8. The path of each of the glider deployments undertaken to date by NSW-IMOS, with altimetric currents and SST at time of retrieval

We will attempt transects along the mooring lines at Coffs Harbour and Sydney. Such transects,

undertaken at opportune moments in weak alongshore shelf circulation, will be integrated with

mooring observations to better understand the biological response to shelf processes. The

slocums will likely be carrying the new Vemco BCT tags, which record acoustically tagged fish

and sharks outside the AATAMS arrays. The gliders are necessary for NSW-IMOS to continue

to monitor the vertical structure of the water column, particularly as remotely sensed products

33

have limited vertical resolution and surface flooding of cold core eddies by the warm, buoyant

water of the EAC limits our observations of cyclonic (clockwise rotating) eddies.

3-2.4 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV – the “Sirius”)

Peter Steinberg, Stefan Williams, David Booth, Tim Pritchard, Maria Byrne, Will

Figueira, Brendan Kelaher, Alan Jordan, et al.

The focus of the IMOS AUV Facility deployments has predominantly centred on activities in

other regions of the country. These activities were supported as a result of a call for proposals

for deployment of the vehicle. However the data sets that have been collected have created

demand for the AUV within NSW. A number of deployments were undertaken in NSW in and

around Jervis Bay as there was interest in this region from DECCW. A number of data sets from

inside the bay itself are available. Sustained observations of deepwater habitats are needed to

assess the effects of - and ecological adaptations to - a warming coastal ocean, and the efficacy

of marine park planning.

Additional support for this facility has been demonstrated with a Super Science Fellowship

being awarded (2010) to U.Syd and U.Tas (Stefan Williams, Maria Byrne, Neville Barrett and

Will Figueira) for a project on “Machine assisted- Multi-scale Spatial and Temporal

Observation and Modeling of Marine Benthic Habitats”. Another was awarded to UTas and

UNSW to examine “Effects of climate change on temperate benthic assemblages on the

continental shelf in eastern Australia”.

3-2.5 Animal Tracking (AATAMS) Matthew Taylor, Rob Harcourt, Charles Gray, David Booth, Tim Pritchard, Iain Suthers,

et al.

The NSW-AATAMS facility aims to determine fine- and broad-scale movements of iconic fish

and sharks in relation to their hydrographic, bathymetric and oceanographic habitats, as well as

the dynamic biotic properties (e.g. zooplankton and phytoplankton dynamics) of the coastal

zone. The Sydney transect has only been deployed since mid 2008 (Fig. 5) and with downloads

every 6 months (managed by NSW-AATAMS) the data is now coming to hand. The

continuation of NSW-AATAMS is justified to capitalize on the 3 y life of some tags and to

document the effects of EAC activity and rainfall on animal movements. This work will focus

on the influence of prevailing boundary currents (EAC) on migration across latitudinal

gradients; the influence of drought, rainfall and coastal oceanography on connectivity between

estuaries and coastal waters, and the relationship between estuarine hydrography, coastal

oceanography, trophic interactions and habitat use. The influence of rainfall on coastal

movements is a key question for NSW in the behaviour of sharks and to scientifically base

environmental flow regulations (Taylor et al., ARC-Linkage project 2010-2012).

Observations will be made of key species, including apex predators, substantial fisheries targets,

and endangered and threatened species, which demonstrate varying degrees of coastal migration.

Specifically, these species include mulloway, dusky flathead, yellowfin bream, Australian

salmon, mullet, blue grouper, and wobbegong, grey nurse shark, great white, bull and dusky

sharks. AATAMS is needed off NSW to support evidence-based planning and zoning of NSW

marine parks, by examining the nature of connectivity amongst coastal marine parks for adult

fish populations; and residence time, use of sanctuary zones, and connectivity between zones of

differing protection within marine parks.

34

3-2.6 High Frequency Coastal Radar.

Moninya Roughan, Tim Pritchard, Mal Heron, Brad Morris, et al.

We plan to deploy a high frequency coastal radar (WERA) off Coffs Harbour (30ºS) which will

provide surface current velocities, and when combined with the data from the waverider buoy

network will provide important information regarding the wave climate along the coast of NSW.

This radar was to have been deployed in 2009 as part of the original NCRIS funded IMOS

(2006-2011) but has experienced delays and has been postponed by the ACORN facility. This

equipment is an integral component of our observing system. As the shelf is narrow the

coverage of the high frequency radar will typically reach to the core of the EAC providing vital

information on the variability of the current as well as the encroachment of the EAC onto the

continental shelf.

35

4-1) What observations does NSW-IMOS require?

The following strategy uses the national backbone to address our 4 key research questions

(Section 2c), concerning the East Australian Current and the separation zone. We build on the

interdisciplinary data collected along the coast of NSW to date, in a national context with other

boundary current systems from the western Pacific and from the Great Australian Bight (GAB).

In the following we list the observations required by facility and in section 4.2 we restate these

research questions and the observational strategy needed to answer them. Research Question 1

provides the national agenda, with oceanographic signals from the south Coral Sea and the GAB

being manifest in waters off NSW, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

4-1.1 Ocean Moorings (ANMN)

Moninya Roughan, Brad Morris, Tim Pritchard, Hua Wang, Martina Doblin, Leanne

Armand, Iain Suthers, et al.

With full depth monitoring of the EAC at 28ºS off Stradbroke Island (Q-IMOS), our mooring

program needs cross-shelf (at least paired) moorings in 4 key regions; Coffs Harbour (30ºS),

Stockton Bight-Separation zone (32ºS), Sydney/Port Hacking (34ºS), and southern NSW

(Batemans Bay or Eden, 37ºS, Fig. 5). This is the backbone of the NSW-IMOS observing

system and the data will contribute to each of the 4 research questions. We will continue the

sampling that we have implemented in the first phase of IMOS. This includes the maintenance

and delivery of data from 8 oceanographic moorings along the coast of NSW, at Coffs Harbour

(2 moorings across the shelf), Sydney-Port Hacking, (4 moorings across the shelf), Southern

NSW (Bateman‟s/Eden) (2 moorings), and we will maintain, with NSW-DECCW, the monthly

biogeochemical sampling at 4 stations along the Port Hacking transect (Fig. 5).

Some enhancements that should be implemented in the future include:

a) Real time telemetry off Sydney is needed to improve model output by its inclusion in

ocean forecasts and re-analysis products, as well as making the data immediately

available to the science community and the general public. It will also allow rapid

response to events and when instruments fail, thus avoiding large data gaps.

b) A mooring pair in the Stockton Bight region – separation zone, under the HF Radar

footprint (see below).

c) Installation of bio-optical sensors on the Port Hacking national reference station. The

proposed PAR, Ecotriplet (chl-a fluorescence, CDOM fluorescence and backscatter)

and excitation-emission fluorometer sensors will provide data describing in situ light

fields, the type and quantity of dissolved and particulate constituents of water (that

absorb and scatter light), as well as the photosynthetic rates of primary producers,

allowing a mechanistic understanding of lower trophic level responses to physical

forcing.

d) We require the addition of high resolution pressure sensors at the base of each of our

moorings to provide a long term time series of sea level elevation and allow for the

resolution of coastally trapped waves from Bass Strait.

e) Consolidation of the south coast (Eden) moorings may be considered when the Tas-

IMOS moorings are deployed. Similarly, the Coffs mooring data will be compared

to the Stradbroke Island array when shelf data becomes available, but the Coffs-

Sydney moorings provide us with crucial information on the separation dynamics.

36

4-1.2 Ocean Gliders (ANFOG)

Iain Suthers, Mark Baird, David Griffin, Peter Oke, Martina Doblin, Moninya Roughan,

Robin Robertson, Andrew Kiss, et al.

Glider deployments provide the most spatially flexible observational platform to target warm

and cold core eddies off NSW, especially in the absence of ARGO profiles. Through high-

resolution vertical physical and bio-optical profiles, they also provide a link between remote

sensing (spatially-broad) and mooring (temporally-resolved) observations. We require 2-3

Slocum Gliders per year for sustained cross-shelf profiles; and 2 SeaGlider deployments per

year for observing eddy structure and function during late winter-midsummer. Glider retrievals

are more difficult in late summer and will be avoided. The ocean gliders will answer Research

Question 2, and contribute to answering 4, particularly with regard to the surface flooding of

eddies by less dense EAC water.

4-1.3 Animal Tracking AATAMS

Matt Taylor, Iain Suthers, Charles Gray, Nick Otway, Amy Smoothie, Vic Peddermors,

David Booth, Rob Harcourt, Barry Bruce, et al.

The movements of fish, sharks and other vertebrates, when coupled with our ocean observations

will contribute to the goal of integrated, ecosystem studies. We have only limited knowledge of

the north-south movements of fish, sharks and whales, but remarkably we have no knowledge of

the oceanographic or estuarine influences on these movements. The continued operation of the

AATAMS transects at our focal regions off Coffs Harbour and Sydney is essential to match the

location of the moorings and HF radar and the movements through the separation zone. It is

also essential to complement the existing VR2 networks in NSW with a robust and accountable

portal through eMII to upload VRL files for the national community and their animal tracking

programs, both large and small.

In addition we need additional transects through Bateman‟s Bay (or Jervis Bay) marine park to

complement the new south coast mooring (36 or 37ºS). Some enhancements that should be

implemented in the future are “seals as samplers” program. It is possible to monitor the ocean

using marine mammals to provide a remarkable range of information on oceanographic

properties, directly related to the foraging habits of large marine mammals. It is highly

desirable to implement such a program in southern NSW at the seal colonies of Montague Island

(36º15‟S).

4-1.4 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Facility (AUV, the “Sirius”)

Peter Steinberg, Stefan Williams, David Booth, Tim Pritchard, Maria Byrne, Will

Figueira, Alan Jordan, et al.

SIRIUS: To assess changes in depth of kelp distribution along the NSW coast, cross-shelf

transects will be conducted at 2 sites within 3 locations in NSW (Cape Byron Marine Park

(28.5ºS), Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park (32.5ºS) and Batemans Marine Park (35-36ºS).

These cross-shelf benthic transects will examine the longer-term effects of benthic pelagic

coupling and the impact of the EAC warming. Wherever possible, sites are located within

protected sanctuary zones of marine parks where all forms of commercial and recreational

fishing and harvesting (which could confound climate-related impacts on kelp) are prohibited.

To assess latitudinal changes in Ecklonia distribution, sampling will be conducted at four main

sampling locations that overlap with the sites above. These locations are chosen to span areas

close to the northernmost limit of Ecklonia kelp forest on the east coast (e.g. Byron Bay) to well

within its southern distribution in NSW (Batemans Marine Park). The northernmost location is

37

perhaps most important as it is where we expect to see early/existing changes in kelp

distributions. These long term AUV transects will answer Research Question 4ii, and will likely

contribute to 4iv.

REMUS: When future funding becomes available we propose a series of repeat AUV REMUS

lines co-incident with the Coffs Harbour and Sydney mooring arrays to provide the spatial

context for the point wise measurements of velocity, temperature and salinity obtained at the

mooring arrays. The proposed sites coincide with existing IMOS infrastructure associated with

other facilities and the observations that we will obtain complement the extant data sets (e.g

ANMN transects). These sites will also feature observations provided by coastal radar and,

where possible, glider deployments. See Appendix 3.

4-1.5 Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network (ACORN)

Moninya Roughan, Mal Heron, Tim Pritchard, Iain Suthers, Brad Morris, et al.

HF Radar provides unprecedented time resolved surface maps (to 1m depth) of ocean currents in

near real time in support of innumerable applications in physical and biological ocean research

as well as operational aspects of invaluable benefit to the coastal community. There is also the

potential to obtain wave information and wind direction from the phased array (WERA).

We require a short range HF Radar (WERA) system for the Coffs Harbour region (this was

approved in 2008, however it has not yet been installed). In addition to this we require a long

range HF Radar system that will cover the EAC separation/eddy generation region from 30-

350S, requiring up to 5 stations (See Appendix 3 and Fig. 9).

NSW HF radar deployments will also be used to investigate dynamic processes and flow

patterns including: Interaction of EAC with shelf morphology and coastal boundary layer

effects; Flow patterns in relation to fixed IMOS moorings thus enabling better

interpretation/extrapolation of mooring observations; Physical connectivity pathways in relation

to critical habitats (and marine park zoning in the Solitary Islands Marine Park - SIMP);

Interaction of outflow from coastal catchments and regional currents (EAC); Surface dynamics

of eddies formation and eddy interactions with shelf morphology; Large scale wake effects;

Calibration with wave rider mooring and possibly near-field wave climate with a WaMOS

system; Calibration, verification and assimilation into hydrodynamic models. The NSW-IMOS

radar program has been designed to maximise the number of questions that can be answered

with the infrastructure.

This HF radar deployment which will map the East Australian Current through the region where

separation from the coast usually commences, and which will map the eddies and meanders of

the EAC. The priority is to get continuous spatial coverage over a long coastline and out to sea.

Wave data are also desirable, in regions that overlap with other calibrating infrastructure such as

waverider buoys and moorings.

38

Figure 9. Proposed HF Radar coverage of the NSW Shelf. The Coffs Harbour deployment

(left) has been approved for funding under NCRIS. The Stockton Bight deployment (right)

is proposed when further funding becomes available (Courtesy M. Roughan).

4-1.6 Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS):

Martina Doblin, Tim Pritchard, Peter Davies, Mark Baird, Neil Holbrook, et al.

SRS data provides the essential spatial context and integration for our high resolution in situ

mooring and glider observations. We will make use of existing sea surface temperature,

altimetry and colour products in every stage of our research programs, from posing scientific

questions, to planning of observational programs through to the analysis and visualisation of

results. One component of SRS that is critical for glider and ship-based observations is the

operational provision of sea level elevation, temperature and ocean colour. The marine and

climate science community needs a consistent and coherent time series of validated ocean colour

products to assess primary productivity and phytoplankton bloom formation for the Australian

oceans. The assessment and improvement of these products in the Australian region is critical to

investigating the impact of climate variability and change on primary production on the

continental shelf. No estimate of accuracy is currently available for the Ocean Colour products

provided by the international space agencies for the open ocean, shelf and coastal waters in the

Australian sector except for the GBR where the global algorithms have been proven to be prone

to large errors. Hence there is a need to characterize the uncertainty of these products using

hyper-spectral bio-optical observations acquired at the Lucinda Jetty Coastal Observatory

(LJCO) and at the NRS moorings.

We require additional bio-optical observations to be carried out at the NRS moorings by

measuring CDOM fluorescence and scattering at blue and green bands, complementing the

chlorophyll-a fluorescence and red scattering measurement acquired with the WQMs at each

NRS mooring, thereby providing nationally consistent validation data for primary Ocean Colour

Products (chlorophyll-a, coloured dissolved organic matter, particle concentration and vertical

attenuation of light). This activity aims to widen the footprint of LJCO to other Australian

water types. Further funding is sought to enhance the optical observations carried out at LJCO

to be able to validate “next generation” ocean colour data products that will be derived from the

satellites to be launched from 2010 onwards.\

39

4-1.7 Enhanced Measurements from Ships of Opportunity (SOOP)

Iain Suthers, Mark Baird, Jock Young, Matt Taylor, Martina Doblin, Anthony Richardson,

Rudy Kloser, et al.

SOOP provides a mobile surface “mooring” to complement moorings and gliders. The backbone

of the large scale measurements concerns EAC activity (XBT lines, Fig. 10), and also the effects

on planktonic biodiversity and distribution through the Continuous Plankton Recorder. The CPR

quantifies the species abundance of zooplankton and some phytoplankton at 10 m depth along

the ship track. “Biodiversity” is difficult to monitor, yet NSW-IMOS is making a range of

comparative observations including the proposed CPR plus bio-acoustic monitoring, along with

the point observations of plankton, fluorescence and backscatter from the NRS transect, as well

as the spatial distributions of water colour from satellite imagery. To support an ecosystem-

approach, we need to make sustained observations of the associated mesozooplankton biomass.

We need bio-acoustic measurements using 38 and 120 kHz sounders will indicate

macrozooplankton (nekton) biomass of the deep scattering layer located during the day at 500-

600 m depth. This layer, composed of krill, copepods and squid rises to the surface at dusk to

feed on the layer sampled by the CPR. The CPR is the only method to give actual species

biodiversity, rather than biomass estimates or size resolved data. For NSW-IMOS, the existing

monthly CPR route will become quarterly, to accommodate greater spatial sampling from two

other proposed routes (Fig. 10). The Brisbane to Wellington route samples the northern

conditions quarterly; the Devonport to Nelson route samples the southern boundary of our

region but only annually (there is however a wealth of acoustic data from 2005 for this route).

With the other 3 facilities (or more) we will come much closer to a “whole of ecosystem”

approach to long term monitoring of the Tasman Sea, and its remarkable rise in temperature

from the strengthening EAC.

Figure 10. Chart of XBT lines (PX30, PX06, PX34) and AusCPR routes (in red)

and enhanced AusCPR routes (in black), including the NSW-IMOS route from

Brisbane to Melbourne (Courtesy A. Richardson). The Devonport to Nelson (NZ)

uses the fishing vessel Rehua, with bio-acoustics onboard and towing the CPR

(inaugural trip was Aug. 2010). This route will be performed annually around

PX30

PX06

PX34

PX30

PX06

PX34

40

August each year. Integrating bioacoustics on the Brisbane to Melbourne route is being investigated

4-1.8 Passive Acoustic Observatories

Tracey Rogers, Rob McCauley, Doug Cato, et al.

Passive Acoustic Observatories provide measurements of ocean noise, which contains

information on a large number of physical and biological sources. While the focus at this time

is on information inherent in monitoring acoustic data from cetaceans, valuable information on

several other noise sources exists and is also captured, such as acoustic data from other species

(other marine mammals and fish), acoustic sound-scapes associated with changes in shipping

activity, wind and rain intensity, and Antarctic ice stability as well as biotic changes such as:

biological species community assemblage; range shifts; and migratory pathway changes.

We require the continued deployment of the passive acoustics array off central NSW. For

continuity and to better understand temporal patterns, the data sets will be extended into 2103.

Passive-acoustics is a robust data collection system as data is largely independent of collection

error and inter-observer bias. As all the data will be archived it provides useful information on

biological community change, multiple species, not just the target species at the time of the

study, which will be useful to monitor long-term changes in community composition.

4-1.9 Surface Drifters

Moninya Roughan, Brad Morris, Mal Heron, Craig Steinberg, et al.

Drifters provide real time measurements of Lagrangian processes, which are essential for

verification of HF Radar. The development of a coastal drifter facility within IMOS is prudent,

given the use of coastal radar in each of the nodes. In the next phase, we require the use of 12-15

coastal surface drifters 2-3 times per year to provide verification for the coastal radar systems in

Coffs Harbour and in the separation region.

The infrastructure needs for NSW-IMOS and their priority are listed in Table 5.

41

Table 5. A summary of the infrastructure needs and priority (see Appendix 4 for description of column headings).

Infrastructure Priority Comments

Scientific

priority

Technical

Maturity

Capability /

Capacity

Overall

Priority

EAC Deep Water

array 28S

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity

limited

Essential In BWC Node Plan

Coffs Harbour Shelf

Mooring Array

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Essential Operational

Stockton Bight Shelf

Mooring Array

High

Priority

Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Next Stage

Sydney Shelf

Mooring Array with

real time telemetry

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Essential Operational but not yet

real time

Port Hacking 100

Mooring

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


Port Hacking BGC

Transect

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Essential Operational for >70 y

Passive Acoustics High

Priority

Very

Mature

Capacity

limited

High Priority Operational

Bio-optical sensors

(PAR, ex-em

fluorescence)

High

priority

Very

Mature

Capability and

ltd capacity

Next Stage Require bio-fouling

management

Acidification mooring High

priority

Very

Mature

Capability and

ltd capacity

Next Stage

In-situ dissolved

nutrient sensors

High

priority

Mature Capability and

ltd capacity

Next Stage

ARGO float program High

Priority

Very

Mature

Capacity

limited


Coffs Harbour short

range HF Radar

(WERA)

Essential Mature Capacity

limited

Essential Not yet operational

EAC Separation Long

Range Radar (30-

35S)

High

Priority

Mature Capacity

limited

Next Stage

Gliders: 3 Slocum p.a Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

High Priority Operational

Gliders: 2 Seagliders

p.a.

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


AUV Sirius Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


AUV Remus High

Priority

Mature Capacity and

Capability

Next Stage Operational

Internationally

AATAMS – Coffs

Harbour Array

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


AATAMS Sydney

Array

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


AATAMS – Jervis

Bay Array

High

Priority

Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Next Stage

AATAMS –

Batemans Bay Array

High

Priority

Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability

Next Stage

AATAMS- Marine High Mature Capacity and Next Stage

42

Mammals SE Coast Priority Capability

SRS - Bio-optical

Instrumentation

Essential Mature Capacity and

Capability

Essential Operational but signals

require validation

SRS SST, SSH

Colour products

Essential Mature Capacity and

Capability

Essential Operational -uncertainty

in optically-complex

waters

SOOP CPR Brisbane

–Melbourne

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


SOOP XBT EAC

Lines

Essential Very

Mature

Capacity and

Capability


SOOP Bio-acoustic transects

Essential Very Mature

Capacity and Capability

Essential Not yet operational

Surface Drifters High

Priority

Mature Capability

limited

Next Stage

4-2) How do the observations address the key research questions posed by

NSW-IMOS?

Research Aim 1) To contribute to national observations of decadal changes and climate

variability of the EAC, Leeuwin, and Flinders Currents using common platforms and metrics.

i) To determine the variability in EAC strength from its source in the Coral Sea, the seasonal

and spatial variability in the separation of the EAC from central NSW, and the EAC’s

southward extension;

The newly funded (EIF) mooring array off southern Qld when deployed will measure the EAC

where it is most coherent. This array is essential for an understanding of the seasonal and

decadal variability in the EAC. It will also allow for the first time a comprehensive long term

study of the transport of the EAC complementing the array of Mata et al. (2000). NSW-IMOS

fully support this proposal and see it as an integral component of the NSW-IMOS array as it will

provide the upstream data necessary to inform the EAC inflow and processes along the NSW

shelf.

The NSW-IMOS alongshore mooring array is designed such that we will be able to monitor the

temperature gradients in the EAC along the coast of NSW, north (Coffs) and south (Sydney) of

the separation zone. Combined with the proposed mooring arrays of SE Qld (Q-IMOS) and the

BWC end point array we will gain valuable information in seasonal and decadal changes in the

EAC and its extension along the coast of southern NSW. This data set complements the data

being collected at the Maria Island NRS (Tas-IMOS). Together these data will inform the large

scale changes along Australia‟s eastern continental shelf. This data will also be combined with

crucial biological data (such as kelp distribution and abundance, CPR plankton) providing

information on range shifting which is indicative of changes in the flow field.

Future emphasis (post-2013) on instigating quantitative and sustained biological and chemical

time-series data streams from physical properties moorings at Coffs Harbour, Eden and Maria

Island, will necessitate new scientific aims from the 3 eastern state IMOS nodes. These nodes

are keenly interested in the resulting ecosystem shifts with respect to the EAC boundary current

strengthening.

43

ii) Contribute to monitoring the Bass Strait outflow and the northward coastally trapped wave

propagation;

The deployment of a mooring pair in southern NSW will monitor the Bass Strait outflow and the

addition of pressure sensors on each of the mooring pairs will allow for the measurement of

coastally trapped wave propagation northward along the coast of NSW.

iii) Contribute to the national backbone through the National Reference Station network and the

supplementation of Satellite Remote Sensing products with local data.

Three of the NRS incorporate the long-term (~70 y) hydrographic sampling locations on the

continental shelf (Port Hacking, Maria Island, Rottnest Island) and will provide biogeochemical

data on the effect of boundary current changes (e.g. Thompson et al. 2009). An IMOS-appointed

bio-optical working group containing members of NSW-IMOS are using the NRS data in a

national effort to validate bio-optical signals from the moored time-series at each NRS. A

significant satellite match-up dataset will also be collected in NSW coastal waters during

October 2010 that will support an accuracy assessment of existing SRS products.

Research Aim 2) To investigate the EAC, its separation from the coast and the resultant eddy

field along the coast of SE Australia.

The observing system has been designed to make sustained observations in 4 key regions related

to EAC activity: Coffs Harbour, Stockton Bight, Sydney/Port Hacking, and Bateman‟s

Bay/Eden (Fig. 5). The combination of cross-shore and alongshore arrays will enable us to

investigate seasonal and spatial variability in the EAC along the coast of NSW and its separation

from the coast. We use a combination of moorings, biogeochemical sampling, Satellite Remote

Sensing products, and HF Radar for temporal and spatial coverage. The mooring array gives

good temporal resolution throughout the water column, while the HF radar gives good spatial

coverage at the surface.

Moorings and SRS: We propose to continue the moorings that are currently deployed,

equipped with bio-optical sensors. The combination of cross-shore and alongshore arrays will

enable us to investigate seasonal and spatial variability in the EAC along the coast of NSW and

its separation from the coast.

Biogeochemical Sampling and SRS: Sustaining the monthly biogeochemical sampling at Port

Hacking is key to understanding changes in water-masses and the biological response associated

with the separation of the EAC. Implementing the same water sampling at Coffs Harbour will

allow a comparison with waters upstream of the separation. The supplementation of the NRS

with irradiance sensors (measuring Photosynthetically Active Radiation) and excitation-

emission fluorometers (measuring photosynthetic rate) would be a valuable addition to linking

changes in physical properties to the biological response.

HF Radar: Observations are required upstream of the EAC separation (Coffs Harbour) where

the current is fairly uniform and flows adjacent to the continental shelf). This will provide

detailed information on the EAC prior to separation. To quantify the variability of the separation

itself, detailed HF radar coverage is required spanning the separation region of the EAC (refers

to radar coverage that is now in appendix 3,4) to give spatial coverage of the variability.

44

i) To determine the frequency, form and function (horizontal and vertical) of EAC eddies

Iain Suthers, Mark Baird, Peter Oke, David Griffin, Moninya Roughan, Robin Robertson,

Martina Doblin, Brad Morris, et al.

Warm and cold core eddies are strongly influenced by surface flooding, solar radiative capping,

and by the source waters from which they form (e.g. Baird et al. in press). They can also be the

result of coalescence of two or more eddies. The probably of such events depends in part on the

time of the year and location in which the eddies formed. The EAC mesoscale variability is

difficult to model and further observations and analysis is required.

Gliders and ARGO floats: The requested glider deployments will be used to investigate the

form and function of EAC eddies, and to fill-in under sampled areas by ARGO. The

observations by 24 glider deployments over 4 years are required to provide a broad

understanding of EAC over different time and space scales (particularly season).

Moorings: As the EAC eddies impinge upon the continental shelf they overwhelm the shelf

waters (with velocities ranging 0.5m/s northwards to1.5m/s southwards observed associated

with eddies off Sydney). The shore-normal mooring arrays will help to elucidate the nature of

the eddy interaction with the continental shelf, upwelling and cross-shelf intrusions and the

evolution of the biological response through time series measurements of bio-optical properties.

Bio-optical properties in turn, will be validated with direct measurements of phytoplankton

pigments and biomass from the NRS.

Satellite Remote Sensing is essential for model initialisation and assessment and glider

navigation; to put the glider observations into a regional context, and for SST and surface

chlorophyll.

ii) To understand air sea interactions, particularly to determine the evolution of East Coast

Lows and severe winter storms in relation to warm core eddies.

Milton Speer, Lance Leslie, Ian Goodwin, et al.

The development, intensification and weakening of east coast lows (ECLs) are very dependent

on momentum, heat and moisture fluxes at the air-sea interface from the location of the EAC to

the coast (Leslie et al. 1987; McInnes and Hess 1992). Several studies of ECL systems have

emphasized the importance of the SST gradient from the EAC to the coast as a thermodynamic

feature critical in the evolution of coastal low pressure and trough systems (e.g. Holland et al.

1987; Hopkins and Holland 1997; Speer and Leslie 1998; Speer and Leslie 2000). Recently,

interest has focused on the existence of intense warm core/cold core eddies off the NSW coast in

June 2007 and a possible relationship to the development or intensification of a series of five

east coast lows during June 2007.

Currently there are no fixed offshore-based meteorological observations in the vicinity of the

EAC, so any fixed observations of atmospheric pressure, temperature, dewpoint temperature and

wind speed and direction close to the surface between the coast and the EAC would be

immensely useful in specifying the initial state for numerical weather prediction (NWP) models

in addition to providing a means of NWP verification. It is the intention that the NRS mooring

off Port Hacking that will have data telemetered in real time (PH100) and will also have a

surface met package, which will enable the measurement of some of these crucial

meteorological parameters. High frequency based radar observations of meteorological variables

above the ocean surface may prove possible in future from the radars that are also planned to be

installed.

45

A data base of climate impacts on the NSW coast from marine low pressure systems has been

established and based, so far, on Bureau of Meteorology coastal station rainfall (Speer et al.

2009). It is planned to also include coastal impacts of damage from wind and sea state and

swell. A project between the BoM and DECCW will analyse the synoptic conditions leading up

to severe winter storms off NSW.

Moorings: As an enhancement to the existing mooring network it is proposed that one of the

moorings be converted to real time (PH100). This mooring will have a surface float and a

surface meteorological package. The addition of this over water meteorology observing site will

improve our ability to forecast local weather, and will provide data needed for early warning and

rapid response assessment.

HF Radar: It may be possible to measure surface wind direction with large spatial coverage

from the HF radar systems that we intend to deploy. This is an added advantage of the radar

system.

iii) Quantify the impact of key physical processes such as the onshore encroachment of the EAC,

slope water intrusions, upwelling, downwelling and internal waves.

Moninya Roughan, Brad Morris, Jason Middleton, Peter Tate, et al.

The intrusion of eddies onto the continental shelf overwhelms shelf waters and dominates the

flow field. Temperatures and velocities increase significantly when the EAC or its eddies

encroach on the shelf. The interaction of the EAC with the continental shelf drives shelf edge

upwelling and the separation of the current from the coast is also known to cause a semi-

persistent upwelling with a strong biological response in the Stockton Bight region. In addition,

the EAC induces mixing through interactions with topographic features, tides also interact with

these features generating internal tides and waves. Internal waves and tides are a significant

source of mixing in the ocean and there are indications that internal tides occur in the coastal

waters off eastern Australia (Egbert and Ray 2001; Holloway and Merrifield 1999).

HF radar and the mooring array as well as the proposed new hydrographic sampling will

allow us to investigate the response as the EAC moves on and off the shelf. Coffs Harbour is a

fascinating region as there is a clear distinction between EAC waters and coastal waters, which

is reflected in the benthic ecology of the region. Remote sensing (SRS) provides the spatial

context for the data.

Biogeochemical sampling and SRS will also provide insight into the biology and chemistry of

the water column under different EAC scenarios. Each of the regions that have been targeted

for investigation are critical for their role in the EAC system whether it be upstream of the EAC

separation (CH), spanning the separation (Stockton Bight) to downstream of the separation

(Sydney, JB, Eden). Each location is important and provides insight on the EAC and its

interaction with shelf waters. In the future, we wish to supplement a number of moorings with in

situ nutrient sensors and an acidification

Ocean gliders provide tracer measurements such as oxygen, salinity and temperature of slope

water, while CDOM fluorescence quantifies proximity to the coast (i.e. terrestrial runoff),

potential benthic-pelagic coupling (i.e. sediment resuspension) and part of the biological

response (autocthonous production/degradation of organic matter). Slope water intrusions are a

function of the offshore eddy field, the strength of the EAC, the prevailing wind field and the

local bathymetry. Each glider is deployed and retrieved on or near the shelf, providing a

minimum of 2 cross-shelf transects per deployment, with more possible during weak currents.

The cross shelf Slocum transects will provide the most focused data set for observing slope

46

water intrusions and their biological response at depth. The SeaGliders (iRobot) provide the

vertical shape of eddies (Oke and Griffin 2010, in press) and the local biological response at

depth, over the full 5 month missions aided by BLUElink and SRS.

Research Aim 3) To quantify oceanographic processes on the continental shelf and slope of

SE Australia.

i) Examine the coastal wind and wave climate in driving nearshore currents and the northward

sediment transport.

Ian Goodwin, Peter Cowell, Ian Turner, Ed Couriel, et al.

Long-term, continuous monitoring of the inshore will become increasingly important in the face

of climate change, and mitigating the effects of inundation and coastal erosion will continue to

be a focus of coastal councils and communities for the foreseeable future. Sea level and waves

are the major climate drivers affecting the coastal zone and in turn are affected by changes in the

magnitude and frequency of storm events at a range of space and time scales. Monitoring and

predicting the morphological changes of our coastlines to the combined effects of rising sea

level and changing wave climate presents considerable challenges. Significant changes in the

coastal zone are driven by short, extreme events followed by relatively prolonged, quieter

periods and slower, but still significant, morphological adjustment. A monitoring system must

be able to capture the response before, during and after extreme events over periods of months

to decades. Observing inshore wave conditions and predicting resulting morphological change

requires predicting sediment transport and deposition under the combined effects of waves and

wave driven currents in a high energy nearshore environment. Significant theoretical and model

development is needed to reduce the level of empiricism that is currently used to simulate

observed morphological changes.

IMOS research infrastructure will provide essential data streams to address pertinent research

related to wave driven erosion and transport such as:

Translation of offshore wave observations and projected directional wave spectra to the

shore

Determine the skill of the BOM‟s operational and research wave models against the

wave observations from the Coffs Harbour HF radar deployment (leading to improving

predictions of extreme wave events which effect erosion and inundation)

Determine sediment erosion and transport as it effects ecological processes and human

assets in the coastal zone

Statistical and dynamical projections of eastern Australian wave climate under future

climate scenarios

Waverider Buoy Network: The NSW waverider buoy records along the NSW and SE Qld

coast are the most comprehensive network of waverider buoys in the country. The data from the

NSW network provides essential deepwater information and have been provided to IMOS as an

in-kind contribution from NSW DECCW. However the observational wave record is

inadequate for resolving directional wave spectra and past changes in wave climate. Large

spatial gaps in directional data allow little to no comment on the directional response of the

wave climate to shifts in wave climate, which are suggested by global wave models. It is our

intention to investigate the utility of HF Radar to provide directional wave spectra over a large

spatial area, as opposed to 7 point records at the buoys along the coast.

HF Radar: The WERA HF radar array has the ability to measure wave frequency period and

directional wave spectra across the entire radar domain. A deployment scheduled for Coffs

47

Harbour is designed to overlap the domain of the Coffs Harbour waverider buoy to allow for an

assessment of the accuracy of the wave measurements derived from the HF radar. As an

additional contribution to IMOS it is anticipated that we will trial a WAMOS wave

measurement system which has the ability to provide directional wave spectra in high resolution

in the near shore zone. This system also has the potential to provide measurements of sea bed

topography which can be used in the enhancement of wave models.

ii) Quantify the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (nutrients and phytoplankton composition);

Martina Doblin, Mark Baird, Peter Ralph, Maria Byrne, Penny Ajani, Leanne Armand, et

al.

Moorings and SRS: The WQM at the Port Hacking NRS currently provides estimates of

turbidity and fluorescence at one depth, which in combination with dissolved nutrients and

oxygen, provides data to understand biogeochemical cycling. Bio-optical observations at

multiple depths, coupled with dissolved CO2 concentrations and pH, would be a valuable

addition to building a carbon budget for the region.

Gliders: In co-ordination with SRS nutrient and plankton observations, and SOOP carbon

measurements, gliders quantify the biogeochemical state of the water column. Oxygen, CDOM

and fluorescence indicate the state of carbon in the system, and hence can aid calculations of

carbon fluxes. The observations by glider deployments over 4 years will provide an archive of

vertical profiles of oxygen, CDOM and even fluorescence that dwarf the number presently

available.

iii) Determine the transport and dispersal of passive particles (e.g. larvae, eggs, spores) and

the degree of along coast connectivity and trophic linkages;

Peter Steinberg, Stefan Williams, Moninya Roughan, David Booth, Will Figueira, William

Gladstone, et al.

There is a poor understanding of how habitats along the NSW coast are connected by larval

dispersal, whether existing marine park sanctuary zones act as larval sources, sinks or neither,

and how these locations vary seasonally and inter-annually. The complex issues involved

include variation in reproductive timing, life histories, planktonic durations and larval

behaviour.

The Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP) is both a state and federal marine reserve. It is in this

region that we have focussed our upstream EAC observations. The combination of HF Radar

giving spatial coverage of the flow patterns at the surface and the moorings giving resolution

throughout the water column will help answer the question of the dispersion of passive particles

in and around SIMP. AATAMS lines are also focussed through SIMP which will provide

insight into the nature of the connectivity between fish populations in the region. These data will

inform modelling studies of connectivity along the NSW coastline and both within and among

marine reserves.

Research Aim 4) To integrate the ecosystem response with oceanographic processes.


oceanographic and climate-driven changes in physical and chemical ocean properties

Martina Doblin, Iain Suthers, Anthony Richardson, Matthew Taylor, et al.

The smallest constituents of planktonic communities (viruses, bacteria and phytoplankton) are

transported passively in ocean currents and provide excellent sentinels for long-term change

48

given their abundance is not confounded by human extraction, they respond rapidly to physical

forcing and ambient water quality, and have the potential to amplify environmental signals.

There is a worldwide paucity of long time series that track the physical, chemical and biological

properties of marine ecosystems to reveal seasonal, interannual and other long-term trends. The

current time series of plankton observations/samples in the EAC (1997 to 2009 archive) is too

short to reliably detect a climate change signal from natural patterns of climate variability (i.e.,

ENSO). However, by examining the physical and biological responses to contemporary climate

variations, we will determine responses that may be indicative of future climate change. Port

Hacking is an ideal location for this study because of the availability of both physical and

biological long-term observations, and because variability in the EAC causes large changes in

local ocean properties.

Plankton communities are dynamic in space and time (Doblin et al., 2010). We will address

temporal variability by making high-frequency measurements of phytoplankton (chl-a

fluorescence, coupled with turbidity or backscatter) using the ANMN, ANFOG and AUV

facilities. Additionally we will use the SOOP-CPR data from Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne, and

the corresponding bio-acoustic transect. To assess spatial dynamics, we will use a multi-faceted

approach: synoptic views of ocean colour using the SRS facility, quasi-synoptic assessments of

chl-a fluorescence and particle backscatter (proxy for phyto/zooplankton) using ocean gliders

(ANFOG), and the development of a regional ocean model so that single-point observations

such as those at moorings can be placed into a spatial context.

ii) Quantify rocky reef biota variables (kelp distribution and abundance) associated with climate

variability, at deep reefs along the temperate length of the EAC

Peter Steinberg, Stefan Williams, Tim Pritchard, Alan Jordan, Nathan Knott, Melinda

Coleman, Brendan Kelaher, Maria Byrne, Will Figueira, David Booth, Adriana Verges, et

al.

We will aim to determine how kelp distribution is changing (either with depth or with latitude)

due to climate change and the increasing influence of the EAC, and how this impacts the ability

of subtidal reefs to revert from unproductive urchin barrens back to kelp forests in Marine

Protected Areas. Recent observations from the east coast of Australia suggest that the important

habitat-forming kelp, Ecklonia radiata may already be shifting its distribution southwards in

response to changes in SST and the more southerly intrusion of the EAC. Further, there may

also be changes in depth distribution with Ecklonia radiata restricted to depths greater than 20m

in SE Queensland and greater depths at Norfolk Island. Preliminary observations indicate that

kelp may be afforded refugia at depth because stratification and cooler water (upwelled from the

shelf break) are able to sustain populations. We will use the AUV facility to document changes

in kelp among depths and among latitudes throughout the distribution of kelp in NSW. On each

dive, associated AUV-based measurements of temperature and light levels (PAR) and samples

for nitrate analysis will enable interpretation of the biological signal in the context of local

environmental conditions. Observations in NSW will form part of a set of sites on the east coast,

where reefs will be monitored in SE Qld, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania using AUV technology.

The latitudinal (N-S) bounds of the reefs to be examined will be defined by the distribution of

the kelp Ecklonia radiata, which is the dominant habitat-forming organism on shallow

temperate hard-bottom systems. The depth range, 5-50+ m (5-10 m by divers; 10-50 m by

AUV), will include and extend beyond the lower limits of E. radiata. It is expected that in the

medium to long term, kelp populations in NSW will (i) shift southwards dramatically as a result

of both general warming trends but also due to a deepening of the mixed layer that may inhibit

the injection of cooler water across the shelf and (ii) shift to greater depths at the more northerly

locations.

49



Matthew Taylor, Iain Suthers, David Booth, William Gladstone, Charles Gray, Vic

Peddemors, Rob Harcourt, Andrew Boomer, Nathan Knott, Brendan Kelaher, Barry

Bruce, et al.

The observations are designed as a set of cross-shelf receivers to ensure that data on fish

movement covers the necessary geographic extents and ranges of conditions and is overlaid by

oceanographic monitoring. The observations across a broad spectrum of conditions will give

new insight into role of ocean dynamics on movements, habitat use and site fidelity for

predatory fish in the coastal zone. Simultaneous and sustained monitoring will indicate links

between hydrography and fish migration, facilitated by observations from the ocean moorings,

coastal radar, BLUElink, SOOP, and cross shelf data collected via proposed fine scale

temperature recorders positioned on the bottom and surface of existing AATAMS line mooring

arrays. The proposed incorporation of a Vemco BCT recording tag with a slocum glider will

also contribute to those links.

The structure of the coastal deployments is based on a division of the coast into three broad

geographic regions that roughly correspond to suspected oceanographic ecotones (Fig. 4). The

area north of 31ºS is dominated by warm, nutrient poor Coral Sea and EAC water, the area south

of 34ºS is dominated by Tasman Sea water, seasonal EAC flow, and high meso-scale variability.

The area 31ºS – 34ºS is an intermediate zone representing a highly variable mix of the northern

and southern ecotones. This will include existing (Fig. 11) and proposed (Fig. 13) VR2W

deployments, which will provide representative arrays and transects that characterise latitudinal

migrations amongst these zones or ecotones.

50

Figure 11. Existing AATAMS VR2W deployments off the NSW coast. Panels on the right

indicate VR2W stations in relation to coastal features (Figure courtesy M. Taylor; maps courtesy of Google Earth).

iv) Quantify the seasonal and yearly variation of upper-predator (fish and marine mammal)

communities.

Tracey Rogers, Rib McCauley, Doug Cato, Iain Suthers, et al.

Some of the largest members of marine communities (e.g long-lived, large bodied, top

predators, such as cetaceans, pinnipeds and fish), are less influenced by short-term stochastic

events and have potential to provide excellent sentinels for long-term environmental change. In

polar marine environments top predators have been the first to show change associated with

warming.

Marine animals that do not come ashore, such as cetaceans, are difficult to survey, as they are

often difficult to spot at sea, even in the best conditions. This is not true in our waters for some

species such as the humpback and southern right whales, as they have been surveyed intensively

via visual techniques as they migrate close to our coast and have behaviour which makes them

easy to observe. Most large cetaceans however are more difficult to survey; as they inhabit

waters further off shore, occur at low densities, and we currently have little understanding of the

communities off the NSW coast. These difficult-to-survey marine species also tend to produce

51

loud, characteristic, stereotyped long-range calls. This coupled with the extremely efficient

propagation of sound through the ocean sees acoustic techniques offering enormous potential to

surveying. A similar situation exists for fish choruses, a potential measure of system

productivity.

Although limited to vocalizing animals, acoustic monitoring can often detect animals at greater

distances, and while they are underwater. The passive acoustic observatories will capture

vocalisations of great whales and nearby fish at scales of km‟s (fish) to many tens of km‟s (great

whales). The passive acoustic array was designed specifically to allow source tracking for

sources which arrive coherently on all receivers. This will not only record the presence of

cetaceans and fish in the absence of visual detection but will also allow us to track animal

movements, seasonal occurrence, distribution, and behaviour, including dive and migratory

patterns, particularly with the cetaceans. These trends can then be related to larger scale physical

features for elucidation of how the physical environment impacts on the respective animal

population.

The observations required by NSW-IMOS to address its research questions are summarised in

Table 6.

52

Table 6: Observations required by NSW-IMOS

Facility Observations required by the Node

NCRIS Funded

(already allocated to Jun11)

EIF first $8M funded

(already allocated to

Jun10)

Extension of existing facility

infrastructure out to 2013.

Enhancements / new

infrastructure required 2010-

2013

ANFOG 4 x Slocum p.a.

1 x Sea Glider p.a

2-3 x Slocum p.a.

2 x Sea Glider p.a

AUV Sirius-AUV

Jervis Bay &

Coffs Harbour Study sites

Sirus-AUV benthic surveys:

1) Solitary Island (Coffs Harb);

2) Jervis Bay, Port Stephens, &

3) Batemans Marine Parks

ANMN ORS065, SYD100, SYD140,

PH100, CH070, CH100, JB070,

& ED070, NRT water samples

Passive Acoustic mooring

ADCP – NRS ORS065, SYD100, SYD140,

PH100, CH070, CH100, JB070, &

ED070, NRT water samples

Passive Acoustic mooring

Real time telemetry at SYD100.

Bio-optical sensors at the NRS

ACORN Coffs Harbour WERA Maintain Coffs Harbour array

AATAMS Transects at Sydney, Coffs

Harbour and I&I‟s SEACAMS

Transects at Sydney, Coffs

Harbour and I&I‟s SEACAMS

New arrays in Batemans Bay

(possibly Jervis Bay Marine

Parks) 20 VR2W ea

SRS SST, SSH, Colour products SST, SSH, Colour products Instrumentation for calibration of

bio-optical signals

SOOP SOOP-CPR Brisbane –

Melbourne Route

SOOP-XBT EAC lines

SOOP-CPR Brisbane – Melbourne

Route

SOOP-XBT EAC lines

Bio-acoustic monitoring of

mesozooplankton

53

5) Implementation plan – July 2009 to June 2013

The design of the observing system is based around the concept of a whole of system approach and

the ability to maximise the benefit of each of the individual measurements. We have chosen to

cluster the deployments in important regions along the coast of NSW, particular north and south of

the separation zone: Coffs Harbour, Sydney, and Bateman‟s Bay/Eden. A schematic depicting the

current and proposed infrastructure deployments are shown in Fig. 12.

Figure 12. Schematic diagram showing the location of the NSW-IMOS instrument

deployments, overlaid on a satellite image of sea surface temperature. The SST image clearly

shows the coherent EAC jet flowing poleward adjacent to the coast 30oS and producing an

eddy field further to the south (Figure M. Roughan).

54

5a) Ocean Moorings (ANMN)

Moninya Roughan, Brad Morris, et al.

The goal of the NSW-IMOS moorings sub-facility is to collect data in support of the oceanographic

needs of NSW-IMOS. This includes measurements of temperature, salinity, velocity, and

biogeochemical and bio-optical properties in the East Australian Current. We will continue the

sampling that we have implemented in the first phase of IMOS. This includes the maintenance and

delivery of data from 8 oceanographic moorings along the coast of NSW, as well as hydrographic

sampling at 4 stations along a transect off Port Hacking (Fig. 5). In-kind contribution in the form of

ORS and waverider data will also continue to be collected from our partners.

A select number of enhancements have been chosen to add value to the existing data streams. The

most important feature being the development of real time telemetry at one location (NRS).

Additionally we aim to include bio-optical sensors on our national reference station, in conjunction

with pCO2. These data will serve to create realistic subsurface light fields for modelling key

biogeochemical processes like photosynthesis, provide valuable in-situ ground truth data for

developing satellite remote sensing algorithms for ocean production and other parameters and will

significantly enhance our whole of system approach, integrating biology with physics.

The locations and details of moorings and sampling stations; current, pending and proposed, are

shown in Fig. 5, and Tables 1 and 3.

Extension 2011-2013

Continuation of existing moorings at Coffs Harbour (2), Sydney (4), Bateman‟s Bay/Eden (2);

Continuation of hydrographic sampling off Port Hacking, and maintenance of the PH100 trial

mooring;

Continuation of in-kind data (waverider and ORS data from our industry partners MHL, Sydney

Water and DECCW) being delivered to IMOS portal;

Enhancement 2009-2013

Augmentation of NRS at PH100 with velocity measurements (ADCP)

Implementation of real time telemetry at Sydney NRS

Augmentation of NRS with bio-optical sensors (Eco-triplet, FRRF)

5b) Passive acoustic mooring off NSW

Rob McCauley, Tracey Rogers, Iain Suthers, et al.

The passive acoustic observatories will be maintained by the Centre for Marine Science and

Technology (CMST) of Curtin University operating as an existing sub facility under the mooring

facility. The sea noise logging hardware is built by CMST using technology initially funded by

Australian Defence and refined over a ten year period. The NSW passive acoustic observatory (first

few years at least) consists of four moorings each with an independent receiver, with three

moorings spaced in a 3-5 km triangle and one mooring in the centre. The spatial grid will allow a

local tracking capability with range and bearing (out to approximately ten times the array

dimensions for signals coherent on all loggers) and estimation of bearing for longer range signals.

The deployment schedule for the NSW passive acoustic observatory is based on a 10 month service

interval from deployment in Feb 2010 and involves mooring servicing in Oct 2010, Aug 2011,

55

April 2012, Jan 2013 and Sept 2014. The costs of vessel charter and field logistics have been

factored in to the passive acoustic sub-facility budget.

5c) Coastal Radar (ACORN) off NSW

Moninya Roughan, Mal Heron, Brad Morris, Tim Pritchard, Ed Couriel, et al.

There are two commercial HF Radar manufacturers – WERA (German, http://ifmaxp1.ifm.uni-

hamburg.de/WERA.shtml) and CODAR (US, www.codaros.com). The WERA system which will

be deployed at Coffs Harbour in 2010-2011 provides spatial maps of surface currents, as well as

wave height, period and direction, and wind direction at hourly intervals. NSW-IMOS has a

particular interest in the WERA system to support the state‟s 7 waverider buoys – the largest wave

monitoring network in Australia. In regions where the EAC flows swiftly adjacent to the coast (e.g.

Cape Byron and the associated Marine Park) the waverider buoys at times gives conflicting data or

become submerged in strong currents. Hence in addition to the mapping of surface currents, the

wave information provided by the HF Radar system is most valuable. We propose that this radar

system remains in place at least through to the end of 2013.

We propose for future consideration by IMOS and by the NSW state government a long range HF

Radar system that covers the EAC Separation Zone to provide spatial and temporal information on

the separation of the EAC and the generation of the EAC eddy field.

5d) Ocean Gliders (ANFOG) off NSW

Iain Suthers, Mark Baird, Chari Pattiarachi, Moninya Roughan, Martina Doblin, et al.

Through 2009-2013 we will maintain 2 iRobot SeaGlider deployments of 5 months each per year in

the eddy field south of the separation zone and east of Sydney and fill-in under-sampling by ARGO

floats. We will also make cross-shelf transects of the adjacent shelf, with 2-3 Slocum gliders of 3

weeks each, when altimetry indicates it is safe to do so. Gliders will be deployed usually from

either Port Stephens or Crowdy Head in winter-spring for the East Coast Lows aim and for spring

bloom phenomena. Near real time sea level and SST images from David Griffin‟s altimetry site

(http://www.marine.csiro.au/remotesensing/oceancurrents/SNSW/latest.html) will allow strategic

deployment and navigation. Gliders are retrieved on or near the shelf using either SIMS/university

boats (<10 nautical miles), or, for longer retrievals (10-40 nautical miles), by volunteer yachts,

hired fishing vessels or by Defence Maritime Services (DMS).

Initially, glider navigation in the EAC eddy field was challenging and time consuming. However

the improved communications with SeaGliders (since Jan. 2010) has encouraged us to maintain the

two SeaGliders off NSW for 9 months pa, deploying in late summer (March), and in winter with

retrievals completed by late spring. In order to ensure lessons learnt from earlier deployments are

used by each navigator, new navigators of the NSW gliders will be assisted by earlier navigators.

Technical support is also received from the AUV facility.

5e) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle off NSW

Peter Steinberg, Stefan Williams, Maria Byrne, Will Figueira, Tim Pritchard, Alan Jordan, et

al.

Presently the AUV facility is a single ocean going Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) called

Sirius, capable of undertaking high resolution survey work. The submersible is equipped with a

56

mechanically scanned low frequency terrain-aiding sonar, a depth sensor, Doppler Velocity Log

(DVL) including a compass with integrated roll and pitch sensors, Ultra Short Baseline Acoustic

Positioning System (USBL), forward looking obstacle avoidance sonar, a conductivity/temperature

sensor and a high resolution stereo camera pair and strobes. The vehicle is controlled by an on-

board computer which is used for sampling sensor information and running the vehicle‟s low-level

control algorithms. Its capabilities are currently being expanded to measure water velocity, nitrate

concentrations and fluorescence (an indicator of biological productivity). Recently acoustic Doppler

current profilers (ADCP) have been installed in a number of autonomous vehicles and gliders with

successful results.

We will make transects to monitor long term variability of rocky reef biota (particularly kelp) in

relation to different levels of protection and hydrologic variability, especially that likely to be

associated with climate change such as temperature and pH. Initial AUV deployments will be off

Jervis Bay followed by Bateman‟s Marine Park, Coffs Harbour and Port Stephens, Great Lakes

Marine Park.

Specific deployments of the AUV off NSW may include:

1. Analysis of permanent quadrats (25 x 25m) and cross-shelf transects at 4 sites in NSW to

assess changes in deep-water kelp (exp. design consistent among states);

2. Photographic surveys of the Jervis Bay Marine Park (completed 2007);

3. Fine scale CTD surveys behind Solitary Islands (proposed);

4. Survey of fauna on key (iconic) sites such as wrecks and reefs near Bondi Beach for long

term monitoring of deep waters.

5. AUV transect data and swath mapping data from DECCW will be used to model benthic

communities at permanent survey sites

5f) Animal Tracking, (AATAMS) off NSW

Matthew Taylor, Charles Gray, David Booth, William Gladstone, Nathan Knott, Brendan

Kelaher, Rob Harcourt, Iain Suthers, et al.

The extension to mid-2013 of the existing AATAMS cross-shelf transects (curtains) and coastal

arrays of VR2W acoustic receivers (Fig. 11) is essential to implementation of research question 3v

These extensions include:

Maintenance of existing AATAMS VR2W arrays until 2013 under existing arrangements,

including AATAMS funded technical support, and in-kind contributions from NSW

DECCW, and I&I NSW (Fig. 11)

Maintenance of existing SEACAMS VR2W arrays until 2013 under existing arrangements,

including in-kind contributions from I&I NSW (Fig. 11)

Continued monitoring of existing tagged animals, which include up to 192 Vemco R-code

tags deployed during IMOS 1 on blue grouper, and grey nurse, great white, wobbygong,

dusky and bull sharks

Enhancements to the AATAMS network off the NSW coast are needed to address the science

questions, particularly around Marine Parks. Deployments of up to 40 VR2W receivers are

proposed for the NSW south coast to fill major gaps in the NSW and national AATAMS arrays

(Fig. 13), which will maximise the likelihood of detections of tagged animals migrating off the east

coast of Australia. These AATAMS lines will derive maximum benefit from the oceanographic

57

observations and minimise risk of loss of receivers due to trawling operations. Specifically,

enhancements include:

i. Deployment of new AATAMS VR2W arrays (requested in Facilities plan) in south coast

marine protected areas (Fig. 13) by August 2010, with ongoing maintenance undertaken

jointly by AATAMS funded technical support and DECCW. It is likely that only 20

VR2Ws will be deployed in Jervis Bay Marine Park, and not Batemans Bay Marine

Park.

ii. Deployment of an additional 90 VR2W moorings to augment the existing AATAMS

array funded by UNSW/SIMS/I&I NSW (Fig. 13), focusing on coastal deployments

including cross-shelf lines and gates at the mouths of estuaries as part of an ARC-

Linkage Project 2010-2013. Contracts were completed in May 2010. Coupled with

existing deployments of IMOS, DECCW and I&I NSW, this will be the largest

integrated array in Australia (>350 VR2W receivers). This $690K (cash) funded project

(ARC Linkage) will deploy 240 Vemco tags amongst migratory species including

yellowfin bream, dusky flathead and mulloway.

iii. New tag deployments undertaken in marine parks, with 20 tags deployed by February

2010 in sea mullet and yellowfin bream within Jervis Bay Marine Park (funded by

DECCW).

iv. Seals as samplers. In the future we plan to collect CTD .profiles on the continental shelf

of southern NSW using male fur seals from Montague Island (36o 15‟S) tagged with

satellite transmitting CTDs.

58

Figure 13. Proposed AATAMS VR2W enhancements off the NSW coast. Left panel shows

coastal deployments of new AATAMS VR2W arrays (squares) within south coast marine

protected areas (to be maintained by NSW DECCW),. Right panel indicates proposed and

existing coastal and estuarine deployments of individual VR2W stations (circles), to be

undertaken by UNSW and I&I NSW during 2010 and 2011 (Figure courtesy M. Taylor; maps courtesy of Google Earth).

59

6. How IMOS data will be taken up and used by NSW-IMOS

NSW-IMOS has over 100 members who are full time scientists, from more than 10 state and federal

institutions (Appendix 1). Between them these members have more than 30 students from honours

to post-graduate level who are using IMOS data (Appendix 2).

Other non-IMOSdata & products

Research vessel data

IMOS data & products

Pathways to uptake and use of IMOS data and products

= Australian Ocean Data

Network (AODN)

Research education &

training


training

Research Projects

(1–3 years)

Research Projects

(1–3 years)

Research Programs (3-7 years)


Multi-decadal analyses


Research modelling systems


Operational forecasting

systems


systems

Post doc’sPhD’sPost Grad’s

ARCRDC’sDCC

CRC’sCERF Hubs

Joint venturesPartnerships

ReanalysesClimatologies

BluelinkACCESSShelf-scaleRegional

BluelinkPOAMA

nationalandinternational

via the GTS

PublicationsConference

papers, posters

Research reports

Analyses, products

Validation, assimilation

Remote sensing

products

Remote sensing

products

SSTAltimetry

Ocean Colour

Other non-IMOSdata & products

Research vessel data

IMOS data & products

Pathways to uptake and use of IMOS data and products

= Australian Ocean Data

Network (AODN)


training


training

Research Projects

(1–3 years)

Research Projects

(1–3 years)








systems


systems

Post doc’sPhD’sPost Grad’s

ARCRDC’sDCC

CRC’sCERF Hubs

Joint venturesPartnerships

ReanalysesClimatologies

BluelinkACCESSShelf-scaleRegional

BluelinkPOAMA

nationalandinternational

via the GTS

PublicationsConference

papers, posters

Research reports

Analyses, products

Validation, assimilation

Remote sensing

products

Remote sensing

products

SSTAltimetry

Ocean Colour

Figure. 14 Pathways to the uptake and use of IMOS data, showing the balance of research

projects underpinning long term observations.

Impact and delivery through improving model output

The results from Research Questions 1 and 2 will support ocean, meteorological and climate

numerical model simulations including hindcasts and forecasts from models such as BLUElink and

SEAROMS. We have made it a node priority to provide as many of the data streams as possible in

near real time such that these data can readily be ingested into forecasting models of the ocean and

atmosphere. This is particularly necessary for the mooring and HF radar data. The Tasman Sea

region has typically been difficult to model due to the large variability in the mesoscale eddy field.

RMS error in the BLUElink model is greatest off southeastern Australia where NSW-IMOS has

deployed significant infrastructure. Furthermore large scale models do not perform well on the

continental shelf region hence coastal observations (particularly from HF radar) are essential. The

vertical profiles of bio-optical data available from glider deployments provide a newly available

resource for assessment of ecosystem models that has not previously been available. This is an

60

emerging and powerful method of ecosystem model assessment (Fujii et al., 2007). The

meteorological measurements at the air-sea interface will contribute to numerical weather

prediction models, which will have the benefit of improved early warning systems particularly

during storm events.

Ensuring the data are used

With the large number of active node members and we are confident that the IMOS data will be

used. In recent years a number of the members of NSW-IMOS have received competitive ARC

grants that are built around IMOS data streams. Each of these proposals alone will go a long way to

ensuring that the data are used. The proposals which make use of NSW-IMOS data include (but are

not limited to) those in Table 7. Importantly the majority of the proposals have been funded for

research commencing in either 2009 or 2010 highlighting the fact that these are new proposals

focussed on research questions pertinent to NSW-IMOS.

Table 7. Currently funded projects using NSW-IMOS data streams.

Principle Investigators and

Timeframe

Project Title Funding Type

Hassler and Doblin et al. (2010-2012) Novel technologies to resolve the role

of organic matter on Fe chemistry and

bioavailability in the South Pacific

Ocean.

ARC Discovery

Heron, Banner, Wyatt (2009-2012) Wave climate in the Southern Great

Barrier Reef.

ARC Linkage

Pizarro, Williams, Jakuba, Eustice,

Whitcomb (2010-2014)

Cost effective autonomous systems for

large scale monitoring of marine

protected areas.

ARC Discovery

Steinberg et al., (2010-2012) Stress, virulence and bacterial disease

in temperate seaweeds: the rise of the

microbes.

ARC Discovery

Suthers and Baird (2008-2010) Quantifying the role of salps in marine

food webs and organic carbon export.

ARC Discovery

Suthers and Oke (2009-2011) Coastal cold core eddies of the East

Australian Current and their fisheries

potential.

ARC Discovery

Suthers, Richardson, Swadling, Ralph,

Taylor, Doblin, Virtue. (2010)

A Laser Optical Plankton Counter for

laboratory and in-situ size

distributions of zooplankton, to assess

the basis and outcomes of changing

ecosystems

ARC Large

Infrastructure &

Equipment Fund

with UQ, UTS,

UTas.

LE100100204

Taylor, Suthers, Booth and Gray

(2010-2012)

Feeding and breeding: Rainfall effects

on connectivity and fidelity of iconic

coastal fishes.

ARC Linkage

Waite and Roughan et al. (2010-2012) Ocean reef interactions as drivers of

continental shelf productivity in a

changing climate.

ARC Discovery

61

Turner et al. (2010 – 2013) Australian coastal observation

network: monitoring and forecasting

coastal erosion in a changing climate.

ARC Linkage

Ajani 2010.

Phytoplankton diversity in coastal

waters of New South Wales, Australia.

Australian

Biological

Resources Study

Capacity-

Building Grant.

Ajani 2010 Phytoplankton patterns in the coastal

waters of New South Wales, Australia

for the period 2010-2013.

NSW Food

Authority.

Stefan Williams, Maria Byrne, Will

Figueira Neville Barrett and

Machine assisted- Multi-scale Spatial

and Temporal Observation and

Modeling of Marine Benthic Habitats.

Super Science

Fellowship

2010, U.Syd,

UTas

Gales, Nicol, Hindell, Harcourt (UTas,

AAD, Macqu U)

Pelagic ecosystem linkages in a

changing Southern Ocean

Super Science

Fellowship 2010

Johnson, Holbrook, Barrett, Steinberg. Effects of climate change on

temperate benthic assemblages on the

continental shelf in eastern Australia

Super Science

Fellowship

2010, UTas,

UNSW

Stefan Williams Autonomous Exploration and

Characterization of Benthic Habitats

Linked to Oceanographic Processes

ARC-Discovery

2008-2010

Stefan Williams, Oscar Pizarro,

Jakuba,

Autonomous repeatable surveys for

long term monitoring of marine

habitats

ARC Linkage

2010-2013

Johnson, Barrett, Steinberg, Babcock East Coast Kelp Habitat Mapping Super Science

Fellowship 2010

Edgar, Stuart-Smith, Booth, Jordan,

Ayre, Waters, O‟Hara, Poore

Biotic connectivity within the

temperate Australian marine protected

area network at three levels of

biodiversity, communities,

populations and genes.

ARC Linkage

2010-2015

Additionally, the NSW state government has committed $600K to salaries for NSW-IMOS. Two

SIMS partners were also successful with 2 Super Science Initiative fellowships. NSW-IMOS has

initiated a special issue on the East Australian Current in Deep Sea Research – Part II (edited by

Suthers, Roughan, Young, Baird and Ridgway). From 37 abstracts submitted on 20 March 2009, 17

papers will be published by late 2010, early 2011. A number of the papers submitted involve

analysis of IMOS data. Papers that make use of IMOS data are identified below.

62

Recently published Papers from NSW IMOS node members that use IMOS data

1) Baird, M.E., Everett, J.D., Suthers, I.M., In Press. Analysis of southeast Australian

zooplankton observations of 1938-42 using synoptic oceanographic conditions. Deep Sea

Research, Part II.

2) Baird, M. E., I. M. Suthers, D. A. Griffin, B. Hollings, C. Pattiaratchi, J. D. Everett, M.

Roughan, K. Oubelkheir and M. Doblin. In Press. The effect of surface flooding on the

physical-biogeochemical dynamics of a warm core eddy off southeast Australia. Deep Sea

Research, Part II.

3) Barkby, S.A., Williams, S.B., Pizarro, O. & Jakuba, M. 2009. An efficient approach to

bathymetric SLAM. Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent

Robots and Systems, pp. 2525-2530, St Louis, USA, October 2009.

4) Bridge, T., Done, T., Beaman, R., Friedman, A., Williams, S.B., Pizarro, O., Webster, J.

2010. Topography, substratum and benthic macrofaunal relationships on a tropical

mesophotic shelf margin, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs, (in review).

5) Byrne 2009 Flashing stars light up subaqueous dunes off the Great Barrier Reef. ECOS 28

150-151

6) Brassington, G. B., N. Summons and R. Lumpkin, In Press. Observed and simulated

Lagrangian and eddy characteristics of the East Australian Current and Tasman Sea. Deep

Sea Research, Part II.

7) Condie, S.A., Mansbridge, J.V., Cahill, M.L., In Press. Contrasting local retention and

cross-shore transports of the East Australian Current and the Leeuwin Current and their

relative influences on the life histories of small pelagic fishes. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

8) Hassler CS, Djajadikarta JR, Doblin MA, Everett JD, Thompson PA., In Press.

Characterisation of water masses and phytoplankton nutrient limitation in the East

Australian Current separation zone during spring 2008. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

9) Holbrook, N. J., I. D. Goodwin, S. McGregor, E. Molina, and S. B. Power, 2010. ENSO to

multi-decadal time scale changes in East Australian Current transports and Fort Denison sea

level: Oceanic Rossby waves as the connecting mechanism. Deep-Sea Research II.

10) Holbrook, N. J., 2010: South Pacific Ocean dynamics: potential for enhancing sea level and

climate forecasts. Chapter 10 in: „Climate Alert: Climate Change Monitoring and Strategy‟,

eds. Y. You and A. Henderson-Sellers, Sydney University Press, pp.313-342, ISBN 978-1-

920899-41-7.

11) Holbrook, N. J., J. Davidson, M. Feng, A. J. Hobday, J. M. Lough, S. McGregor, and J. S.

Risbey, 2009: Chapter 4: El Niño – Southern Oscillation. In Report Card of Marine Climate

Change for Australia: detailed scientific assessment, Eds. E. S. Poloczanska, A. J. Hobday

and A. J. Richardson, NCCARF Publication 05/09, pp.29-51, ISBN 978-1-921609-03-9.

12) Johnson-Roberson, M., O. Pizarro, S.B. Williams, I. Mahon, 2010. Generation and

Visualization of Large Scale 3D Reconstructions from Underwater Robotic Surveys, Journal

of Field Robotics, 27(1):21-51.

13) Maharaj, A. M., P. Cipollini, N. J. Holbrook, P. D. Killworth and J. R. Blundell, 2007. An

evaluation of the classical and extended Rossby wave theories in explaining spectral

estimates of the first few baroclinic modes in the South Pacific Ocean. Ocean Dynamics,

57(3), 173-187. DOI 10.1007/s10236-006-0099-5.

14) Maharaj, A. M., N. J. Holbrook and P. Cipollini, 2009. Multiple westward propagating

signals in South Pacific sea level anomalies. Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans,

114 (C12016) pp. 1-14.

63

15) Mahon, S.B. Williams, O. Pizarro and M. Johnson-Roberson, 2008. Efficient View-Based

SLAM Using Visual Loop Closures, Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 24(5):1002-1014.

16) Malcolm, H.A., Davies, P.L., Jordan, A., Smith, S.D.A. In Press. Variation in sea

temperature and the East Australian Current in the Solitary Islands region between 2001-

2008. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

17) Oke, P.R., Griffin, D.A. In Press. The cold-core eddy and strong upwelling off the coast of

New South Wales in early 2007. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

18) Rao, D., Williams, S.B. 2009. Large-scale path planning for underwater gliders in ocean

currents. Proceedings of the 2009 Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation, 8

pp., Sydney, Australia, December 2009.

19) Rigby, P., O. Pizarro and S.B. Williams 2007. Improved AUV navigation through multi-

sensor data fusion, Sea Technology, 48(3), pages 15-22.

20) Rigby, P., Williams, S.B., Pizarro, O. 2010. Towards Adaptive Benthic Habitat Mapping

using Gaussian Process Classification. Journal of Field Robotics, (in review).

21) Roughan, M., Macdonald H.S., Baird, M.E., Glasby, T.M., In Press. Modelling seasonal and

interannual variability in a Western Boundary Current and its impact on coastal

connectivity. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

22) Roughan, M., Morris, B.D., Suthers, I. 2010. NSW-IMOS: An Integrated Marine Observing

System for Southeastern Australia. 2010 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., 11, 012030.

23) Roughan, M., I. Suthers, I., G. Meyers, 2010. The Australian Integrated Marine Observing

System and the regional implementation in New South Wales.Chapter 9 Climate Alert

Sydney University Press ISBN 9781920899363.

24) Steinberg, D., Bender, A. Friedman, A., Jakuba, M., Pizarro, O., Williams, S.B. 2010.

Analysis of propulsion methods for long range AUVs. Marine Technology Society Journal,

44(2):46-55.

25) Suthers, Young, Baird, Roughan, Everett, Brassington, Byrne, Condie, Hartog, Hassler,

Hobday, Holbrook, Malcolm, Oke, Thompson, and Ridgway, In Press. The strengthening

East Australian Current, its eddies and biological effects – an introduction and overview to

the special issue. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

26) Syahailatua, A., Roughan, M., Suthers, I.M., In Press. Characteristic ichthyoplankton taxa in

the separation zone of the East Australian Current: larval assemblages as tracers of coastal

mixing. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

27) Syahailatua, A., Taylor, M.D., Suthers, I.M., In Press. Growth variability and stable isotope

composition of two larval carangid fishes in the East Australian Current: The role of

upwelling in the separation zone. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

28) Thompson, P.A. Baird, M.E., Ingleton, T., Doblin, M.A., 2009. Long-term changes in

temperate Australian coastal waters and implications for phytoplankton. Marine Ecology

Progress Series (in press).

29) Thompson, P.A. Bonham, P. Waite A.M. Clementson, L.A. Cherukuru, N. Doblin, M.A., In

Press. Contrasting oceanographic conditions and phytoplankton communities on the east and

west coasts of Australia. Deep Sea Research, Part II.

30) Webster, J., R. Beaman, T. Bridge, P. Davies, M. Byrne, S.B. Williams, P. Manning, O.

Pizarro, K. Thornborough, A.A. Thomas, and S. Tudhope, S. 2008. From corals to canyons:

The great barrier reef margin. EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union,

89(24):217–218.

64

31) Woolsey, E, Byrne, M, Williams, Pizarro, O, Thronborough K, Davies, P, Beaman R,

Webster, J., Bridge T. Ophiopsila pantherina beds on subaqueus dunes off the Great

Barrier Reef. In. C. Johnson et al. Echinoderms, Hobart, CRC Press, Boca Raton

32) Williams, S.B., I. Mahon, 2006. Terrain Aided Localisation and Mapping for Marine

Environments, in M. Ang and O. Khatib, editors, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics,

Vol. 21, pages 111 - 120.

33) Williams, S.B., O. Pizarro, M. Jakuba & N. Barrett. 2009. AUV benthic habitat mapping in

south eastern Tasmania. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Field and

Service Robotics, 10 pp., Cambridge, USA, July 2009.

34) Williams, S.B., O. Pizarro, M. Jakuba, I. Mahon, S.D. Ling & C.R. Johnson. 2010. Repeated

AUV surveying of urchin barrens in North Eastern Tasmania. Proceedings of the IEEE 2010

International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp 293 - 299, Anchorage, USA, May

2010.

35) Williams, S.B., O. Pizarro, I. Mahon and M. Johnson-Roberson, 2008. Simultaneous

Localisation and Mapping and Dense Stereoscopic Seafloor Reconstruction using an AUV,

in G. Pappas, V. Kumar and O. Khatib, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, Vol. 54,

pages 407-416.

36) Williams, S.B., O. Pizarro, J.M. Webster, R.J. Beman, I. Mahon, M. Johnson-Roberson, T.

Bridge, submitted. AUV-assisted surveying of drowned reefs on the shelf edge of the Great

Barrier Reef, Australia, Journal of Field Robotics, 27(5):675-697.

Partnering for sustained ocean observing

SIMS is a collaboration of the four main universities in Sydney, The University of New South

Wales, including UNSW@ADFA, University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney and

Macquarie University. Hence by its nature, SIMS is a collaborative institute. Over the past few

years SIMS has grown from strength to strength, and this is reflected in the list of associate

members who have joined SIMS including University of Wollongong, University of Western

Sydney, Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), NSW-DECCW, II NSW and The

Australian Museum.

Many of the infrastructure proposals submitted in this current round of funding carry significant

support from our industry partners including Sydney Water Corporation, Defence Maritime

Services, thus giving at least a dollar for dollar return on investment. Partnering with the NSW

state departments will grow as we make the science (observations) and data products relevant to

state agencies. As a priority, IMOS data needs to be used to show the linkages between blue water

and shelf oceanography to near-shore state concerns in the form of a National Coastal Observing

System.

65

7. Describe what impact the IMOS observations will have regionally, nationally

and globally:

7-1) Identify the issues and problems on which the Node will have the greatest impact over the next

5 years.

Our greatest impacts will be on the physical and ecological interactions of the East Australian

Current with coastal waters, in determining the synergistic impacts of urbanization and climate

change. We expect the greatest impact from NSW-IMOS will be in the areas of:

Understanding of cross-shelf flows, deep water intrusions and plankton and microbial

diversity and their relationship to past observations and predicted changes.

Continued development of ocean circulation models particularly over the continental shelf

region, ranging from hindcasting, nowcasting and forecasting.

Improved data products for assimilation into and verification of ocean, wave, climate and

weather prediction models.

Enhanced models of biophysical coupling through enhanced measurement of mechanistic

parameters driving biological variability (e.g. light) and via mapping of biological parameters onto

the physical variability of the EAC.

Prediction of climate change impacts on sediment transport, storm surge, coastal erosion and

inundation.

Estimates of larval connectivity along the coast of southeastern Australia, amongst ports,

harbours as well as among marine parks; planning for marine parks;

Improved predictions of fish landings based on rainfall and oceanographic variation

Validating contemporary ocean colour derived estimates of chlorophyll, CDOM and TSS

against direct IMOS observations

Developing NSW specific optical inversion algorithms for near shore, optically complex

coastal waters.

Parameterization of future linked ecosystem models and the evaluation of forecasting

abilities through the collection of biological and geochemical data streams.

7-2) Identify the strategic issues and problems that IMOS will address if sustained in the longer

term.

The strategic issues and problems are related to extending IMOS data and knowledge into the near

shore. In the future we will particularly need knowledge of urbanization (which shall continue

unabated along the eastern seaboard) to assess climate change effects. We will have a legacy of

talent and data before severe climate impacts are evident.

Aside from the waverider buoy records along the NSW and SE Qld coast, the observational wave

record is inadequate for resolving past changes in wave climate. Large spatial gaps in directional

data allow little to no comment on the directional response of the wave climate to shifts in wave

climate, which are suggested by global wave models.

Greater effort is required in making statistical and dynamical projections of Australian wave climate

under future climate scenarios. Increased statistical certainty is achieved through averaging

projections from a larger range of Global Climate Models emissions scenarios, and solution

66

ensembles. Such projections are required over all coastal regions of Australia. Currently, the ability

to carry out such projections is restricted by the availability of forcing data of sufficient temporal

and spatial resolution from global climate models.

67

8. Governance, structure and funding:

The Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) hosts the NSW node of IMOS (NSW-IMOS). As

the host organisation and the operator of 3 facilities (see below), SIMS is investing substantially in

IMOS, (~$1.25 M cash) including $15,000 cash per year for running the node. The NSW

government has also co-invested in NSW-IMOS with $600,000 to fund 3 personnel to mid 2013.

SIMS is the designated operator of two IMOS facilities and one sub-facility, these being:

The autonomous underwater vehicle facility (AUV, led by Dr Stefan Williams),

The Australian Acoustic Tracking and Monitoring System (AATAMS, led by Prof Rob

Harcourt) and

The NSW sub-facility of the Australian National Mooring Network (ANMN led by Dr

Moninya Roughan).

Membership

The membership of NSW-IMOS is open to anyone with a professional interest in ocean

observations along the coast of NSW. It will have no restriction other than a willingness to be

enrolled on a membership database. Presently NSW-IMOS has over 100 members who are full time

scientists, from over 10 state and federal institutions (Appendix 1). Node priorities are set through

consultation with the NSW-IMOS community via public meetings (twice per annum) and

distributing all significant documents by email to the membership list. The node has a scientific

reference group led by Prof Iain Suthers (node leader to Sept 2010) and Dr Moninya Roughan with

Dr. Martina Doblin (co-leader from Sept. 2010). The Governance structure for NSW-IMOS is

shown in Fig. 15.

Figure 15. Diagram showing governance of NSW-IMOS from Sept 2010. NB Suthers was node leader prior to September 2010.

68

How the stakeholders will be engaged including indicative levels of co-investment

We have held biannual node meetings at SIMS since Feb. 2007, attracting 40-50% of members:

Meeting # Date Agenda

1 Feb. 2007 Formation and governance of NSW-IMOS

2 24 Sept. 2007 1) To summarise the activities and plans of the 3 facilities

based at SIMS (AUV, AATAMS, Moorings)

2) To plan our applications for the IMOS mobile elements - the

AUV, the High Frequency coastal radar (ACORN) and the ocean glider. Due on 17 Nov 2007.

3 5 Aug 2008 NSW IMOS update - Key note address: Andreas Schiller

(CMAR) “BLUELink and NSW IMOS”

4 10 Nov 2008 NSW IMOS update - Key note address: George Cresswell on the EAC and preparation for a special issue in DSR-II

5 30 April 2009 “LOOKING FORWARD – an integrated coastal observing

system 2011-16”

To outline a 2 page scoping paper for the IMOS office on the science needs and infrastructure for NSW for beyond 2011

6 29 September, 2009 Review the revised Node Science & Implementation Plan for

the new EIF funding

7 19 May 2010 Update and outcomes of EIF decision process

8 22 September 2010 Key note address Tom Malone - Coastal ocean observing

systems

The following industry partners are engaged in NSW-IMOS through the node community meetings,

shared grants and joint publications. They also provide financial and logistical support to NSW-

IMOS. Their indicative levels of co-investment are listed in each of their letters of support supplied

to the facilities.

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW)

Contact: Mr Tim Pritchard

Port Hacking NRS transect sampling

Waverider buoy network data

AATAMS receivers

In-kind support (boats, time)

Innovation and Industry (II NSW)

Contact: Dr Charles Gray

SEACAMS (70 VR2W receiver network)

AATAMS receivers

Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (DSTA)

Contact: Dr Ed Couriel

69

In–kind support

Sydney Water Corporation

Contact: Dr Peter Tate

Ocean Reference Station data

Oceanographic Field Services

Contact: Mr Clive Holden

In-kind support

NSW-Office for Medical and Scientific Research

Contact: Mr Chris Armstrong

In-kind support

Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO)

Contact: Dr Doug Cato

In-kind support

Defence Maritime Services

Contact Mr Mark Todd

In-kind support - boats

70

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76

Appendix 1: List of NSW-IMOS Members at August 2010

first last Institution first last Institution

Simon Allen CSIRO Peter Macreadie UTS

Leanne Armand MACU Elizabeth Maden UTS

Mark Baird UTS Angela Maharaj MACU

Michael Banner UNSW Guillaume Martinez EPA VIC

Vihang Bhatt UNSW@ADFA Matthew McCabe UNSW

Gavin Birch USYD Marian McGowen IMOS

Andrew Boomer SIMS Alistair McIlgorm NMSC

David Booth UTS Jason Middleton UNSW

Barry Bruce CSIRO Tim Moltmann IMOS

Maria Byrne USYD Stephanie Moore NOAA

Gwenael Cadiou UTS Russel Morison UNSW

Doug Cato USYD Brad Morris UNSW

Edward Couriel MHL Tom Mullaney UNSW

Peter Cowell USYD Jo Neilson IMOS

Ron Cox UNSW Peter Oke CSIRO

Bob Creese NSW I&I Nick Otway NSW I&I

George Cresswell CSIRO Vic Peddemors NSW I&I

Belinda Curley UTS Bill Peirson UNSW

Peter Davies DECCW Adele Pile USYD

Andy Davis UOW Oscar Pizarro USYD

Jocelyn Dela cruz DECCW Alistar Poore UNSW@ ADFA

Martina Doblin UTS Tim Pritchard DECCW

Christopher Elasi OSMAR, I&I Roger Proctor IMOS

Matt England UNSW David Raftos MACU

Philippe Estrade UNSW Clinton Rakich BOM

Jason Everett UNSW Peter Ralph UTS

Richard Faulkner NMSC Dennis Reid NSW I&I

Iain Field MACU Anthony Richardson CSIRO

Will Figueira USYD Robin Robertson UNSW@ADFA

Ruan Gannon UNSW Vincent Rossi UNSW

Bill Gladstone UTS Moninya Roughan UNSW

Ian Goodwin MACU Andreas Schiller CSRIO

Charles Gray NSW I&I Mark Scognamiglio SIMS

Paul Gribben UTS Jayson Semmens UTAS

David Griffin CSIRO Alex Sen Gupta UNSW

Paul Hallam SIMS Marcus Smith The Ecology Lab

Rob Harcourt MACU Peter Smith DECCW

Ben Harris UNSW Steve Smith NMSC

Michelle Heupel JCU Peter Steinberg SIMS/UNSW

Katy Hill IMOS Iain Suthers UNSW

Ross Hill UTS Ron Szymczak ANSTO

Jeremy Hindell DSE, Victoria Peter Tate SWC

Neil Holbrook UTAS Matty Taylor UNSW

77

Clive Holden OFS Peter Thompson CSIRO

Roy Hughes DSTO Ian Turner UNSW

Josh Humphries UNSW Adriana Verges UNSW

Charlie Huveneers SARDI Ana Vila-Concejo USYD

Tim Ingleton DECCW Hua Wang UNSW@ADFA

Michael Jakuba USYD Tim Ward SARDI

Donghui Jiang UNSW@ADFA Scarla Weeks U.Qld

Emma Johnston UNSW Stefan Williams USYD

Alan Jordan DECCW Jane Williamson MACU

Brendan Kelaher DECCW-Marine

Parks

Kate Wilson DECCW

Steve Kennelly NSW I&I Julie Wood UNSW

Andrew Kiss UNSW@ADFA Robert Woodham DoD-RAN

Daijiro (DJ) Kobashi GU Cheng-Lung Wu UNSW

Mark Kulmar MHL Bob You DECCW

Jim Lawler MHL Jock Young CSIRO

Randall Lee EPA VIC Fan Zhang UNSW@ADFA

Helen Macdonald UNSW

78

Appendix 2: List of honours, post-graduate students and post-doctoral fellows using NSW-IMOS data

Name Degree/start Institution Topic

Penny Ajani PhD 2010 MACU Phytoplankton of the East Australian Current

Kate Lee MSc 2010 MACU Assessing habitat protection zones for the blue

groper in Sydney

TBC MSc 2010 MACU Assessing Habitat protection reserves for the

Wobbygong shark

Alex Pursche PhD 2007 UNSW Mulloway migration

Natasha Henschke Hons 2009,

PhD 2010

UNSW Salp ecology

Josh Humphries PhD 2010 UNSW Eddy structure and gliders

Tom Mullaney PhD 2004 UNSW Larval fish and EAC water masses

Ben Harris Hons 2009

PhD 2010

UNSW Krill population ecology

Tegan Sime Hons 2010 UNSW Krill trophic ecology

Jackie Chan PhD 2008 UNSW Eastern king prawn population structure

Ruan Gannon PhD 2010 UNSW Coastal oceanography and fish migrations

Gwen Cadiou PhD 2010-12 UNSW Connectivity between predator populations in

NSW Marine Protected Areas

Helen MacDonald Hons2007

PhD 2009

UNSW ROMS modelling of the NSW continental shelf

Julie Wood PhD 2009 UNSW Analysis of the ORS and IMOS data off Sydney

Dr Vincent Rossi Post-doc 2010-

2012

UNSW/UWA Nutrient cycling in the EAC and LC.

Dr Jason Everett Post-doc 2009-

2011

UNSW Salps and EAC eddies

TBA Post-doc 2010-

2012

UNSW/UTS/I&I Estuarine predators

Donghui Jiang PhD UNSW ADFA On the Upwelling-downwelling Events along the

Coast of Jervis Bay, New South Wales

Fan Zhang PhD UNSW@ADFA Analysing the Socio-economic Benefits of NSW-IMOS

Vihang Bhatt PhD UNSW@ADFA Modeling of South Pacific Subtropical Mode

Water: Seasonal and Inter-Annual Variability

Justine (Retnowaty)

Djajadikarta

Hons/2009 UTS Phytoplankton diversity of the EAC and its

associated eddies

Gabriel Shaw Hons/2010 UTS Nutrient control of primary production in the

Tasman Sea

Dr Christel Hassler Post-doc 2009-

2011

UTS Novel technologies to resolve the role of organic

matter on iron chemistry and bioavailability in the South Pacific Ocean

Dr. Oscar Pizarro Post-doc 2010-

2014

USYD Cost-effective autonomous systems for large

scale monitoring of marine protected areas

Dr. Michael Jakuba Post-doc 2008-

2011

USYD Efficient and adaptive AUV survey

Stephen Barkby PhD/2007 USYD Bathymetric Simultaneous Localisation and

Mapping

Ariell Friedman PhD/2009 USYD Rugosity, Slope and Aspect from Bathymetric

Stereo Image Reconstructions

Asher Bender PhD/2009 USYD Adaptive Exploration Of Benthic Habitats Using

Gaussian Processes

Lashika Medagoda PhD 2008-

Mar.2012

USYD Water Column Current Profile Aided

Localisation for Autonomous Underwater

Vehicles

79

Daniel Steinberg PhD/2009 USYD Autonomous habitat classification using

Gaussian Mixture Models

Nasir Ahsan PhD/2009 USYD Learning Predictive Habitat Models using

Bathymetry, Seabed Terrain Features and Optical

Imagery

Lachlan Toohey 2010-2014 USYD Heterogeneous Multiple Agent Planning for

Autonomous Underwater Operations

USYD Large-Scale Multi-Sensor 3D Reconstructions

and Visualisations of

Unstructured Underwater Environments

Don Dansereau PhD/2010 USYD Light Field Processing and its Application to

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Navigation

Erika Woolsey MSc USYD AUV surveys of benthic habitat

TBA Post-doc 2010-

2012

USYD/UTas Machine assisted- Multi-scale Spatial and

Temporal Observation and Modeling of Marine

Benthic Habitats

Completed Students

Adrienne Gatt Hons/2008 UNSW/NSW-II Biological oceanography around larval lobster

collectors

Dr Nicholas Summons PhD Melb. U/BoM Eddy structure

80

Appendix 3. Research needs for NSW-IMOS, and what was not funded under EIF-IMOS (Dec 09

announcement)

1. Installation of 4 HF Radar stations between Laurieton/Taree (~31º 40‟S) and Sydney

(~34ºS) focusing on EAC separation dynamics;

2. The deployment of an additional oceanographic mooring pair in Stockton Bight to elucidate

the nature of the biological response to persistent EAC driven upwelling and give cal/val to

the HF Radar.

3. Supplement ocean gliders with cross-shelf transects and including the EAC and eddy field

by an AUV-REMUS

4. Additional bio-optical sensors for the NSW shelf moorings

5. Seals as CTD Samplers for the NSW south coast.

HF radar deployments to study the EAC separation zone:

We are requesting the deployment of an HF radar system in the Stockton Bight region to cover the

important EAC separation zone. The primary requirement is to measure surface currents over a

large alongshore distance. The most cost effective way to do this is to use the SeaSonde genre for 3

stations, to take advantage of the 180‐degree window of azimuth. The trade‐off is that wave height

observations will be limited, but if the southern‐most of the 4 stations is a WERA phased array then

good quality significant wave height data will be available and will book‐end the southern end to

match the Coffs Harbour wave‐capable system already installed. We desire a range of ~150 km

with an expectation that it will be up to 200 km during the daytime. The separation of stations in the

layout is consistent with this range specification.

The SeaSonde radar stations at Laurieton, Seal Rocks and Redhead have been placed to optimise

the coverage for long range systems (Fig. 5; Table 8). The WERA system at Long Reef at the

southern end brings current observations down almost to the Sydney Heads and provides wave

height data.

Table 8. Details of the proposed HF Radar station locations.

Radar Station Latitude Longitude

Laurieton SeaSonde 31°38‟49.59‟‟S 152°50‟24.08‟‟E

Seal Rocks SeaSonde 32°26‟28.47‟‟S 152 °32‟ 20.33‟‟E

Redhead SeaSonde 33°00‟48.01‟‟S 151°43‟31.16‟‟E

Long Reef WERA 33°44'32.82"S 151°19'11.33"E

81

Cross-shelf transects by a REMUS?

In addition to the current AUV we propose an enhancement of the facility by the purchase of a

REMUS „submarine‟ which will provide the ability to undertake high resolution oceanographic

surveys under high flow regimes. We propose a series of high resolution cross shelf transects to be

visited on a regular basis. The proposed sites coincide with existing IMOS infrastructure associated

with other Facilities and the observations that we will obtain complement the extant data sets (e.g

ANMN transects). Sites in SE Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and WA have been identified as

candidate locations for these surveys and each site is in close proximity to one of the ANMN

National Reference Station site. These sites will also feature observations provided by coastal radar

and, where possible, glider deployments (although as stated previously the advantage of this

technology is that the REMUS can occupy transects in high flow environments which is not

possible for the glider). During deployment, the AUV will traverse the continental shelf either at a

fixed depth or on a yo-yo trajectory, collecting a full suite of oceanographic measurements.

The observations obtained include high resolution velocity profiles throughout the water column

(similar to a shipboard ADCP) however the vehicle is equipped with up and down looking ADCPs

so the entire water column will be sampled. This has the advantage of giving the spatial coverage

that is missed by single point moorings. Concurrently the vehicle measures temperature salinity

and different optical properties again, obtaining high resolution data across the shelf where

gradients are typically high. For example to be able to resolve the gradient across a tight thermal

front is a huge step forward in our ability to understand cross shelf processes. Then to be able to

monitor the evolution and persistence of such features over time scales ranging from days to years

is new and exciting.

We propose to visit each of these sites twice a year for a period of two to three weeks at each site.

Cross shelf transects will be run up to three times a week during the deployment period to give a

high resolution view of temporal and spatial variability of currents running along the shelf with

intervals of six months between visits. In addition to this we propose regular monthly transects off

Sydney (when the vehicle is not deployed elsewhere) to give a comprehensive view of the EAC and

its eddy field on the shelf of NSW (Fig. 4). Additional transects could also be conducted off Coffs

Harbour in conjunction with the 2 monthly mooring servicing trips.

Given the turnkey nature of the AUV systems we are proposing to acquire, we envisage training

local operators in each of the nodes to assist with, and eventually take over, these survey activities.

Eventually it is envisaged that the deployments along the NSW transects could be conducted in

conjunction with the monthly hydrographic sampling run. It may be possible to deploy the vehicle

over the side of the boat at the start of the sampling and retrieve it at the end, thereby providing

crucial spatial context to the discreet water samples obtained at the NRS sites.

Present IMOS facilities devoted to measuring physical oceanographic variables either provide a

sustained and rich set of co-registered measurements in a fixed location (moorings) or a more

limited set of observations over deployments that traverse hundreds to thousands of km (gliders and

floats). The IMOS nodes are interested in extending current observational capabilities such that a

rich set of water column measurements similar to those collected point-wise at mooring sites can be

regularly recovered with precisely repeatable transects on the order of 100 km in length.

82

AUV systems designed for water-column sampling are mature and in regular use throughout the

world Recent studies off Cape Cod, MAS, USA have conducted repeat small AUV (REMUS)

surveys as part of a four-year program of repeat surveys to collect coastal current data associated

with a mooring array. By providing repeatable, synoptic measurements of a slice of the shelf

currents fast, propeller driven AUVs equipped with ADCPs, a CTD and fluorometers complement

the spatial under-sampling inherent to fixed moorings. In contrast, moorings provide a persistent

set of measurements that avoids the temporal under-sampling inherent to assets with limited

endurance. Together these Eulerian measurements complement the Lagrangian and quasi-

Lagrangian measurements generated by floats and gliders, respectively.

The IMOS AUV Facility is proposing an enhancement through the acquisition of AUV systems

capable of operating in energetic boundary currents. Fast AUVs moving at 1 m/s to 2 m/s (86

km/day to 172 km/day) to complement existing facilities by collecting three-dimensional nearly

synoptic offshore transects unobtainable with other IMOS assets in the energetic portions of the

East Australia and Leeuwin currents where water velocities substantially exceed the 25 cm/s

maximum speed of IMOS facility gliders. A rich set of water column measurements similar to

those collected point wise at mooring sites can thereby be regularly recovered with precisely

repeatable transects.

We propose a series of repeat AUV REMUS lines co-incident with the Coffs Harbour and Sydney

mooring arrays to provide the spatial context for the point wise measurements obtained at the

mooring arrays. The proposed sites coincide with existing IMOS infrastructure associated with

other Facilities and the observations that we will obtain complement the extant data sets (e.g

ANMN transects. These sites will also feature observations provided by coastal radar and, where

possible, glider deployments (although as stated previously the advantage of this technology is that

a propeller driven AUV can occupy transects in high flow environments which is not possible for

the glider). During deployment, the AUV will traverse the continental shelf either at a fixed depth

or on a yo-yo trajectory depending on total water depth, collecting a full suite of oceanographic

measurements.

The observations obtained will include high-resolution velocity profiles throughout the water

column (similar to a shipboard ADCP) however the vehicle is equipped with up and down looking

ADCPs so the entire water column will be sampled. This has the advantage of giving the spatial

coverage that is missed by single point moorings. Concurrently the vehicle measures temperature,

salinity and different optical properties thereby obtaining high-resolution data across the shelf

where gradients are typically high. For example to be able to resolve the gradient across a tight

thermal front is a huge step forward in our ability to understand cross shelf processes. The ability to

monitor the evolution and persistence of such features over time scales ranging from days to years

is new and exciting.

83

Appendix 4.

Guidelines for Prioritisation of Infrastructure Needs

Dr Katy Hill, IMOS Scientific Officer. 19th March 2010.

Nodes are expected to recommend an overall priority based on an assessment of scientific priority, technical maturity and capability/capacity.

Overall Priority.

• Essential – Should be funded. • High priority – Could be funded subject to co‐investment. • Next Stage – Essential or High scientific priority, but either the technology is not yet mature, or the facility does not have the capability/capacity to expand at this stage. Scientific Priority

• Essential – this data‐stream is essential for the node to meet its core science objectives. • High priority – this data‐stream would be very useful in addressing some of the science questions. • Lower priority – this data‐stream would have some use in addressing one or more of the node science questions. Technical Maturity

• Very mature – this platform/sensor/technique has an established role in the sustained observing system. • Mature – this platform/sensor/technique has been deployed as part of short term experiments and it utility/robustness confirmed. • Maturing – this platform/sensor/technique is new and has not been tested as part of a short term experiment, or initial tests suggest that it is not yet robust. Capability/ Capacity

• Capability and Capacity ‐ This facility/agency has an established track record for deploying this platform and delivering data. The leader has confirmed that there is capacity for the facility to expand /deliver data‐streams. • Capacity limited ‐ This facility/agency has a successful track record for deploying this platform and delivering data, but has limited capacity to expand (i.e. man‐power). • Capability limited ‐ This facility/agency has experienced setbacks in delivering data or has an unproven track record. Template

Proposed infrastructure name, and its priorities

Scientific priority Technical maturity: Capability/Capacity Overall priority:

E, Hi or Lower Hi, Mature, M‟ing Both or Limited E, HP, or Next stage

84

Appendix 5. Deep Sea Research Part II Special Issue - “ The East Australian Current – its eddies

and impacts ” Guest Editors Suthers, Baird, Roughan, Young, Ridgway

List of contents:

(many of these papers are now available at the DSR-II website)

1) The strengthening East Australian Current, its eddies and biological effects – an introduction

and overview to the special issue.

Suthers, Young, Baird, Roughan, Everett, Brassington, Byrne, Condie, Hartog, Hassler,

Hobday, Holbrook, Malcolm, Oke, Thompson, and Ridgway

2) ENSO to multi-decadal time scale changes in East Australian Current transports and Fort

Denison sea level: oceanic Rossby waves as the connecting mechanism

Neil J Holbrook, Ian D Goodwin, Shayne McGregor, Ernesto Molina, Scott B Power

3) Variation in sea temperature and the East Australian Current in the Solitary Islands region

between 2001-2008

Hamish A. Malcolm, Peter L. Davies, Alan Jordan, Stephen D. A. Smith

4) Observed and simulated Lagrangian and eddy characteristics of the East Australian Current

and Tasman Sea

Gary B. Brassington, Nicholas Summons and Rick Lumpkin

5) The cold-core eddy and strong upwelling off the coast of New South Wales in early 2007

Peter R. Oke and David A. Griffin

6) The effect of surface flooding on the physical-biogeochemical dynamics of a warm core eddy

off southeast Australia.

Mark E. Baird, Iain M. Suthers, David A. Griffin, Ben Hollings, Charitha Pattiaratchi,

Jason D. Everett, Moninya Roughan, Kadija Oubelkheir, Martina Doblin

7) Contrasting local retention and cross-shore transports of the East Australian Current and the

Leeuwin Current and their relative influences on the life histories of small pelagic fishes.

S. A. Condie, J. V. Mansbridge and M. L. Cahill

8) Modelling seasonal and interannual variability in a Western Boundary Current and its impact

on coastal connectivity.

Moninya Roughan, Helen S. Macdonald Mark E. Baird, Tim M. Glasby

9) Contrasting oceanographic conditions and phytoplankton communities on the east and west

coasts of Australia.

Thompson, P.A. Bonham, P. Waite A.M. Clementson, L.A. Cherukuru, N. Doblin, M.A.

10) Characterisation of water masses and phytoplankton nutrient limitation in the East Australian

Current separation zone during spring 2008

Hassler CS, Djajadikarta JR, Doblin MA, Everett JD, Thompson PA

85

11) Characteristic ichthyoplankton taxa in the separation zone of the East Australian Current:

larval assemblages as tracers of coastal mixing

Augy Syahailatua, Moninya Roughan and Iain M. Suthers

12) Growth variability and stable isotope composition of two larval carangid fishes in the East

Australian Current: The role of upwelling in the separation zone

Augy Syahailatua, Matthew D. Taylor and Iain M. Suthers

13) Analysis of southeast Australian zooplankton observations of 1938-42 using synoptic

oceanographic conditions.

Mark E. Baird, Jason D. Everett, Iain M. Suthers

14) Sea urchin development in a global change hotspot, potential for southerly migration of

thermotolerant propagules

M. Byrne, P. Selvakumaraswamy, M.A. Ho, E. Woolsey and H.D. Nguyen

15) The biological oceanography of the East Australian Current and surrounding waters in

relation to tuna and billfish catches off eastern Australia

J.W. Young, A.J. Hobday, R.J. Kloser, P.I. Bonham, L.A. Clementson, R.A. Campbell and

M.J. Lansdell

16) Defining dynamic pelagic habitats in oceanic waters off eastern Australia

J. Hobday, J. W. Young, C. Moeseneder, J. M. Dambacher

17) Habitat overlap between southern bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna in the east coast longline

fishery – implications for present and future spatial management

Jason R. Hartog, Alistair J. Hobday, Richard Matear, Ming Feng

END OF NSW-IMOS Aug10-DOCUMENT

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