Climate change impacts will be most severe in coastal areas and environments.
Climate change driven alterations to the Australian coast are emerging as a major issue. Over 85% of the nation’s population lives within its coastal zone. Negative impacts upon these areas are already being felt through extreme weather, with a predicted dramatic increase in the impact of such events through sea level rise. The basic geomorphology of the Australian coast will also be profoundly altered through changes in tidal ranges and sea level increases. The current lack of understanding and capacity as to how natural and human systems will respond to these predicted climate change driven impacts is emerging as a major liability for Australia.
The challenge to identify vulnerabilities, to provide solutions and to improve overall resilience for both natural and human environments forms the basic aim of this research theme. Projects will focus on formulation of adaptive strategies but also examine forward looking scenarios based on predictive models.
Key Research Priorities include:
- Port Development
- Sea Level Rise
- Vulnerable natural ecosystems - coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds etc.
- Engineering