GEOMACS: Modelling of Sediment Mobility on the Continental Shelf

Project description

Understanding how the combined influence of waves, tides and other ocean currents disturb the seabed is essential if the nature and processes of benthic habitats are to be understood.

Geoscience Australia is developing a computer model called GEOMACS that attempts of capture these disturbances for Australia's continental shelf by:

• generating estimates of the magnitude and frequency of physical disturbances on the seabed;
• testing the model outputs with available field data collected from marine surveys; and
• providing outputs to assess seabed stability for defining suitable locations for pipelines and communication cables.

A key output of the GEOMACS model is expected to be a disturbance parameter, which can be used to assist in the characterisation of the seabed of Australia's continental shelf.

Model outputs will also be crucial for developing regionalisations of Australia's continental shelf based on energy conditions at the seabed.

Total energy of the force experienced on the seabed as a result of surface ocean waves, tides and other ocean currents calculated from 7 years of model output for water depths <300 m.