| Session Details | |
| Section | OS - Ocean Sciences |
| Session Title | Oceanographic Processes in the Coastal Waters: Connectivity Between Inland, Coastal and Open Waters at Different Spatio-temporal Scales |
| Main Convener | Dr. Daijiro Kobashi (Griffith University, Australia) |
| Co-convener(s) | Prof. Charles Lemckert (Griffith University, Australia) Prof. Joachim Ribbe (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) Prof. Rodger Tomlinson (Griffith University, Australia) |
| Session Description | Coastal waters represent a dynamic and complex region due to shallow and friction-dominated properties and intricate bathymetry. Their location at the nexus of terrestrial and open waters puts them in a regime which can experience the driving forces of either at any time. They also have siginificant societal and environmental implications as over 50 percent of the human population is concentrated within 50 km of the coastline. Climate change adds an additional layer of complexity and uncertainty in future region behaviour and response. Sustainable development and protection of coastal envrionment requires in-depth understanding of links between terrestrial, coastal and open water processes along with the influence of human impacts including climate change. There is a serious gap in the study of coastal processes as the region neither belongs to coastal engineering nor oceanography and a resultant need for further research to improve our understanding of these processes. The focus of this session is to discuss such connectivity and complexity across different realms. Topics include coastal physical oceanography, estuarine dynamics, and that of lakes or bays, boundary currents, turbulence and mixing, water quality and sediment transport. Topics related to interdisciplinary issues such as physical-biological linkages or issues related to regional climate change and variability addressing such connectivity are also encouraged. |