Coasts and oceans

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Key messages

Understanding sea surface temperature

Sea surface temperatures around Queensland (particularly in the Coral Sea, but also in the Gulf of Carpentaria) provide an indicator of the likelihood of the formation and development of tropical cyclones and east coast lows. Warmer than average sea surface temperatures favour the development of these weather systems which often bring flood-producing rainfall, and damaging wind and storm surges, particularly to coastal and near-coastal parts of Queensland. While recent change in mean sea level is not significant, sea level rise over the historical tide gauge record is discernible.

Knowledge of coastal hazard risks enables informed decision-making on land management

Coastal hazards impact on both the natural environment and human settlements. Coastal erosion and storm tide inundation are part of normal coastal processes, albeit at the extreme end of natural fluctuations. For the natural environment, they are the high energy drivers of endless change which has formed the coast we see today. For human settlement however, we consider them destructive and a risk to life and property. Understanding the risks can improve decision-making for both management of the natural environment and new urban development, and help build resilience for existing developments exposed to these hazards.

Key findings

State

Sea surface temperature

Sea surface temperatures across northern Australia are now almost 1°C warmer, on average, than 100 years ago.

Southern Oscillation Index

A transition occurred, from a La Niña in early 2012 to a strong El Niño during the second half of 2015.

Cyclone activity

Queensland has experienced 12 cyclones with a notable number of severe category 4 and 5 impacting on the coast in the 2012-2015 period.

Sea level

A trend of mean sea level rise to the present time is discernible in the historical tide gauge record in Queensland however seasonal trends dominated changes in the 2012-2015 period.

Storm tide inundation

Storm tide inundation events continue to impact the coast, however, no severe events were recorded for human settlements for 2012-2015.

Pressure

Erosion prone area

Coastal erosion continues to impact the Queensland coast, with several major incidents at developed areas.

Programs

Sea Surface Temperature Monitoring

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) time series are available from 1900 for a number of regions around Australia. These time series include ocean surface temperatures only and do not include any land surface temperatures.

The sea surface temperature information for the Coral Sea (4°S–26°S, 142°E–174°E) and Northern Tropics (4°S–22°S, 94°E–174°E) regions are based on data from 1900 to 2014 and differences from the 1961–1990 average.

Southern Oscillation Index Monitoring

The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is a widely used atmospheric indicator of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). SOI information is based on monthly SOI data from 1875 to 2015, calculated using an 1887 to 1989 base period.

The SOI data are from the Queensland Government Long Paddock website and are calculated using Darwin and Tahiti daily mean sea level pressures sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology and Météo France, respectively.

Cyclone monitoring

The Bureau of Meteorology provides real time threat assessment, tracking and historical information on cyclone events.

Tide monitoring

Maritime Safety Queensland, Queensland port authorities, the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority jointly operate tide gauge networks around the Queensland coast.

Storm tide monitoring

A network of 25 storm tide monitoring sites along the Queensland coastline allows for recording water levels these events and real-time access to sea level data during the event.

Sea level monitoring

The Australian Baseline Sea Level Monitoring Project is designed to monitor sea level around the coastline of Australia.

The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) is the global data bank for long term sea level change information from tide gauges and bottom pressure recorders.

Wave monitoring

A network of wave monitoring buoys measure the height and direction of waves along the Queensland coast.

Erosion prone area mapping

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection prepares erosion prone area plans showing the width of the coast that is considered vulnerable to coastal erosion and tidal inundation and indicative footprint mapping of this area.

Spatial information files showing the indicative erosion prone area can be accessed from Queensland Spatial Catalogue (Qspatial).