Industry collaboration

City of Gold Coast Research Program

We have project managed and carried out a minimum of three major research projects for the City of Gold Coast, Transport and Infrastructure each financial year since 1999. Projects are varied but require expert and corporate knowledge of the City of Gold Coasts coastal and estuarine environments and assets. Our outputs include professional workshops, community engagement exercises, operational management and monitoring programs, expert review of consultant works and historical literature, operational decision support tools / systems, cost-benefit analysis on a wide range of coastal management issues.

Monitoring the toxicology and health of green turtles in Cleveland Bay

Funded by Port of Townsville Limited (POTL), this project aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the toxicology and health of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) foraging in Cleveland Bay, in relation to known baseline levels and seasonal events (such as high rainfall during the wet season) to assist with guiding activities proposed in the Port of Townsville Channel Upgrade (CU) Project.

Cleveland Bay seagrass meadows are significant foraging grounds and habitat sites for all six species of marine turtles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef, with green turtles representing ~90% of turtles sighted during previous surveys.

ARI-TOX

Gold Coast Broadwater Receiving Environment Monitoring Program

The Centre has provided water quality monitoring services, both regulatory and research related, for the City of Gold Coast Water and Waste Directorate (GCWW) since 2016. Through this partnership, the Centre and GCWW have developed an extensive baseline water quality dataset for the estuarine and coastal region of the Gold Coast spanning 4.5 years (2016-2021).

The Centre currently provides the GCWW with monitoring, analytical, and interpretive services through a Receiving Environment Monitoring Program (REMP). The aim of the REMP is to provide a structed, robust and repeatable water quality monitoring program associated with the release of recycled water generated by the GCWW’s sewage treatment plants. This also includes targeted water quality investigations in response to unique and complex incidences that may pose a risk to the environment. The REMP is one of the largest water quality monitoring programs on the Gold Coast and ensures any potential impact to the environment, as a result of recycled water release, is accurately quantified and communicated to the appropriate government agencies.

Coastal Water Quality

Extracting River Bank and Gully Erosion Data from the Queensland Power Grid

Aerial laser imaging, detection and ranging (lidar) has been used to survey, assess and manage above-ground power line assets in Queensland.  This project processed an extremely large lidar dataset (~620TB or 45757 km2 x 6 annual repeats from 2013 -2018), making the data accessible for use in Natural Resource Management applications.

Through this project, lidar data will now provide a 0.5m digital elevation model (DEM) with coverage across ~7% of the Queensland land area or ~12% of the stream network in the GBR catchments (which were the initial project focus).  Processes are also being developed for extracting channel metric data from the 12% of the stream network captured by the lidar dataset, and this will form the basis for a river classification system and an improved channel erosion model.

Erosion and Sediment Management