Evaluating and safeguarding our shores
The Coastal Dynamics and Management lab has more than 60 years’ experience delivering applied coastal research and management outcomes for communities and government.
The team assists coastal communities to undertake proactive and adaptive coastal management and develop cost-effective solutions for coastal challenges, while promoting social, cultural and environmental values.
The lab is located on the Gold Coast, one of the most managed urban coasts in Australia, allowing our researchers to apply world-leading expertise in a dynamic real-life laboratory and develop knowledge that can be adapted to coastlines around the world.
Our impact
Why Australia's Byron Bay beach is disappearing
In 2020 Byron Bay's iconic Main Beach experienced severe erosion to levels not seen since the 1990s. Professor Rodger Tomlinson explains the cause of the erosion: a process called "headland bypassing".
Primary researchers
Lead/ Senior Research Fellow
Coastal oceanography, extreme events, wave climate, sediment transport
Senior Lecturer
Coastal processes, coastal groundwater dynamics, ocean wave climatology
Dr Serena Lee
Research Fellow
Oceanography, numerical modelling, climate change
John Miller
PhD candidate
The Australian storm wave climate and its relationship to cyclones and other extreme storms
Amin Reza Zarifsanayei
PhD candidate
Uncertainty in the estimation of wave-driven longshore sediment transport patterns along a non-straight coastline
Senior Research Fellow
Coastal geomorphology, numerical modelling, climate change
Senior Lecturer
Coastal and oceanographic engineering, water resources engineering, climate change, data mining
Emeritus Professor Rodger Tomlinson
Founder
Environmental management, marine engineering, climate change, coastal resilience
Leo Peach
PhD candidate
Machine learning, hypercube and SWAN for wave predictions in the nearshore
Ana da Silva
PhD candidate
Climate control on natural headland bypassing
Research Fellow
Coastal geomorphology, adaptive coastal management, surfing science, holistic coastal monitoring
Senior Research Fellow
Data modelling, climate change, water resources management
Gaelle Faivre
Research Fellow / PhD candidate
Coastal oceanography, hydrodynamic modelling, wave climate, sediment transport, storm surge
Gerard McNamara
PhD candidate
Quantification of wave transformation using electromagnetic sensing and machine learning
James Thompson
PhD candidate
Effects of wave farms on coastal dynamics
Our expertise
- Climate data analysis
- Coastal modelling
- Remote sensing
- Applied coastal management.
- Coastal and ocean monitoring and data collection
- Extreme events: storm surge, storm waves
- Coastal dynamics: coastal erosion and deposition shoreline change
Research themes
Coastal dynamics, engineering and adaptive management
Coastlines are dynamic environments that change in response to short-term events (such as storms) and to longer-term climate drivers such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Coastal systems are also continually adjusting to accommodate the various values and needs of growing coastal towns and cities.
Understanding how these changes happened in the past is key to predicting future changes. Our coastal dynamics research applies remote sensing data, fieldwork and modelling to support short-term interventions and longer-term planning.
Climate change impact and adaptation
Coastal systems are dynamically linked to the atmosphere, with surface winds and atmospheric pressure generating waves and storm surges. As the climate changes, so does the coastal response. There is an ongoing need to understand these processes so that we can better adapt.
Our research in this area looks at how climate change influences the wave climate and extreme water levels and the implications of these factors for coastal sediment transport.
Sediment transport, sediment budgets and coastal morphodynamics
Understanding coastal morphodynamics (the way that physical processes such as waves, winds and tides shape the coast) is vital for maintaining a thriving coastal and marine environment. Many coastal management issues are controlled by the sediment budget (available sand); more erosion and accretion is caused by sediment transfer between beaches than by individual storm impacts. It is therefore vital to understand sediment movement on complex urban and natural coastlines, both for coastal protection of nature, assets and infrastructure, as well as public amenity and safety.
Headland bypassing
Headland bypassing is a process that happens at many headlands around Australia and the world in which sand is transported between adjacent beaches around a headland. It is a key component of the sediment budget and is often associated with cycles of erosion and accretion.
Our world-leading research in this topic has provided new scientific evidence on how the process occurs and what drives it at multiple timescales and has helped the community and coastal managers deal with its cyclic nature and prepare for the future under climate change.
Ocean waves
Ocean waves are a key driver of many coastal processes and can also present significant coastal hazard during extreme weather events. They are also considered a viable marine renewable energy source.
Our researchers are active in areas related to ocean waves including ocean wave modelling and forecasting, the influence of climate change on ocean wave climatology and the flow-on effects for coastal processes such as longshore sediment transport, and the extent and availability of ocean wave energy as a renewable energy source.
Extreme events
The impacts of extreme events such as tropical cyclones and East Coast Low storm events include high waves and storm surges that can inundate low-lying coastal areas.
Our researchers are active in researching and modelling the impacts of storm surges and coastal inundation events in northern Australia and the South Pacific.
Research projects
Sediment transport modelling
Longshore and cross-shore transport of sand is a key research focus.
Our researchers undertake a wide variety of field data collection, remote sensing and modelling studies to better understand sediment transport, sediment budgets and beach morphodynamics.
We have contributed to a variety of projects funded and supported by all levels of government, including the City of Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast Council, Noosa Shire Council, Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science and the NSW’s Department of Planning and Environment.
Decision support tools for coastal management
The City of Gold Coast is one of the most engineered and managed coastal cities in Australia. CMRC researchers have played an integral role in developing decision-support tools and trigger level monitoring programs to inform dynamic coastal policy and management. Some examples include: A decision-support tool for sand backpassing to maximise efficiency of nourishment placement Utilising a 50+ year topo-bathymetric dataset to create data-driven trigger levels for coastal erosion intervention action Recreating a baseline dataset for a sand island with limited in-situ data to understand previous coastline evolution and plan for future management interventions and climate change.
Some examples include:
- A decision-support tool for sand backpassing to maximise efficiency of nourishment placement
- Utilising a 50+ year topo-bathymetric dataset to create data-driven trigger levels for coastal erosion intervention action
- Recreating a baseline dataset for a sand island with limited in-situ data to understand previous coastline evolution and plan for future management interventions and climate change.
Funding sources: City of Gold Coast (QLD)
Climate control on headland bypassing
Coastal erosion is often attributed to the frequency and intensity of extreme events. In some locations, however, headland bypassing is the main driver for erosion-controlling cycles of erosion and accretion. Understanding these cycles is crucial to improve prediction and management of the affected areas. This project investigated the variability of the process and relates it to different weather types and climate drivers.
The project gathered and analysed field data and used GIS and modelling techniques to understand the process in detail, including different timescales on which it happens.
Funding sources: Tweed sand Bypassing, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (NSW) and Queensland Department of Environmental Sciences
Multi-purpose artificial reefs
Multi-purpose artificial reefs are increasingly being used to protect the coastline and its ecology and enhance recreation such as surfing and fishing.
Field data used in conjunction with physical process modelling has been used to evaluate the coastal evolution surrounding the Gold Coast’s unique artificial reefs. This enables a better understanding of how these structures work to protect the beaches in the short and long-term.
The results describe how these structures interact with the surroundings and their impact on the shoreline and nearshore and will be used to inform construction of new artificial reefs in Australia and internationally.
Funding sources: City of Gold Coast
Coastal management plans and strategies
Over the past 20 years, CMRC researchers have provided expert input into several local, state and national coastal management policy frameworks, plans and strategies. On the Gold Coast, CMRC researchers developed and implemented several shoreline and surf management plans, informed coastal hazard adaptation strategies and provide expert technical input into the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF).
Our research continues to aid the development of new strategies, as well as the implementation of resulting coastal management projects, deliverables and outcomes.
Funding sources: City of Gold Coast
Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS)
Long-term coastal datasets are rarely available, despite being vital for the accurate calibration of coastal models.
The Coastal Engineering Research Field Station (CERFS) project comprises instrument modules for measuring waves, tides, currents, seabed and beach profiles, and sediment characteristics. CERFS collects data to address critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of coastal processes, including the impacts of climate variability. The research is expected to improve techniques to address coastal infrastructure design, beach management strategies and impact assessments to meet the challenges of future coastal development.
Partners: University of Queensland, University of Newcastle, Gold Coast Waterways Authority, Gold Coast Water and Waste
Funding sources: Australian Research Council Large Infrastructure and Equipment Fund
Ocean wave modelling
Our researchers have extensive experience in observing and modelling coastal ocean waves and their impacts on our coastline.
The accurate prediction of ocean waves is a crucial part of many coastal adaptation and hazard mitigation plans. Coastal erosion and inundation related to extreme waves, for example, requires accurate prediction of the coastal wave climate so that appropriate coastal engineering approaches can be implemented.
Ocean wave energy and climatology
Research into viable renewable energy resources becomes more pressing as we look to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Offshore waves and wind are considered key components of a future transition to renewable energy.
Our researchers model and evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of offshore energy resources and examine the influence of climate change on these resources.
Funding sources: Blue Economy CRC
Partnerships
Since the early 2000s, Griffith’s strategic research partnership with the City of Gold Coast has contributed to the city’s reputation as a world leader in coastal management practices. The collaboration has seen researchers and stakeholders undertake numerous projects in the development of research, technologies and beach management techniques that have been implemented on the Gold Coast to safeguard one of Australia's most valuable and beloved tourism assets.
Working with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s Coastal and Marine Science team, our researchers explore new numerical modelling and remote-sensing methodologies to understand inter-compartmental sediment transport and erosion timescales. This work builds on our world-leading expertise in headland bypassing processes and is focused on the high-profile Byron Bay coastline.
We have a long-standing working relationship with the Gold Coast Waterways Authority to understand the hydrodynamics and morphodynamics around the Gold Coast Seaway. Our research informs best practice management in and around the entrance to the Nerang River, as well as the sand-bypassing project and open coast beaches on either side of one of the largest coastal engineering projects on Australia’s east coast.
Alongside the Department of Environment and Science (QLD) and Tweed Sand-bypassing (NSW), our researchers are assessing the influence of large-scale artificial and permanent bypassing and nourishment program on the morphodynamics of Coolangatta Bay. A recent project focus is the strategic placement of sand nourishment to create temporary surfing enhancements on top of existing coastal protection outcomes.
Our coastal researchers are working with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, along with state agencies and national bodies such as the Department of Environment and Science (QLD), Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and Geoscience Australia (GA), and industry partners such as Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to undertake storm surge modelling that will inform disaster management exercises and workshops.
Contact details
- Phone
- (07) 5552 7269
- Location and postal address
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre
- Room 2.01, Building G51
- Griffith University
- Gold Coast campus, Queensland, 4222
