Adelaide Coastal Waters Study

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Media Release, 25 February 2008 SA scientists join forces to solve seagrass mystery Adelaide Coastal Waters Study Final Report Vol. 1 (PDF 2.6 MB)

The mystery of the missing sea nymph – solved! - Media Release 28 November 2005

Data supplied by Environmental Information, Department for Environment and Heritage

The Adelaide Coastal Waters Study (ACWS) was established early in 2001 by the South Australian Environment Protection Agency (now Authority). This was in response to on-going concerns about the decline in coastal water quality, as well as the loss of more than 4000 hectares of shallow sub tidal seagrass along the metropolitan coast since the late 1940s.

The continuing loss of seagrass is a major concern for governments, communities, and the region's coastal and marine managers. The exact reasons for this loss are not well understood, although nutrient inputs and other contaminants have been implicated.

A significant initial focus of the study will be concerned with the quantification of nutrient inputs from terrestrial, atmospheric and groundwater sources. This information will be coupled with physical models that will describe water movement along the coastal strip so as to predict how and where contaminants are being dispersed. These results will be used by researchers at SARDI to predict impacts based on detailed fieldwork and mesocosm* studies into seagrass ecology.

The study will focus on the area of Gulf St. Vincent from Port Gawler in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south and extend approximately 20 km offshore. Although important, the Port River and associated estuary and wetlands are not a primary focus for the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study. However, the input of nutrients and other contaminants from these sources to the coastal strip will be investigated.

Study stakeholders and management

The ACWS Steering Committee was formed during the late 1990s with representatives (both funding and non funding stakeholders) from the South Australian Environment Protection Authority (EPA), SA Water, Transport SA, the Torrens, Patawalonga and Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Boards, Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA), Coast Protection Board, Mobil Australia, TXU Torrens Island, Conservation SA, Local Government Association and South Australian Fishing Industry Council.

Study objectives

The objective of the ACWS is to develop knowledge and tools to enable sustainable management of Adelaide's coastal waters by identifying causes of ecosystem modifications and the actions required to halt and reverse the degradation. The study will focus on seagrass loss, seafloor instability and water quality degradation.

The study will result in:

• new knowledge and understanding
• options for management action
• a program to assess effectiveness of management actions (including on-going monitoring)
• communication of results.

Study status

The study will be undertaken in three stages. Stage 1 (completed early in 2002) included a preliminary literature review, scoping exercises, stakeholder consultation and design of an integrated and fully costed research program. Following the Steering Committee's commitment to proceed with Stage 2, CSIRO's Environmental Projects Office was commissioned in October 2002 to manage the entire study. Proposals to undertake the six Stage 2 research tasks were sought from and submitted by various South Australian and interstate research organisations and service providers. Subcontractors were engaged mid 2003. Research tasks, including field surveys and assessments, will commence after comprehensive literature reviews.

Stage 3, involving synthesis of the results will commence and be implemented concurrently with Stage 2. As soon as results are available they will be communicated and used.

Study research program

There are six inter-related Stage 2 research tasks to be implemented by collaborative research teams by the end of 2005. These are:

• IS 1—Quantification of point source, groundwater and atmospheric contaminant inputs
• EP 1—Assessment of the effects of inputs to Adelaide's coastal waters on seagrass ecosystems and key biota
• RS 1—Remote sensing study of marine and coastal features and interpretation of changes in relation to natural and anthropological processes
• PPM 1—Coastal sediment budget
• PPM 2—Physical oceanographic studies in Adelaide coastal waters using high resolution modelling, in-situ observations and satellite techniques
• EMP 1—Environmental monitoring program.

More information on these six tasks and the research teams commissioned to implement them can be found in the Winter 2003 edition of the study's official newsletter City to Sea available for downloading from the Newsletters and Publications web page. Also see the Research Summary 2004.

Contact Information

David Ellis
Business Manager
CSIRO Land and Water
Ph +61 8 8303 8420
Fax +61 8 8303 8590