The dust storm that caused a red haze over Sydney on the morning of the 23 September 2009 has been captured by the Collaroy-Narrabeen coastal monitoring cameras. These cameras are operated by WRL and record hourly images of the beach, which are used to observe beach change.

A typical image from the Collaroy-Narrabeen coastal monitoring cameras

The same location on the morning of 23 September 2009, when a dust storm arrived in Sydney

14 WRL staff and researchers attended the Australasian Coasts and Ports Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, from the 16^th to 18^th September. Approximately 120 papers were presented in total at the biennial conference, with WRL staff presenting 10 papers. Associate Professor Ron Cox delivered the keynote presentation on the second day of the conference, regarding climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation options. Undergraduate research students Melissa Mole and Jamie Ruprecht received the D N Foster Award, for encouragement with careers in coastal and/or ocean engineering.

(Back) Tom Shand, Melissa Mole, Ron Cox, Chris Blenkinsopp, Ian Turner, Jamie Ruprecht, Brad Morris, Will Glamore
(Front) Alessio Mariani, Duncan Rayner, Matt Blacka, Mitch Harley, Ian Coghlan
(Absent from photo are Bill Peirson and James Carley)

List of Papers

Blacka, M., Carley, J., Corbett, B. and Jackson, A. (2009) Wave Transmission over Low Crested Geotextile Breakwater Structures

Blenkinsopp, C.E., Turner, I.L., Masselink, G. and Russell, P.E. (2009) Measurements of Net Cross-Shore Sediment Flux at the Timescale of Individual Swashes

Carley, J.T., Blacka, M., Mariani, A., Cox, R.J., Attwater, C. and Watson, P. (2009) Integrated Assessment of Coastal Hazards and Climate Change for Clarence City, Tasmania

Coghlan, I., Carley, J., Cox, R., Blacka, M., Mariani, A., Restall, S., Hornsey, W. and Sheldrick, S. (2009) Two-Dimensional Physical Modelling of Sand Filled Geocontainers for Coastal Protection

Glamore, W. (2009) Restoring Coastal Wetlands: Engineering Nature and Managing Expectations

Glamore, W., Rayner, D. and Miller, B. (2009) Design of an Ebb Tide Release

Harley, M.D., Turner, I.L., Short, A.D. and Ranasinghe, R. (2009) An Empirical Model of Beach Response to Storms - SE Australia

Mariani, A., Blacka, M. and Carley, J. (2009) Extreme Wave Overtopping of a Vertical Breakwater. A Physical Model and Desktop Investigation

Morris, B. and Turner, I. (2009) Intermittently Open-Closed Lagoon Entrance Morphodynamics: Infilling, Stability and Climate Change Impacts

Rayner, D. and Glamore, W. (2009) Understanding the Transport and Buffering Dynamics of Acid Plumes in Estuaries

Shand, T.D., Peirson, W.L., Cox, R.J. and Banner, M.L. (2009) Predicting Hazardous Conditions on Coastal Rock Platforms

Turner, I.L., Masselink, G. and Williams, J.J. (2009) Proto-type Scale Laboratory Study of Groundwater Manipulation within a Gravel Barrier

Webb, T. and Glamore, W. (2009) Sediment Fallout from Dense Outfall Plumes

WRL groundwater researchers participated in the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) 37^th Congress, held in Hyderabad, India, from 6-12^th September 2009. Professor Ian Acworth, who is IAH Vice President International (Asia-Pacific), led a team of six from the Water Research Laboratory to the congress. The WRL team was among over 500 hydrologists and hydrogeologists from around the world who heard how groundwater science is helping aquifers under stress. The congress program included sessions on transboundary water issues, surface-water groundwater interactions and groundwater in hard rock areas.

(L-r) Gabriel Rau, Anna Greve, Dr Wendy Timms, Dr Martin Andersen, Andrew McCallum and Professor Ian Acworth

During the week long congress, Dr Martin Andersen presented a paper linking hyporheic zone water chemistry and stream bed ecology to groundwater discharge and recharge in Maules Creek, Australia.  Another paper on hydraulic investigations of surface and groundwater interactions in a sub-catchment of the Namoi River was given by Andrew McCallum. The latest research on using natural heat as a tracer to quantify surface and groundwater connectivity in the Namoi catchment was presented by Gabriel Rau. Anna Greve gave a presentation on the use of electrical resistivity tomography to detect crack depth and preferential flow in irrigated clay soils. Finally, Dr Wendy Timms spoke on groundwater and salt fluxes in a weathered and fractured granite terrain in the Macquarie catchment of NSW, Australia.  Several similarities and differences in groundwater fluxes in the weathered granite around Hyderabad and the Baldry catchment were noted.

After the conference, the WRL team enjoyed several days exploring incredible India and very much enjoyed the fascinating history and excellent flavour of the local food.

Dr Martin Andersen (right), with his poster ‘Linking Hyporheic Zone Water Chemistry and Streambed Ecology to Groundwater Discharge and Recharge, Maules Creek, NSW, Australia’

Gabriel Rau, Anna Greve and Dr Martin Andersen

The Society for Ecological Restoration International (SERI) hosted its first Australian conference in Perth from 23^rd to 27^th August 2009. The 2009 conference brought together delegates from 36 countries and was themed Making Change in a Changing World.

Dr William Glamore of the WRL Project team presented a paper titled Ecological Restoration of Coastal Wetlands: Global Lessons Implemented Locally.

The presentation discussed the lessons gained from William’s Churchill Fellowship (International Coastal Wetland Restoration Practices), which involved a 3 month tour of 26 coastal wetland restoration sites around the world (USA, The Netherlands, Vietnam, Indonesia and New Zealand) and how these lessons have been applied at a range of coastal wetland restoration sites in Australia. The recent on-ground work at the Tomago wetlands, near Newcastle, was highlighted. Major lessons gained from the on-ground experiences were discussed and highlighted. The presentation finished with a discussion on major areas of current research and project work.

For more information, Dr William Glamore can be contacted directly at: w.glamore@wrl.unsw.edu.au

•   Download Wetland Restoration Solutions

The conference brought together a broad spectrum of scientists studying mathematical modelling, simulation, statistical, engineering, spatial and computer science with more than 700 papers being submitted. Some key themes were spatio-temporal verification of numerical predictions, decision support systems for complex water resource systems, economic modelling, global change and natural hazards, and effective use of modelling to inform and support water management decisions.

In the session dedicated to water resources, specifically measuring and modelling of interaction between surface water and groundwater, Dr Beatrice Giambastiani presented a multidimensional spatial analysis of hydrograph data for mapping river and aquifer interactions. This 3D time and space analysis of groundwater head change enables the 3D mapping of hydraulic pathways through complex sedimentary aquifer system in the Namoi Catchment (NSW).

Mr Conrad Wasko also presented in a session dedicated to modelling of weather and climate extremes and their impact in a changing climate. His paper, entitled “Assessing the impact of the 11-year solar cycle on drought in Australia”, presented the result of several model simulations showing that the cycle has a significant impact on the long-term persistence of climatic trends in an already very variable climate such as Australia.

The conference included a ‘break-out’ on Wednesday afternoon where conference delegates were invited to sample some of the more scenic parts of Cairns and its surrounds. Along with many other conference delegates, Beatrice and Conrad visited Green Island, just off the coast of Cairns for an afternoon of snorkelling.

(Top) Cairns from the ferry to Green Island;
(Bottom) Green Island; Mossman Gorge - Daintree National Park

WRL is celebrating 50 years in 2009, and as a part of our celebrations, we are holding an Open Day.

Saturday, 4th July
between 9 am and 2 pm
at 110 King St, Manly Vale (near Manly Dam)

The Water Research Laboratory is a unique facility undertaking various water engineering studies. A major component is the construction and testing of waves and water flow in large scale physical models of breakwaters, desalination plants, dams and spillways.

With several physical models on display, the Open Day is a great opportunity to visit WRL. We invite you to come and see the expanse and resources of WRL, and observe a range of physical models in action.

Click here to download a PDF flyer for the Open Day

The Groundwater in the Sydney Basin Symposium is being convened by the International Association of Hydrologists, NSW Branch, chaired by Dr Wendy Timms of the Water Research Laboratory. The Symposium will take place from the 4th - 5th of August, 2009 at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney. The Symposium is expected to attract delegates from industry, consulting, academia and government.

An informative line-up of local, key note speakers and posters are programmed, including international experts:

• Dr Colin Booth on hydrogeology of coal mining
• Dr Larry McKay on fracture zone hydrology (Birdsall-Dreiss Lecturer 2008)

WRL’s Alexandra Badenhop and Dr Wendy Timms will be presenting on managed aquifer recharge in Sydney coastal sands. WRL is actively involved in several MAR projects via consulting services and research.

WRL will also contribute posters to the Symposium including ‘Quantifying the significance of leaky bores’

For the program of the Groundwater in the Sydney Basin Symposium click here.

Water Research Laboratory Project Engineer Alessio Mariani will attend the 10^th International Coastal Symposium that will be held in Lisbon on the 13th - 18th April. The symposium will reunite more the 400 coastal and environmental scientists, engineers and researchers to discuss a broad range of themes from coastal engineering to coastal management and science, climate change and impact of extreme storm events. For a full list of conference themes click here

Alessio will present the paper “Wave Overtopping of Coastal Structures. Physical Model Versus Desktop Predictions”. The paper was co-authored by Matt Blacka, Ron Cox, Ian Coghlan and James Carley, of WRL, and will be published in the Special Issue 56 of the Journal of Coastal Research.

After the conference, Alessio will visit some of the major hydraulic laboratories in Europe including the French SOGREAH Laboratories in Grenoble, and the Portuguese LNEC in Lisbon, Portugal.

Alessio working in the 1m Flume at WRL

Grantley Smith has recently joined the Water Research Laboratory project team as a Senior Project Engineer.  Grantley will be well known to many in his former role as Sydney Office Manager for DHI Water and Environment.

Grantley has a broad range of experience providing assessment and solutions in water engineering and water resources, developed during his more than 19 years as a professional engineer. He has a track record of successfully managing complex water projects as well as specific expertise in the selection and application of appropriate numerical models to support design solutions, planning and management across the water spectrum.

Steven Pells has recently joined the Water Research Laboratory project team as a Senior Project Engineer. Steven has spent the past 2 years in Cairns working as a Senior Water Engineer for Arup; and in Sydney working as a Senior Water Engineer for Cardno Wiling.

Steven is an experienced consultant with expertise in a broad range of water engineering disciplines. Steven has specialist experience and training in the fields of: Hydrogeology, Coastal Engineering, Physical Model Studies, Environmental Monitoring, Surface Water, Water Resources and Project Management.