Research > Core research projects > CORE PROJECT DESCRIPTION Research: Core research projects Project three: Integrated modelling DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT DESCRIPTION [PDF 3.3mb] Introduction The overall objective of the SRFME Integrated Modelling Project is: to provide quantitative descriptions of WA coastal and shelf ecosystems that will assist environmental managers to predict and monitor natural and human-induced change. In SRFME, we have designed €eld programs that help us describe the functioning of the WA coastal ecosystems. As the data are interpreted, they enable us to de€ne, €rst, descriptive models of the ecosystems, and then quantitative models. The quantitative models are mathematical, and take the form of computer codes. In the €rst instance, the models are compared with reality (data), to test their validity. As we build con€dence in the results, they can then be used to help interpret the data, and further our understanding of the ecosystems. In particular, models can be used to €ll in gaps in the inevitably sparse data that arise from €eld programs. The models help us integrate across scales, for example, from Indian Ocean scales down to coastal reefs, and across disciplines, from physics through to ecology. Investigators The €rst challenge for SRFME was to create a modelling team. Team assembly was most intense in 2003/4, and all positions are now €lled, pending one arrival in June 2005. The Perth-based team members, and their primary disciplinary af€liation, are: Physical oceanography Ming Feng – large-scale ocean processes Chris Fandry – shelf-scale dynamics Graham Symonds – beach and reef dynamics Biogeochemistry Jim Greenwood – postdoctoral fellow Habitat/ecosystems Phillip England Software development Jason Waring Irshad Nainar Dirk Slawinski There are also Hobart-based modellers with SRFME commitment: Peter Craig (project leader), Karen Wild Allen (biogeochemistry), Nugzar Margvelashvili (sediment dynamics), Uwe Rosebrock (software development), and physical oceanographers Scott Condie and Ken Ridgway. back to top [core research projects]

 

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research | Department of Premier and Cabinet| Department of Conservation & Land Management | Department of Fisheries WA| Department of Environment | Department of Industry & Resources SRFME is a joint venture between the Western Australian State Government and CSIRO