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    This generated data set contains summaries (daily, monthly) of the eReefs CSIRO river tracers model v2.0 (https://research.csiro.au/ereefs) outputs at 4km resolution, generated by the AIMS eReefs Platform (https://ereefs.aims.gov.au/ereefs-aims). These summaries are derived from the original daily model outputs available via the National Computing Infrastructure (NCI) (https://dapds00.nci.org.au/thredds/catalogs/fx3/catalog.html), and have been re-gridded from the original curvilinear grid used by the eReefs model into a regular grid so that the data files can be easily loaded into standard GIS software. These summaries are updated in near-real time daily and are made available via a THREDDS server (https://thredds.ereefs.aims.gov.au/thredds/ ) in NetCDF format. In addition to the variables containing single river data, we have added an 'all_rivers' variable which shows the total river water concentration (%) by combining all river output into a single variable. The eReefs river tracers model output contains passive river tracer results derived from version 2.0 of the 4km-resolution regional-scale hydrodynamic model of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR4). In the model, tracers are released at the river's mouth into its surface flow. These tracers move with the ocean currents, becoming more dilute as they spread out and mix with the ocean water, allowing the concentration of river water to be tracked over time. These tracers show the fraction of the water, at any given location, associated with each river. This model configuration and associated results dataset may be referred to as "GBR4_H2p0_Rivers" according to the eReefs simulation naming protocol. Description of the data: The data shows the percentage concentration of river water in the marine water. This is a good proxy for the extent of flood plumes associated with the major rivers along the Queensland coastline flowing into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Flood plumes deliver sediments and nutrients into the ocean, both of which can result in detrimental effects on seagrass and reef habitats. Very low salinity concentrations in flood plumes can also cause bleaching and mortality on inshore reefs (this occurred during the flooding on Virago shoal off Townsville after the 2019 floods).This dataset represents only the concentration of river water in the marine environment. It does not model the changes in salinity, the nutrients levels or the sediment concentration in the water. These variables are calculated in the eReefs hydrodynamic model (salinity) and the biogeochemical model (nutrients and sediment). The river tracer is uniquely useful for tracing the origin of flood water back to the source river. The movement of the river water is driven by the surface ocean currents, that are driven largely by the wind. During most months the south easterly trade winds push the plumes back toward the coast in a northern direction. During the monsoon season, which is strongest between February and March, the winds drop and become more variable in direction. This means that flooding during these months is more variable in direction, occasionally moving southward and out to sea, sometimes reaching the mid shelf reefs. The width of the continental shelf narrows north of Townsville, resulting in it being easier for the flood plumes to reach the mid and outer reefs. Most significant flood plumes occur during the wet season from November to April. Flood plumes are less likely during the dry season from May to October. The plumes from some of the larger rivers can travel extensive distances during large flooding events. For example during 2019, flood waters from the Burdekin river travelled 700 km north along the coast, reaching Lizard Island. In 2017 the flood waters of the Fitzroy river reached the Whitsundays (450 km north) and the Normanby river water reached the tip of Cape York (440 km north). The rivers with the biggest discharge resulting in large flood plumes the Burdekin, Herbert, Tully, Johnstone, Russel, Mulgrave, Normanby, Fitzroy and Mary rivers. The following is a summary of the rivers with significant flood plumes during each year: 2015 Normanby, Mulgrave (minor), Johnstone (minor), Herbert (minor), Fitzroy, Mary 2016 Normanby, Mulgrave (minor), Tully (minor), Burdekin, Fitzroy, Mary (minor) 2017 Normanby, Johnstone, Herbert (minor), Tully (minor), Burdekin (major), Pioneer, Fitzroy (major), Burnett (minor), Mary (minor) 2018 Normanby, Mulgrave, Johnstone, Tully, Herbert, Burdekin, Mary (minor) 2019 Normanby, Daintree, Mulgrave, Johnstone, Tully, Herbert, Haugton (major), Burdekin (major), Pioneer (minor) 2020 Normanby (minor), Burdekin (minor), Fitzroy (minor) 2021 Normanby, Mulgrave (minor), Johnstone (minor), Tully (minor), Herbert, Burdekin (major), Fitzroy, Burnett (minor), Mary (minor) 2022 Normanby (minor), Daintree (minor), Mulgrave (minor), Johnstone (minor), Burdekin, Burnett (minor), Mary (major), Brisbane (minor), Logan (minor) 2023 Normanby, Herbert, Haugton (minor), Burdekin, Fitzroy (minor) Method: A description of the processing, especially aggregation and regridding, is available in the "Technical Guide to Derived Products from CSIRO eReefs Models" document (https://nextcloud.eatlas.org.au/apps/sharealias/a/aims-ereefs-platform-technical-guide-to-derived-products-from-csiro-ereefs-models-pdf). Data Dictionary: Variables: - nom: [% river water] Normanby - mul: [% river water] Mulgrave and Russell - jon: [% river water] Johnstone - her: [% river water] Herbert - bur: [% river water] Burdekin - fit: [% river water] Fitzroy - mar: [% river water] Mary - dai: [% river water] Daintree - bar: [% river water] Barron - tul: [% river water] Tully - hau: [% river water] Haughton - don: [% river water] Don - con: [% river water] O'Connell - pio: [% river water] Pioneer - bnt: [% river water] Burnett - fly: [% river water] Fly - cal: [% river water] Calliope - boy: [% river water] Boyne - cab: [% river water] Caboolture - log: [% river water] Logan - pin: [% river water] Pine - bri: [% river water] Brisbane - all_rivers: [% river water] Aggregation of all river outputs. This is a numerically addition of all single river variables to determine the total river water concentration (%). - time: [days since 1990-01-01 00:00:00 +10] Time - zc: [m] Z coordinate (depth) - depth slices - latitude: [degrees_north] Latitude (geographic projection) - longitude: [degrees_east] Longitude (geographic projection) Dimensions: - time - k (variable: zc) - latitude - longitude Depths: This data set contains the following depths, which are a subset of the depths available in the source data set [m]: -0.5, -1.5, -3.0, -5.55, -8.8, -12.75, -17.75, -23.75, -31.0, -39.5, -49.0, -60.0, -73.0, -88.0, -103.0, -120.0, -145.0. Limitations: This dataset is based on a spatial and temporal model and as such is an estimate of the environmental conditions. It is not based on in-water measurements. Furthermore, it should be noted that the river tracer product tracks the concentration of river water. It does not track sediment or nutrient in the water. As part of research into determining a suitable river concentration threshold for visualisations, we undertook many comparisons between the estimated flood plume extent from eReefs and those visible in Sentinel 2 satellite imagery. From this we found that the plume extent from eReefs was generally accurate to within about 10 km, with the most likely reason for the difference being slight errors in the model due to wind. The strength and direction of the wind is the predominant factor in determining the spread of the flood plumes. As a result any small errors in the modelling of the wind will lead to errors in the flood plume boundaries. The eReefs hydrodynamic model is driven by wind data from the Bureau of Meteorology's Access-R weather model, which is a forecast. It has a resolution of 12 km and so it is surprising that the eReefs model is as spatially accurate as it is. Part of the reason for this is that while the wind occasionally pushes the plumes offshore, the main determinant of the distribution is the dynamics of buoyant plumes. The rotation of the Earth acts to deflect to the left (in the Southern Hemisphere) any relative increase in motion between fluid layers. One such relative motion is a buoyant plume flowing over the top of denser ocean water. Deflected left on a river discharging along an east coast means it being pushed towards the coast. Thus, the plumes are trapped near the coast. The distance to which they spread from the coast is also set by this balance between density driven flow and the Earth’s rotation, something ocean models are very good at. The eReefs model tracks the percentage river water concentrations to very low levels, such as 1 part per million. At very low concentrations there is likely to not be ecologically relevant. When comparing the plume extents from the river tracer data with flood plumes visible in Sentinel 2 imagery we found that a concentration of 1% river water closely aligned with the visible edge of the flood plumes, where the water is darker and slightly green due to the increased levels of algae in the water.

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    This record provides an overview of an NESP Marine and Coastal Hub research project. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. This project will map the reefs of the northern Australian seascape, from central Western Australia, through to western Cape York in Queensland. Reefs are hotspots of conservation as they provide habitat for numerous marine species but are poorly mapped for much of northern Australia. This project will deliver datasets of reef boundaries, satellite imagery optimised for the marine environment, and geomorphic and benthic habitat maps for shallow clear reefs based on improvements to the Allen Coral Atlas. These products are targeted at assisting in the planning and evaluation of coastal development in northern Australia, helping to ensure that sensitive high value habitats are identified and considered in development proposals. This project will use satellite imaging techniques to map this region based on methods consistent with existing reef mapping of the Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait, and the Coral Sea. Planned Outputs • Marine optimised satellite imagery for northern Australian seascape dataset (AIMS) [spatial dataset] • Reef boundary mapping for northern Australia seascape dataset (AIMS) [spatial dataset] • Improved shallow water habitat dataset (UQ) [spatial dataset] • Updated Benthic and Geomorphic Reference Data for Global Coral Reef Mapping (Western Australia, Timor Sea and Arafura Sea regions) dataset (UQ) [spatial dataset] • Technical report on Standard Operating Procedures for mapping reef boundaries (AIMS, UQ) • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - Project 3.2 - Developing a National Indigenous Environmental Research Network – Marine and Coastal research case studies. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. The proposed National Indigenous Environmental Research Network (NIERN) is an Indigenous-led strategic initiative to establish a community of practice that supports current environmental research needs and priorities, enhance future research agendas, mobilise investment opportunities, bolster the impact and durability of research outcomes and empower Indigenous Australians to participate in the national environmental scientific research agenda. This project will experiment with conceptual models for establishing a working NIERN to provide evidence that will guide Indigenous organisations, policy makers and researchers that aim to support Indigenous leadership and participation in environmental research. The NESP 2020 review reported that “Indigenous peoples seek earlier involvement in land and sea country research. This means being formally included in the project design, development and delivery.” The project team will work with Indigenous organisations, government agencies and researchers across Australia to provide a national perspective of current processes used to establish new research priorities and projects and use case studies to explore how Indigenous led approaches could augment these projects through Indigenous participation at all project stages. Planned Outputs • Mapping dataset [spatial dataset] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - Project 3.5 – Supporting regional planning in northern Australia: Building knowledge, skills and partnerships for understanding seagrass distribution. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Northern Australia has vast development opportunities but limited knowledge of the environment to inform decision making. This region has globally significant seagrass habitat, supporting dugong, green turtle, and commercially important fish and prawns. Key to managing impacts to species in these habitats is reliable data on seagrass distribution and how this changes over time. Achieving this requires large-scale mapping and a ranger-led monitoring network in remote communities. This project will map seagrass habitats across northern Australia through targeted mapping expeditions in data deficient regions. It will strengthen relationships with coastal communities, build-on existing knowledges and skills, co-design training resources with rangers to undertake monitoring, trial new technologies for monitoring, and synthesise historical and new seagrass data into an open access resource. Planned Outputs • Spatial GIS datasets [seagrass surveys] • Synthesised historical compilation [spatial dataset] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - Project 3.18 – Robust citizen science for reef habitat assessment in support of management. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. By mobilising tourism vessels and thousands of citizens, the Great Reef Census (GRC) has demonstrated that citizen-based infrastructure can undertake reconnaissance of hundreds of reefs and garner private donor support. While these data are already used by managers, there remain core scientific questions regarding the acquisition, quality, and optimisation of such data for reef management. Here, we create a robust approach to citizen science that can be scaled up to reefs generally. Specifically, our project will (1) maximise the quality of data on key habitats by combining machine and human learning (in partnership with Dell Technologies) while conducting a rigorous testing of data quality, (2), operationalise a field deployment strategy that maximises the value of citizen data for management and mapping and (3) provides annual maps of reef state and ecological importance that feeds into decision-making by marine managers. It specifically responds to MAC Hub priority research areas 2023 (citizen science and/or new technologies in assessing condition and status of marine habitats and species). Planned Outputs • Maps of reef habitat type, reef state, ecological importance of reefs [spatial dataset] • GRC data on reef images and reef state [tabular dataset] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - Project 3.9 - Establishing an Indigenous led approach to coordinated vertebrate pest management in northern Australia. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Wild livestock (particularly pigs, buffalo and cattle) are one of the primary threats to coastal ecosystem values in northern Australia. Wild livestock poses significant threats to cultural and livelihood values on Indigenous managed and owned lands and impact threatened species, water quality and other elements of biodiversity. Recent research has highlighted the importance of feral animal impacts on coastal wetlands and ecosystems that have implications for greenhouse gas accounts and other important national environmental assets such as mangrove restoration, coral reefs, marine turtle nesting and wetlands values. Research is being done on feral animal impacts on several prominent and important values including carbon stocks, marine turtle depredation and sediment loads impacting coral reefs and seagrass. This research has direct relevance to regulated and voluntary carbon and biodiversity markets. The development of new carbon abatement and sequestration methodologies and associated biodiversity protection markets could lead to economic opportunities for Indigenous owned and managed assets in northern Australia. However, in the absence of Indigenous leadership in the research that underpins method development, there is a risk that the potential economic and social benefits of these new methods won’t be realised, will erode Indigenous rights and limit local participation in long term management and monitoring of threats. This project will support the development of Indigenous led methods for feral animal management with the aim of establishing methods that account for the values and cultural boundaries that underpin activities on the Indigenous estate. We will do this research in partnership with Indigenous organisations that have long term feral animal management programs, developed with Traditional Owners and operating within the cultural and environmental boundaries of the homelands they manage. Planned Outputs • Map Indigenous land management tenure across northern Australia [spatial dataset] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written] • Research Paper [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - Project 3.12 – Closing the gap in bycatch reporting and population assessment of sea snakes in Northern Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Venomous sea snakes comprise a significant component of the bycatch of coastal trawl and trap fisheries across northern Australia. Safety concerns and difficulties in species identification by crew members mean that most sea snake interactions are inaccurately reported. By partnering with commercial operators and fisheries agencies, this project will develop an observer program to train crew members, enabling: i) improved safety, accuracy, and consistency of sea snake bycatch reporting, ii) generation of broadscale data to assess species- and fisheries-specific population status for at least 20 species of sea snakes, two of which are EPBC-listed as critically endangered, and iii) the reduction in disparity between fishery and fishery independent reporting of sea snake bycatch. Planned Outputs • Spatial maps of species distribution [spatial dataset] • Key life history data (reproductive output, growth rates, population diversity and connectivity) [tabular dataset] • Training materials for sea snake identification, safe handling and bite first aid [written and visual material] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - Project 3.20– A National Approach to Indigenous Engagement in Australia’s Blue Carbon and Environmental Markets. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Blue Carbon and Environmental markets, and their related environmental policy are rapidly evolving to meet National carbon reduction targets. In Australia, they’re emerging markets with great potential to improve carbon sequestration and restore biodiversity and cultural values. However, swift market growth infers the potential for perverse outcomes without proper regulation and processes implemented alongside. Corresponding regulation and processes are not yet in place to ensure Indigenous engagement is conducted in a legitimate, respectful, and empowering manner. The project proposes to coordinate a national Indigenous engagement approach for Blue Carbon and where appropriate include discussions on other Environmental market projects. This process will capture the wide-ranging rights and interests of Indigenous peoples and communities across jurisdictions and ensure empowerment in the Blue Carbon market. A key output from this research will be a document that outlines leading practice Indigenous engagement principles learned through a process of consultation with key Indigenous groups across Australia. It will be submitted to the Commonwealth government alongside proposed new Blue Carbon methods to enable efficient implementation that is ethical and in accord with leading practice principles of Indigenous engagement. The Blue Carbon market provides an opportunity for Indigenous community economic gain amidst complex legislation, tenure, resource ownership and co-benefits that haven’t been investigated in detail. Projects for the proposed Ungulate Method (Project 3.8) will occur on Aboriginal-owned land and mixed tenure where Indigenous people hold significant values and interests. Ensuring, Indigenous peoples rights, equity, and that principles of free, prior, and informed consent, are at the fore front of projects, leading practice Indigenous engagement is essential. The project notes that the legislative framework for the Blue Carbon market and how it relates to Indigenous peoples is different to other emerging environmental markets and it is likely to inherently limit the outcomes of this project. Planned Outputs • Mapping tenure of Blue Carbon resources [spatial dataset] • Final technical report with analysed data and recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - Project 3.8 – Carbon abatement and biodiversity enhancements through controlling feral ungulate disturbance in wetlands. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Feral ungulates (e.g., cattle, pigs, buffalo) damage wetlands, reducing biodiversity, water quality and cultural heritage values, but funding for management has been inadequate. Feral ungulates may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through their disturbance of soils and vegetation, but the levels of carbon abatement achieved with their control is not well characterised across Australia. This project will work with Traditional Owners, academics and governments to characterise the benefits of feral ungulate control in wetlands, providing science that will underpin development of an Emission Reduction Fund method, where payments for carbon credits and biodiversity enhancements would fund management of feral ungulates on Country. Planned Outputs • Environmental habitat surveys [tabular dataset] • Greenhouse gas and soil carbon data [tabular data] • ungulate damage assessments [tabular data] • Remote sensing vegetation condition [scripts] • Wetland topology assessments [spatial] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

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    This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - NESP MaC Project 3.19: Addressing Kakadu’s strategic marine research needs. The Indigenous-owned lands of Kakadu National Park are World Heritage-listed and globally significant. The natural and cultural values of Kakadu are at risk from a range of threats that will intensify over time. To prioritise the management of these threats, there is a pressing need to develop a Kakadu research strategy. The NESP Resilient Landscapes Hub have already committed a project within RP2022 to work with Traditional Owners and Park managers to develop a research strategy for Kakadu National Park. Investment from the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub in RP2023 will value-add to this existing project and enable the inclusion of marine and coastal issues into this research strategy. This project will deliver a research strategy that will provide guidance on both what research needs to be done and how it should be conducted in Kakadu. The Kakadu Indigenous Research Committee (KIRC) has been operating successfully for the past 5 years and the park has been the location for several Indigenous-led research projects that demonstrated best-practice approaches for collaborative research. Planned Outputs • Final technical report with updated list of Bininj/Mungguy research priorities and updated Kakadu research protocols [written] • Draft Kakadu research strategy and a list of priority projects [written]