Australia’s Coastal Research Infrastructure (CoastRi) initiative has attracted $58 million from the Australian federal government.
The objective of CoastRi is to gather data from diverse sources to enable Australia to better understand, predict, and address opportunities and risk facing Australia’s coasts.
CoastRi reports that coastal changes are ongoing and intensifying with widespread impacts such as coastal erosion, inundation, and other risks, which will potentially have many adverse impacts as about 50% of the Australian population resides withing seven kilometres of the coast.
Activities to be carried out include observing coastal processes, cross-sector modelling and prediction, data identification, management, and integration. Work will include marine, estuarine, terrestrial, subsurface and modelling elements, among others.
“Supporting this nationally significant capability strengthens Australia’s ability to respond to coastal change with confidence. CoastRi will provide essential information to protect homes, businesses, infrastructure and shipping routes, while also identifying the best locations for offshore renewable energy and sustainable fishing operations,” reads a statement from CoastRi.
Julian Hill, an Australian federal Assistant Minister, commented that “Australia’s future will be heavily impacted by how well we understand and manage our changing coastlines. Investing in CoastRI, launches a nationally coordinated network of sensors and drones that deliver real-time, Australia-specific data to support better decisions for communities, industry and the environment. The scale and complexity of coastal change means this capability must be shared across the country. Making CoastRI accessible to researchers and decision-makers nationwide through NCRIS ensures Australia can plan ahead and strengthen resilience along our coastlines”.
