Book: Geoscience of the Great Barrier Reef (D2.2b)

Task leader: Dr Piers Larcombe, Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science.

Task associate: Mr Andrew Costen, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Auhtority.

Funding will support the production of a scholarly book - ‘Geoscience of the Great Barrier Reef’. The book is intended to fill a number of significant gaps in the scientific literature on the GBR, many of which have implications for management. The geology and physical nature of the shelf underpin many of it’s processes, and the book aims to describe the various connections between geology, oceanography and biology on the shelf, by combining views of the entire system with those of the function of many of it’s component parts. A key aspect is the presentation of a new models of the physical and biogeographic evolution of the GBR shelf system over the last 20,000 years, through time, based on an understanding of it’s the physical foundations and modern physical processes. Further, a suite of modern ‘issues’ will be discussed, including those of sedimentation, based on a shelf-wide understanding of the dynamics and significance of modern processes. The book will form a modern reference book of up to date scientific information on the physical setting of the GBR shelf, and is intended to influence scientific thinking, teaching, research and management for the next decade.