Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) is a long-term research and development program to develop and test novel interventions to help keep the Reef resilient and sustain critical functions and values.
eReefs Products used
A number of RRAP activities rely on eReefs: Marine Cloud Brightening is one of several proposed solar radiation management techniques being investigated by RRAP. MCB aims to reduce the build-up of heat in the GBR lagoon over summer by increasing low level cloud albedo, thereby decreasing the radiative forcing on the sea surface. This study is utilizing the eReefs marine modelling suite to quantify the effect of artificially enhanced cloud albedo on key hydrodynamic and biogeochemical parameters, and the temporal and/or spatial variations in this effect. This is achieved by performing multiple hindcast eReefs simulations over the 2015-16 and 2016-17 summer coral bleaching events with varying assumed cloud albedo enhancement.
A regional atmosphere configuration of ACCESS (Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator) has been coupled to the eReefs hydrodynamic and biogeochemical model of the GBR. The resulting ACCESS-eReefs coupled model is being used to simulate the effects of sea spray injections for MCB in both the atmosphere and ocean at local and regional scales in the GBR.
Modelling of both hydrodynamic and biogeochemical parameters has been completed using the eReefs modelling suite’s 4km grid (GBR4) and will be used to aid in modelling at the finer scale of 1km (GBR1). Preliminary analysis of the 4km grid hydrodynamic data suggests that increasing the low-lying cloud albedo by 0.2 over the GBR could limit the temperature increase over summer by a spatial average of 0.6°C.
The Moving Corals and ecoRRAP projects in eReefs rely of eReefs high resolutions models to support field experiments. RECOM models have been developed for the Capricorn Bunker area, Palm Island and Lizard Island and are used by RRAP researchers to assess the environmental conditions at these reefs, GBR-4 and -1 are used as boundary conditions for these higher resolution models and are also used to quantify between-reef and within-reef connectivity.
The Environmental Management System eReefs is providing critical physical and biogeochemical information underpinning a complex suite of ecological and connectivity models that make up the Modelling and Decision Support System of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). With eReefs, we are able to integrate temperature, current, light and other variables in our coral models to predict, at different spatial scales and depths, how corals might grow, reproduce and respond to natural events. This supports critical design decisions in the deployment of interventions and ensures we can increase scale and maximise benefits for the long-term resilience of coral reefs.
Cedric Robillot - Executive Director, Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program