Australian Shelf Sediment Mobility From Waves and Tides

Estimates of significant wave height and period, together with tidal current speed over a semi-lunar cycle, were used to predict sediment threshold exceedance across the Australian continental shelf. The dataset quantifies the relative importance of tidal currents and swell waves in mobilizing unconsolidated sediment. It was contributed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Model sediment mobilization probability by analyzing predicted threshold exceedance values.
• Compare the relative sediment-entraining power of tidal currents versus swell waves using the independent process estimates.
• Map areas of the Australian continental shelf susceptible to sediment transport using the geospatial coverage data.
• Calibrate hydrodynamic models with the significant wave height, wave period, and tidal current speed inputs.

Strengths

• Analysis covers the entire Australian continental shelf, a large geographic area.
• Processes (tidal currents and swell waves) are examined independently for comparative insight.

Limitations

• Underlying row count, sample size, and specific data resolution are unknown.
• Data is presented in HTML format, which may complicate direct machine processing.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Predictive modeling using estimates of significant wave height, wave period, and tidal current speed.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026.

Geography

Australian continental shelf