

Coasts and oceans
You are viewing an archived copy of the 2017 report.
Key messages
Key findings
State
- Sea surface temperature
Sea-surface temperatures in the Coral Sea and around northern Australia are about +1oC warmer on average than 100 years ago, with record warmth occurring in 2016.
- Southern Oscillation Index
El Niño conditions prevailed in 2015 and at the start of 2016, followed by ENSO-neutral conditions for much of 2017.
- Cyclone activity
Queensland experienced 2 cyclones between March 2015 and December 2017.
- Sea level
Queensland’s sea levels are rising according to the historical tide gauge records.
- Storm tide inundation
Storm tide inundations continue to impact the coast.
Pressure
- Erosion prone area
Coastal erosion continues to impact the Queensland coast, with several major incidents at developed areas.
Programs
Sea Surface Temperature monitoring | Sea Surface Temperature (SST) time series are available from 1900 for a number of regions around Australia. These time series include ocean surface temperatures only and do not include any land surface temperatures. The sea surface temperature information for the Coral Sea (4°S–26°S, 142°E–174°E) and Northern Tropics (4°S–22°S, 94°E–174°E) regions are based on data from 1900 to 2017 and differences from the 1961–1990 average. |
Southern Oscillation Index monitoring | The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is a widely used atmospheric indicator of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). SOI information is based on monthly SOI data from 1875 to 2017, calculated using an 1887 to 1989 base period. The SOI data are from the Queensland Government Long Paddock website and are calculated using Darwin and Tahiti daily mean sea level pressures sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology and Météo France, respectively. |
Cyclone monitoring | The Bureau of Meteorology provides real time threat assessment, tracking and historical information on cyclone events. |
Tide monitoring | Maritime Safety Queensland, Queensland port authorities, the Department of Environment and Science and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority jointly operate tide gauge networks around the Queensland coast. |
Storm tide monitoring | A network of 25 storm tide monitoring sites along the Queensland coastline allows for recording water levels these events and real-time access to sea level data during the event. |
Sea level monitoring | The Australian Baseline Sea Level Monitoring Project is designed to monitor sea level around the coastline of Australia. The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) is the global data bank for long term sea level change information from tide gauges and bottom pressure recorders. |
Wave monitoring | A network of wave monitoring buoys measure the height and direction of waves along the Queensland coast. |
Erosion prone area mapping | The Department of Environment and Science prepares erosion prone area plans showing the width of the coast that is considered vulnerable to coastal erosion and tidal inundation and indicative footprint mapping of this area. Spatial information files showing the indicative erosion prone area can be accessed from Queensland Spatial Catalogue (Qspatial). |