Interactions between Physical, Chemical, Biological, and Sedimentological Processes in Australia's shelf seas

Australia is an island continenet extending from tropical to midlatitude waters with an Exclusive Economic Zone of some 8.6 million square kilometres. Its regional seas are exposed to climatological conditions ranging from the westerly Roaring Forties winds in the south, to monsoon and tropical cyclone conditions in the north. It also encompasses regions of extreme biodiversity, with 80 percent of southern temperate species endemic to the region.

The focus of marine research in Australia is becoming more interdisciplinary in response to factors such as the national government's recent Oceans Policy, which emphasises sustainable development and ecological based management. However, historically there have been relatevely few major interdisciplinary studies in Australian waters.