Comparison of sonographs taken before and after Hurricane Diana, Onslow Bay, North Carolina

Mearns, David L.; Hine, Albert C.; Riggs, Stanley R.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016<0267:costba>2.3.co;2

Cited by 17 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…As a result, it remains unclear how assessments can realistically be made of the ecological resilience of benthic habitats on the NWS, nor of the 'significance' of observed changes in relation to dredging (see also Larcombe & Ridd, 2015). However, given the clear evidence for highly active bed sediment dynamics on the NW shelf (Larcombe et al 2014), the existing understanding of similar tropical and sub-tropical cyclone-influenced carbonate continental shelves in Australia (Belperio, 1983;Gagan et al, 1988Gagan et al, , 1990Larcombe & Carter, 2004) and those elsewhere (Mearns, 1988;Morton, 1988;Hubbard, 1992), there appears a clear case for review of these guidelines and a new approach to seabed assessment. There is strong evidence that EIA-associated work to assess physical impacts of dredging and disruption of sediment transport pathways is lacklustre (Table 5).…”

Section: Marine Environmental Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing marine environments and decision-making requires better application of the physical sedimentary sciences

Larcombe

Morrison‐Saunders

2017

Australasian Journal of Environmental Management

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Effective management of marine environments requires a sound understanding of the relevant physical sedimentary sciences. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a key management and decision-making tool employed in Australia for coastal and marine developments. This article examines the veracity of the application of the marine physical sciences within the EIA process, using turbidity measurement and sediment transport pathways as examples. A review of EIA guidance reveals deficiencies in regulation. Turbidity measurement is poorly understood and performed in current practice, while a focus on protecting marine habitats largely ignores those physical sedimentary processes, such as long-term bed-sediment transport pathways, that create and maintain these habitats. Thus evaluations of impacts of offshore activities such as channel dredging and spoil emplacement at sea are fundamentally flawed. An extensive body of scientific knowledge is already available on marine physical processes, and equivalent information for assessments of terrestrial development is routinely taken into consideration. Perhaps practice for the marine environment lags behind that for terrestrial settings or is it a case of 'out of sight-out of mind'? We call on environmental management professionals to increase engagement with the physical processes that determine the quality of marine environments.

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