Watershed and Estuary Assessments
Estuarine systems are complex, highly valued and linked to other ecosystems. They are a focus for a wide range of human activities of increasing social and economic importance, are a focal point of development pressures and are often highly valued areas of community recreation. They are also recognized as critical nursery areas for a variety of fish species and are highly dynamic in space and time, being influenced by both catchment processes and oceanic influences. There is an increasing emphasis on the management of these sensitive areas through catchment and water quality management frameworks, and a focus on watershed and point discharge sources as well as coastal process factors that may influence the exchange capacity of these systems. Assessment of developments that may affect the long-term environmental health of these systems requires a multi-disciplinary approach.
The 360 Environmental and Wave Solutions team includes leading engineers, modellers and scientists in the fields of coastal and estuarine processes, watershed modelling, fisheries habitat assessments and indicators of ecosystem health. Our team is capable of designing and implementing multi-disciplinary studies capable of understanding the range of different impacts affecting these systems and tailored to our clients needs. Our experienced team of modellers is capable of using information on flushing rates, nutrient input,
exchange capacity and current profiles to produce high quality, validated watershed and estuary process models. Our fisheries scientists are capable of using a variety of techniques to assess the importance of estuarine and catchment areas to the life history stages of a range of fish species. Our molecular chemistry specialists have established ‘fingerprinting’ methods for establishing historical baselines and contaminant provenance in benthic environments. These multi-disciplinary methods provide means to better characterise and contextualise spatial and temporal data in indicators of interest and in certain applications improve the assessment of potential impacts and changes at a system level.
Our team has a track record of delivering robust outcomes tailored to our clients needs. Our seamless operation creates a focused, strategic, timely and transparent service that saves our Clients time and money whilst ensuring the delivery of a high quality product on time, every time.
Our Team
Project Strategist
Dr. Damian Ogburn is the Senior Principal Environmental Scientist. Damian has 30 years of experience in fisheries management and risk analysis. Damian completed his PhD on water quality and oyster health in estuaries and has a thorough knowledge of the effect of watershed processes on estuarine systems. He has led the development of planning and management frameworks for estuary systems in a policy setting.
Specialist Modeller
Dr Chris Reed has 22 years experience conducting hydrodynamic, sediment transport and water quality studies. Dr Reed has also been involved in undertaking design analysis for rivers, lakes, wetlands, bays, estuaries and adjacent coastal zones. Dr Reed specializes in model development and is co-author of the CMS-2D/3D hydrodynamic, wave and sediment transport model, which is part of the US Army Corps of Engineers supported SMS software package and the author of the WaSh model, a hydrologic, hydrodynamic and water quality model used by the regulators to assess watershed total maximum daily load (TMDL) and related studies. Dr Reed also applies standard process-based transport models for such applications including inlets, dilutions analysis, TMDL development and groundwater transport. Dr Reed is experienced in the design and implementation of field measurement programs, data collection and data analysis techniques for assessment and monitoring purposes.
Fish Ecologist
Professor Jessica Meeuwig is Director of the Centre for Marine Futures at the University of Western Australia. Jessica is an expert in the design of marine monitoring programs, published widely on fish ecology and has broad knowledge of methods in fisheries stock assessments. She has supervised many post-graduate students in fisheries related research and worked closely with government and industry sectors.
Project Manager
Dr. Kris Waddington has 8 years experience as a marine scientist and is a jointly-appointed with Wave Solutions and the Centre for Marine Futures. Kris has a broad knowledge of fisheries stock assessment, fisheries management, trophic interactions and ecological modelling. Kris is an experienced project manager and has led a suite of field studies.
As Principal at 360 Environmental, Michelle Rhodes provides technical input and overall project environmental management for State-level projects in the mining, oil and gas and water industries. Michelle has managed coastal processes investigations as part of infrastructure developments. Michelle’s PhD thesis investigates the impact on aquatic communities associated with changes to sediment and magnesium sulphate loads.
Monitoring Technology
Our team can supply marine environmental monitoring instrumentation systems specifically designed to provide high-accuracy measurements during lengthy deployments for water quality parameters and current profiles. Modular components incorporate a core data recorder with temperature, conductivity and pressure sensors, and optional auxiliary sensor components including dissolved oxygen, pH, redox, turbidity, chlorophyll or CDOM fluorescence, irradiance, and other parameters. All systems employ the latest antifoul technology reducing the costs associated with on-going equipment maintenance. Our team is highly experienced in data analysis, interpretation and presentation
Survey and GIS Analysis
Our team can provide survey specialists for coastal and estuarine morphological characterization and process assessment. Services include application of geospatial techniques for presenting and interpreting data and landforms.