Global first for Australian ocean-bed research

CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Flagship and its partners have delivered a simulation of seabed change for the next 50 years.  National expansion of this capability has the potential to save the oil and gas industry billions of dollars.

Predicting the affects of future climate change on the seabed, the Sedsim program uses specialised computer software to predict sediment transport over long time periods. This project draws together CSIRO’s expertise in Petroleum Resources and Atmospheric Research, with international input from the US based Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and Geoscience Australia (GA).

This research is a world first, with the Flagship setting the pace globally in seabed modelling. This is providing the understanding for how the seabed will change based on realistic climate change scenarios, according to Flagship Director, Craig Roy. 

Leading the research team, Dr Cedric Griffiths of CSIRO Petroleum Resources, believes this could have a major impact in predicting the risk to billion dollar infrastructure. “We know the sediment that makes up the Australian seabed varies tremendously from region to region, so one of the main applications will be to assist the appropriate design of oil and gas pipelines, in both low and high risk areas,” says Dr Griffiths. 

Advances benefit industry 

By predicting how the future motion of waves, currents and the seabed will affect pipelines, fractures and spillages can be prevented. The research has the potential to reduce capital expenditure on seabed pipelines, while reducing risks of over and under-engineering pipeline construction. The major beneficiaries of the research include the oil and gas sector, industry regulators and the insurance sector.

Sedsim seabed modelling brings together as a world first, an advanced sediment transport model capable of predicting sediment movement over decades and advanced climate change models, specifically targeted at Australia. 

Future global applications

This work can be applied globally to predict sediment erosion, transport and deposition in a wide variety of sedimentary environments, including shallow to deep marine. The program can model the way sediment responds to waves, current and tidal effects and will shed light on how the seabed characteristics may change over the next 50 years. The program is aligned closely with the National Oceans Office’s Regional Marine Planning activities. 

An initial simulation of Australia’s southeast has been completed at two kilometre resolution, each month for the next 50 years. The technology to model modern seabed conditions has been tested in several areas, including Brighton Beach near Adelaide, and Terschelling Island, Holland, where seabed sediment movement was predicted by Sedsim and then tested against observations.

“There are currently about 1000 km of offshore pipeline in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and another 1000 km of pipeline proposed to be laid in Australian and PNG waters in coming years. Predictions are that an expenditure of around 2 to 10 billion US dollars will be spent on 1500 to 2000 kilometres of large diameter offshore pipelines worldwide, over the next decade,” says Dr Griffiths. “Substantial environmental and costs savings could be made if these pipelines can be designed and oriented to best suit both the present sub-sea environment and the future seabed that has changed as a consequence of climate change.”

Relevant links 

Stratigraphic Forward Modelling - CSIRO Petroleum Resources

Success of the Shoreface Nourishment at Terschelling

Analysis and Modeling of Long-Term Coastal Morphological Evolution Using Field Data

UPDATE Home

Message from the Director

Global first for Australian ocean-bed research

Exploring our ocean frontiers

Voyage detects Southern Ocean change

Platform free oil and gas

Milestone approaches for Australia's ocean forecasting

Meet the Scientist

About this email

The Wealth from Oceans Flagship is a CSIRO initiative and part of the National Research Flagships program that aims to deliver scientific solutions to advance Australia's most important national objectives. One of the largest scientific initiatives ever mounted in Australia, it aligns closely with the Federal Government's National Research Priorities. The initiative brings together our national research resources to deliver breakthroughs in fields ranging from healthcare to light metals and the environment.