Researchers from The University of Western Australia are a step closer to learning how climate patterns have affected the coastal waters of the Exmouth Gulf with a multi-year study nearing completion.
PhD candidate Paula Cartwright from UWA’s Oceans Graduate School is currently finalising the fieldwork component of the research program, which has involved 18 monthly visits to the coastal regions of the Gulf and south of Onslow.
Ms Cartwright has used Exmouth as a research base since November 2018 as part of a $350,000 partnership between UWA and K+S Salt Australia.
“I’ve been looking to understand how natural events such as seasonal oceanographic processes, and the La Nina/ El Nino oscillation patterns, affect nutrients and turbidity in the waters of the region,” Ms Cartwright said.
“The water sampling process has helped me confirm observations derived from long-term satellite data.”
The water sampling process has been hard work for Ms Cartwright who usually makes the trip to difficult-to-reach waters as the sole scientist responsible for five large eskies of specialised lab water bottles used to collect the samples.
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