MODELLING

Models are used to describe the natural dynamics of the system, capturing inputs of water from rivers, other nutrient inputs and the movement of water driven by ocean and coastal currents. Models are then tested using historic data, where we know what happened, which gives an understanding of the error and bias (uncertainty) in the model.

We can then apply this model, together with an understanding of its relative accuracy, to future conditions and different levels of nutrient input from farming, to predict where nutrients will flow and potential impacts that might occur and to what level.

OBSERVATION

Gathering observational data involves mapping and understanding the sea floor habitats, then adding information from dive transects, animal and seaweed counts, water samples and more. Closer to farms, samples of sand and mud are also taken, the chemistry of the sediments measured, and organisms in these samples are counted and identified.