On the 15th to the 18th of June, SARCCM Co-Lead, Professor Xiao Hua Wang, conducted a field trip to Darwin Harbour. He held meetings with the management team of Port Darwin and the Coastal Oceanography group of AIMS Darwin on 16 and 17 June, respectively. At Port Darwin, Prof. Wang presented his recent research on Darwin Harbour in the areas of sediment dynamics and harbour siltation, discussed issues facing the port operation, and explored potential collaboration options with the Port Management team. Captain Ian Niblock, General Manager of Operations, Mr. Peter Dummett, General Manager of Port Development, and Mr. Ben Cheng, Trade Access Coordination, attended the meeting.

In his meeting with the Coastal Oceanography Group of AIMS Darwin at the Australian Tropical Research Facility (ATRF), Charles Darwin University, Prof. Wang met the new Coastal Oceanography group led by Dr. Claire Streten. The group includes Dr. Claire Streten, Dr. Richard Brinkman, Dr. Carlos Simao and Dr. Hemerson Tonin. AIMS Darwin is currently conducting research in light climate modelling and bottom stress simulations in the Harbour to understand its benthic ecosystem dynamics. The meeting agreed that the research topics including wave-current interactions, sediment transport dynamics and regional ocean database development was of great importance and in the interest of stakeholder needs for Harbour development and management. It was agreed that future collaboration between SARCCM and AIMS Darwin may proceed in model development, joint supervision of HDR students, and data sharing for Harbour research.