22 November 1999

Dr. Steve Kuehl
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
College of William & Mary
Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062-1346, USA
Phone   804/684-7118
FAX   804/684-7250
kuehl@vims.edu

Dr. Kuehl:

I support the MARGINS option for a study site in the northern Coral Sea, Gulf of Papua, Torres Strait, Arafura Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria, and the northern coast of New Guinea (the Bismarck Sea). These regions meet the MARGINS criteria, with strong gradients in oceanographic and sedimentary signals representing inner shelf riverine/estuarine aluminosilicate mud and outer shelf carbonate/reef environments. These basins are accessible from the major ports of Darwin, Cairns, Townsville in Australia, and Port Moresby and Madang in Papua New Guinea. Some collaborative research might be possible with Indonesian oceanographers working in the estuaries of the Mamberamo and Digul Rivers of Irian Jaya.

As we have discovered in Project TROPICS (see http://www.aims.gov.au/tropics), this region is a world-class type example of reef and hemipelagic carbonate sedimentation, adjacent to a wet tropical region of rapid tectonic uplift, significant active seismic activity, rapid continental weathering and river transport of solutes and sediments, and aggressive interactions between a muddy inner shelf and blue water carbonate-dominated offshore systems. TROPICS scientists would welcome a larger study scope offered by MARGINS, which would include studies on reef biology, chemistry, and the carbonate-rich sedimentary regions, which we have not studied in this area. Project TROPICS has a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Papua New Guinea, and a Research Agreement with the Indonesian Institute of Natural Sciences (LIPI) to facilitate coastal oceanographic research in these regions. These agreements may be of benefit to MARGINS research.

Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO Marine Research, Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organization, Australian Geological Survey Organization, and several Australian universities would benefit from collaboration with MARGINS scientists in the USA. We look forward to the development of MARGINS and the details of the evolving research program.

Sincerely,

Gregg J. Brunskill
Principal Research Scientist
Australian Institute of Marine Science
PMB 3, Townsville, Queensland 4810
Australia
g.brunskill@aims.gov.au