Michael Cuttler

University of Western Australia | UWA · Centre for Coral Reef Studies and Coastal Marine Systems

Since intermittent and highly variable power supply is undesirable, quantifying power yield fluctuations of wave energy converters (WECs) aids with assessment of potential deployment sites. This paper presents analysis of 3-hourly, monthly, seasonal, and inter-annual variability of power output of the M4 WEC. We compare expected performance from de...

An accurate representation of physical and biological processes is crucial to resolve larval dispersal pathways and characterize connectivity of coral reef ecosystems. We investigate how hydrodynamic forcings drive larval retention rates during the bi‐annual mass coral spawning of the coral genus Acropora within a coral reef atoll (Mermaid Reef), l...

Since intermittent and highly variable power supply is undesirable, quantifying power yield fluctuations of wave energy converters (WECs) aids with assessment of potential deployment sites. This paper presents analysis of 3-hourly, monthly, seasonal, and inter-annual variability of power output of the M4 WEC. We compare expected performance from de...

Reef islands are low-lying sedimentary landforms formed from the accumulation of unconsolidated skeletal material generated by carbonate-producing reef organisms. The coupling between ecological (extant community assemblage) and sedimentary processes (sediment composition and supply) that maintain these reef-fronted landforms make them increasingly...

Ocean warming is transforming the world’s coral reefs, which are governed by the growth of marine calcifiers, most notably branching corals. Critical to skeletal growth is the corals’ regulation of their internal chemistry to promote calcification. Here we investigate the effects of temperature and light on the calcifying fluid chemistry (using bor...

Encrusting reef organisms such as crustose coralline algae (CCA), serpulid worms, bivalves, bryozoans, and foraminifera (collectively termed encrusters) provide essential ecosystem services and are a critical part of the reef framework. Globally, research into in situ growth and carbonate production of encrusters has focused on clear water fore-ree...

Accurate prediction of coastal flooding requires a detailed understanding of all individual contributions to sea level variability and how they interact to trigger extreme sea level (ESL) events. In this study, we focus on the expansive (∼10,000 km) coastline of Western Australia, a region that experiences large latitudinal gradients in met‐ocean s...

Two‐dimensional mean wave‐driven flow and setup dynamics were investigated at a reef‐lagoon system at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, using the numerical wave‐flow model, SWASH. Phase‐resolved numerical simulations of the wave and flow fields, validated with highly detailed field observations (including >10 sensors through the energetic surf zone...

Coral reef islands are among the most vulnerable landforms to climate change. However, our understanding of their morphodynamics at intermediate (seasonal to interannual) timescales remains poor, limiting our ability to forecast how they will evolve in the future. Here, we applied a semi-automated shoreline detection technique (CoastSat.islands) to...

A carbonate budget is a comprehensive measure of reef health and function that focuses on processes that produce and remove carbonate. A key parameter of a carbonate budget is reef topographic complexity, or rugosity, that is traditionally measured by the chain-and-tape (CT) method. However, to overcome spatial limitations of the CT method, modern...

Reef islands are some of the most highly sensitive landforms to the impacts of future environmental change. Previous assessments of island morphodynamics primarily relied on historical aerial and satellite imagery. These approaches limit analysis to two-dimensional parameters, with no ability to assess long-term changes to island volume or elevatio...

Despite Australia having one of the most abundant offshore wave energy resources globally, there remains a lack of understanding of how this offshore resource extends into the coastal zone where most wave energy converters would be deployed. We used the phase-averaged wave model SWAN to simulate 38 years (1980–2017) of wave conditions near Albany,...

Tropical Cyclone (TC) Olwyn travelled along the coast of Ningaloo Reef in northwestern Australia as a Category 3 TC during 12–13 March 2015 with sustained wind speeds of over 130 km h⁻¹ and significant wave heights on the forereef reaching 6 m. Observations from TC Olwyn showed that, contrary to typical wave transformation patterns across a coastal...

Reef‐associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection makes reef‐fronted coastlines particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any declines in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to ph...

Sediment produced on fringing coral reefs that is transported along the bed or in suspension affects ecological reef communities as well as the morphological development of the reef, lagoon, and adjacent shoreline. This study quantified the physical process contribution and relative importance of sea-swell waves, infragravity waves, and mean curren...

Tropical cyclones generate extreme hazards along coastlines, often leading to losses of life and property. Although coral reefs exist in cyclone-prone regions globally, few studies have measured the hydrodynamic conditions and morphological responses of reef-fringed coastlines to tropical cyclones. Here, we examine the impact of Tropical Cyclone Ol...

Most techniques for estimating settling velocities of natural particles have been developed primarily for siliciclastic sediments. Therefore, to understand how these techniques apply to bioclastic environments, measured settling velocities (ws) of bioclastic sedimentary deposits sampled from a nearshore fringing reef in Western Australia were compa...

Large bottom roughness is a characteristic of most coral reef environments and this has been shown to have a substantial impact on hydrodynamic processes in these environments. In this paper, we evaluate suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data as well detailed hydrodynamic data over a coral reef flat in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to unde...