Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

Artificial reefs are increasingly being deployed along coastlines worldwide for a range of purposes, including recreation, habitat enhancement and coastal management. While numerical and physical modelling are commonly used to inform reef design and approvals, there remains limited quantitative, field‑based evidence evaluating how artificial reefs interact with nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport and beach evolution once constructed, particularly in high‑energy wave environments.

A central motivation for this project is the need to empirically assess post‑construction coastal response to artificial reefs, and to evaluate assumptions commonly made during the design and approval process. By resolving coastal processes across a range of temporal and spatial scales, the project will improve understanding of how reef geometry, placement and wave climate influence coastal behaviour.

This project will investigate the coastal impacts of artificial reefs, with a focus on understanding how engineered reef structures modify wave transformation, nearshore circulation, sediment transport pathways and shoreline response. The research will address key knowledge gaps related to whether, and under what conditions, artificial reefs produce measurable changes to beach morphology, erosion and accretion patterns, or nearshore sediment dynamics.

The project will employ a combination of field‑based observations (e.g. wave and current measurements, beach and seabed surveys, sediment monitoring) and remote‑sensing and data‑driven analyses (e.g. satellite imagery, UAV surveys, coastal monitoring datasets). Outcomes will provide robust, evidence‑based insights to inform the design, monitoring and management of artificial reefs in energetic coastal environments.

Applicants will be required to apply for available scholarsihp opportunities. 

Any fully-funded scholarship opportunities will be linked to this project opporutnity via HDRhub. 

Dr Michael Cuttler

michael.cuttler@uwa.edu.au

Applicants should hold an Honours or Master’s degree (or equivalent) in coastal oceanography, engineering, or a related discipline. Experience in quantitative data analysis is essential. Experience with coastal fieldwork, numerical modelling, or remote sensing is desirable but not mandatory.

Domestic and international applicants are encouraged to apply. 

Applicants will be required to apply for available UWA domestic or international scholarships 

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge. 

Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s.