[Coral-List] Coral Reef Scenario Evaluation Tool web portal now available

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas Jessica.MelbourneThomas at utas.edu.au
Wed Dec 22 17:05:38 EST 2010


Dear All,

www.reefscenarios.org<http://www.reefscenarios.org> is an online portal that enables users to access and use a simulation model called CORSET (Coral Reef Scenario Evaluation Tool) to explore coral reef futures at regional scales.

CORSET is a generic, biophysical model for coral reef systems which couples dynamics from local to regional scales. Interactions between benthic and consumer functional groups at local scales (hundreds of metres to kilometres) are linked across regional scales (hundreds of kilometres to thousands of kilometres) by larval dispersal. The approach is bottom-up; simple components are combined to create a portable framework which can be applied for reef systems anywhere in the world. Model components and outputs are understandable for non-experts, but the system is able to generate complex, emergent patterns. Moreover, there is the facility to incorporate larval connectivity data from sophisticated dispersal models. CORSET is equally applicable as a research tool or as a decision support tool for coral reef management.

The www.reefscenarios.org<http://www.reefscenarios.org> portal includes a link to documentation for CORSET, which provides an overview of the model together with detailed instructions on how to access and edit default input files for running scenarios, how to create new versions of the model, and example scenarios.

________________________________________

Dr. Jessica Melbourne-Thomas
Research Associate
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
University of Tasmania




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