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Dr Jody Webster

Jody Webster

Senior Lecturer, Geocoastal Research Group

Madsen Building (F09), Rm 440
Phone: +61 2 9036 6538
Fax: +61 2 9351 0184
Email:
For more details see (Personal webpage)

Paid Research Assistant Opportunities in Jody’s Group

Research Interests

Jody Webster’s research in sedimentology and stratigraphy focuses on carbonate sedimentology, climate change, and tectonics and it tends to take him to all the beautiful places in the world (e.g. the Great Barrier Reef, Tahiti, Hawaii and Papua New Guinea). Jody is particularly interested in coral reef and carbonate platform systems, both modern and ancient, and their associated sedimentary systems; as tools to address fundamental questions in paleoclimate variability and tectonics, and in turn the influence of these factors on the geometry, composition and evolution of these sedimentary systems. His research is multidisciplinary nature, encompassing traditional elements of sedimentology and stratigraphy, combined with the novel use of marine geology and geophysics, GIS, paleobiology, paleoecology, and geochemistry (stable isotopes, trace elements, radiometric dating).

Jody is also heavily involved in several large international research programs including the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) which is focused on recovering sediment cores from the sea bed to understand past sea level and climate changes. Jody, along with colleagues from ANU, UWO, Uni. Edin and Uni. Tokyo, were awarded a large ARC Discovery grant ($372,000) over 3 years to support work on this project.

With colleagues from UQ, QUT and international partners, Jody was also recently awarded another large ARC Discovery grant ($490,000) to investigate reef growth sea level and palaeoclimate histories in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Several related student projects are now available.

Publications By Research Theme

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Selected Publications By Year

  • Harris, P., Bridge, T.C.L., Beaman, R. J., Webster, J. M., Nichol, S., Brooke, B., 2012. Submerged banks in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, greatly increase available coral reef habitat. ICES Journal of Marine Science. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fss165. (Abstract).
  • Bridge, T.C.L., Beaman, R.J, Done, T.J., Webster, J.M. 2012. Predicting the Location and Spatial Extent of Submerged Coral Reef Habitat in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. PLoS ONE 7 (10): e48203. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048203. (Abstract).
  • Puga-Bernabéu, Á., Webster, J.M., Beaman, R.J., 2012. Potential collapse of the upper slope and tsunami generation on the Great Barrier Reef margin, north-eastern Australia. Natural Hazards. 10.1007/s11069-012-0502-0. (Abstract).
  • *Barrett, S.J., Webster, J. M., 2012. Holocene evolution of the Great Barrier Reef: Insights from 3D numerical modelling. Sedimentary Geology 265–266, 56-71. (Abstract).
  • Webster, J. M., Beaman, R.J., Puga-Bernabéu, Á., Ludman, D., Renema, W., Wust, R.A.J., George, N.P.J., Reimer, P.J., Jacobsen, G.E., Moss, P., 2012. Late Pleistocene history of turbidite sedimentation in a submarine canyon off the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 331-332, 75-89. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.02.034 (Abstract).
  • Lewis, S. E., Wüst, R. A. J, Webster, J. M., Shields, G. A., Lough., J. L., Jacobson, G., Development of an inshore fringing coral reef using textural, compositional and stratigraphic data from Magnetic Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia Marine Geology 295–298, 86-94. doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2012.01.003 (Abstract).
  • Thomas, A.L., Fujita, K., Iryu, Y., Bard, E., Cabioch, G., Camoin, G., Cole, J.E., Deschamps, P., Durand, N., Hamelin, B., Heindel, K., Henderson, G.M., Mason, A.J., Matsuda, H., Ménabréaz, L., Omori, A., Quinn, T., Sakai, S., Sato, T., Sugihara, K., Takahashi, Y., Thouveny, N., Tudhope, A.W., Webster, J., M., Westphal, H., Yokoyama, Y., 2012. Assessing subsidence rates and paleo water-depths for Tahiti reefs using U–Th chronology of altered corals. Marine Geology 295–298, 86-94. 10.1016/j.margeo.2011.12.006 (Abstract).
  • Puga-Bernabéu, Á., Webster, J.M., Beaman, R.J., Guilbaud, V., 2011. Morphology and controls on the evolution of a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic submarine canyon system, Great Barrier Reef margin, north-eastern Australia. Marine Geology 289, 100-116. 10.1016/j.margeo.2011.09.013 (Abstract).
  • Bridge, T.C.L., Fabricius, K.E., Bongaerts, P., Wallace, C.C., Muir, P.R., Done, T.J., Webster, J.M., (2011). Diversity of Scleractinia and Octocorallia in the mesophotic zone of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs. doi: 10.1007/s00338-011-0828-1 (Abstract).
  • Abbey, E. A., Webster, J.M., Beaman, R., 2011. Geomorphology of submerged reefs on the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef: the influence of oscillating Pleistocene sea-levels. Marine Geology, 288, 1-4, 61-78. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2011.08.006 (Abstract).
  • Bongaerts, P., Sampayo, E., Bridge, T., Ridgway, T., Vermeulen, F., Englebert, N., Webster, J. M., and Hoegh-Guldberg, O., 2011. Symbiodinium diversity of mesophotic coral communities on the Great Barrier Reef: a first assessment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 439, 117-126 (Abstract).
  • Yokoyama, Y., Webster, J. M., Cotterill, C., Braga, J. C., Jovane, L., Mills, H., Morgan, S., Suzuki, A., and Expedition 325 Scientists, 2011. IODP Expedition 325: Great Barrier Reefs reveals past sea-level, climate and environmental changes during the end of the last Ice age. Scientific Drilling, 12, 32-45, doi:10.2204/iodp.sd.12.04.2011 (Abstract).
  • Webster, J. M., Yokoyama, Y., Cotterill, C., and Expedition 325 Scientists 2011. Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program 325, doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.325.2011 (Abstract).
  • Harris, D.L, Webster, J. M., De Carli, E.V. Vila-Concejo, A., Geomorphology and morphodynamics of a sand apron, One Tree Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef (In Press Feb 2011 - Journal of Coastal Research) (Abstract)
  • Bridge, T.C.L., Done, T.J., Friedman, A., Beaman, R.J., Williams, S.B., Pizarro, O., and Webster, J. M., 2011, Variability in mesophotic coral reef communities along the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 428, p. 63-75 (Abstract)
  • Faichney, I. D. E., Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Potts, D. C., Braga, J. C., Renema, W., 2011. The Impact of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition on the composition of submerged reefs of the Maui-Nui Complex, Hawaii. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 299, 493–506 (Abstract)
  • Abbey, E. A., Webster, J. M., Braga, J. C., Sugihara, K., Wallace, C. C., Potts, Iryu, Y., D. C., Done, T., Camoin, G, Seard, C.., 2011. Variation in postglacial coralgal assemblages and their paleoenvironmental significance: IODP Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level. Global and Planetary Change, 176, 1-2, 173-187 (Abstract)
  • Expedition 325 Scientists, 2010. Great Barrier Reef environmental changes: the last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific: offshore drilling northeast Australia. IODP Preliminary. Report., 325. doi:10.2204/iodp.pr.325.2010. (Abstract)
  • Bridge, T., Done, T., Beaman, R. J., Williams, S. B., Pizarro, P., Webster, J. M., 2010. Topography, substratum and benthos relationships on a tropical mesophotic shelf margin, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs., 30, 143-153. DOI: 10.1007/s00338-010-0677-3 (Abstract)
  • Beaman, R. J., Bridge, T., Done, T., Webster, J. M., Williams, S. B., Pizarro, P., 2010. Habitats and benthos at Hydrographers Passage, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, GEOHAB Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphology as Habitat.
  • Iryu, Y., Takahashi, Y., Fujita, K., Camoin, G., Cabioch, G., Matsuda, H., Sato, T., Sugihara, K., Webster, J. M., and Westphal, H., 2010. Sea-level history recorded in the Pleistocene carbonate sequence in IODP Hole 310-M0005D, off Tahiti, Island Arc, DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1738.2010.00737.x (Abstract)
  • Williams, S. B., Oscar, P., Webster, J. M., Beaman, R., Mahon, I.M., Johnson-Roberson, M., Bridge, T., 2010, AUV-assisted surveying of drowned reefs on the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Journal of Field Robotics, 27, 5, 675-697. (Abstract)
  • Faichney, I. D. E., Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Paduan, J. B., Fullagar, P. D., 2010. Unraveling the Isostatic and Flexural History of Oahu and the Maui-Nui Complex, Hawaii. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 11, Q07002, doi:10.1029/2010GC003044.(Abstract)
  • Abbey, E. A., Webster, J. M., Submerged Reefs. In Encyclopaedia of Modern Coral Reefs, edited by D. Hopley. New York: Springer-Verlag (In Press)
  • Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Faichney, I. E., Fullagar, P. D., Hein, J. R., Moore, J. G., Paull, C. K., 2010. Early Pleistocene origin of reefs around Lanai, Hawaii. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 290, 3-4, 331-339 (Abstract)
  • Hearty, P.J., Webster, J. M., Clague, D.A., Kaufman, D.S., Bright, J., Southon, J., and Renema, W., 2010. A pulse of ooid formation in Maui Nui (Hawaiian Islands) during Termination I. Marine Geology, v. 268, p. 152-162 (Abstract)
  • Tager, D., Webster, J. M., Potts, D., Renema, W., Braga, J. C., Pandolfi, J. M., 2010. Community composition and dynamics of Pleistocene reefs during successive sea-level lowstands versus highstands. Ecology, 91(1), 191–200 (Abstract)
  • Faichney, I. D. E., Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Kelley, C., Appelgate, B., Moore, J. G., 2009, The morphology and distribution of submerged reefs in the Maui Nui Complex, Hawaii: New insights into their evolution since the Early Pleistocene. Marine Geology 265,130–145 (Abstract)
  • Clague, D. A., Braga, J. C., Bassi, D., Fullagar, P. D., Renema, W., Webster, J. M., 2009. The maximum age of Hawaiian terrestrial lineages: geological constraints from Koko Seamount. Journal of Biogeography, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02235.x. (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Yokoyama, Y., and Cotterill, C., 2009. Great Barrier Reef environmental changes: the last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific: offshore drilling northeast Australia. IODP Sci. Prosp., 325. doi:10.2204/iodp.sp.325. 2009. (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Braga J. C., Clague, D. A., Coleman-Riker K., Gallup C., Hein, J. R., Potts D., Renema, W., Riding, R., Silver, E., Wallace L., 2009. Coral Reef Evolution on Rapidly Subsiding Margins. Special Issue of Global and Planetary Change, 66, 129–148 (Abstract)
  • Koelling, M., Webster, J. M., Camoin, G., Iryu, Y., Bard, E., Seard, C., 2009. SEALEX - Internal reef chronology and virtual drill logs from a spreadsheet-based reef growth model. Special Issue of Global and Planetary Change, 66, 149-159 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Beaman, R.J., Bridge, T. C. L., Davies, P.J., Byrne, M., Williams, S., Manning, P., Pizarro, O., Thornborough, K., Woolsey, E., Thomas, A. L., and Tudhope, A., 2008. From Corals to Canyons: The Great Barrier Reef Margin EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union., 89, (24), 217-218 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Davies, P. J., Beaman, R. J., William, S., and Byrne, M., 2008. RV Southern Survey - voyage summary; Marine National Facility 18 pp (Abstract)
  • Lewis, S., Wust, R., Webster, J. M., and Shields., G., 2008. A revised sea-level curve for the Great Barrier Reef and eastern Australia over the last 7,000 years, Terra Nova., 20 (1), 78-81 (Abstract)
  • Hughey, J. R., Braga, J. C., Aguirre, J., Woelkerling, W. J., Webster, J. M., Analysis of Ancient DNA from fossil corallines (CORALLINELES, 1 Rhodophyta) Journal of Phycology, 44 (2), 374-383 (Abstract)
  • Beaman, R. J., Webster, J. M., Wust, R. J. A., 2008. New evidence for drowned shelf edge reefs in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Marine Geology., 247, (1-2), 17-36 (Abstract)
  • Allison, N., Adrian A. F., Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., 2007. Palaeoenvironmental records from fossil corals: the effects of submarine diagenesis on temperature and climate estimates, Geochimica, Cosmochimica Acta., 71, 4693–4703 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Wallace, L. M., Clague, D. A., Braga, J. C., 2007. Numerical modeling of the growth and drowning of Hawaiian coral reefs during the last two glacial cycles (0–250 kyr), Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 8, Q03011, doi:10.1029/2006GC001415 (Abstract)
  • Camoin, G. F., Iryu, Y., McInroy, D.B., and the Expedition 310 Scientists 2007. Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program 310, doi:10.2204/iodp.proc.2310.2101.2007 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Braga J. C. 2007. Support for the Giant Wave (Mega-Tsunami) Hypothesis: evidence from the submerged terraces off Lanai, Hawaii., International Journal of Earth Sciences, 96, (3), 517-524 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Braga J. C., Spalding, H., Renema W., Kelley, C., Applegate., B., Smith, J., Paull. C. K., Moore. G. J., Potts D., 2006. Drowned coralline algal dominated deposits off Lanai, Hawaii; carbonate accretion and vertical tectonics over the last 30 ka, Marine Geology, 225, 223-246 (Abstract)
  • Riker-Coleman, K. E., Gallup, C.D., Wallace, L., Webster, J. M., Cheng, H., Edwards, R.L., 2006. Evidence of Holocene uplift in east New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L18612, doi:10.1029/2006GL026596 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Wallace L., Silver E., Applegate., B., Potts D., Braga J. C., Coleman-Riker K and Gallup C, 2004. Drowned carbonate platforms in the Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea., Geochem. Geophys.Geosyst, 5,Q11008,doi:10.1029/2004GC000726 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Clague, D. A., Coleman-Riker K., Gallup C., Braga J. C., Potts D., Moore. G. J., Winterer, E. L., Paull. C. K, 2004. Drowning of the -150 m reef off Hawaii: A casualty of global meltwater pulse 1A?, Geology 32, 249-252 (Abstract)
  • Davies, P.J, Braga J. C, Lund, M., Webster, J. M., 2004. Holocene deep water algal buildups on the Eastern Australian Shelf. PALAIOS, 19, 598-609 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Wallace L., Silver E., Potts D., Braga J. C., Renema W., Coleman-Riker K and Gallup C, 2004. Coralgal composition of drowned carbonate platforms in the Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea; implications for lowstand reef development and drowning. Marine Geology, 204, 59-89 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., Davies, P.J, 2003. Coral variations in two deep drill cores from the Northern Great Barrier Reef: significance for the Pleistocene development of the Great Barrier Reef. In: Blanchon, P and Montaggioni, L. P, (Eds), Late Quaternary Reef Development, Elsevier, Sedimentary Geology, 159, (1-2), 61-80 (Abstract)
  • Abram N., Webster, J. M., Davies P. J, Dullo W. Ch , 2001. Biological response of coral reefs to sea-surface temperature variation: Evidence from the raised Holocene reefs at Kikai-jima (Ryukyu Islands, Japan). Coral Reefs, 20, 221-234 (Abstract)
  • International Consortium for Great Barrier Reef Drilling, 2001. (Alexander, I., Andres, M. S., Braithwaite, C. J. R., Braga, J. C., Davies P. J., Elderfield. H., Gilmour, M. A., Kay, R. L., Kroon, D., McKenzie, J. A., Montaggioni L. F., Skinner, A., Thompson, R., Vasconcelos, C., Webster, J. M., and Wilson, P. A.). New constraints on the origin of the Australian Great Barrier Reef: Results from an international project of deep coring. Geology, 29 (6): 483-486 (Abstract)
  • Webster, J. M., P.J. Davies and Konishi K, 1998. Model of fringing reef development in response to progressive sea-level fall over the last 7,000 years – (Ryukyu Islands, Japan). Coral Reefs 17 (3), 289-308, Special Issue of Coral Reefs (Holocene and Pleistocene reef geology) (Abstract)

Units Taught

GEOS1001 - Earth, Environment and Society
GEOS2115 - Oceans, Coasts and Climate
GEOS3009 - Coast Environments and Processes
MARS5007 - Coral Reefs and Climate Change

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