Professor Jody Webster
Room 440
Student office/zoom hour Tues 1-2 pm (or by appointment)
Professor Jody Webster is Co-Coordinator of the Geocoastal Research Group (GRG) in the School of Geosciences. His research is multidisciplinary in nature, encompassing traditional sedimentology and stratigraphy, combined with the novel use of marine geology and geophysics, paleoecology, geochemistry and numerical modelling. Jody is also heavily involved in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and is focused on recovering sediment cores from the seabed to understand past sea level and climate changes.
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, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Brazil).
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 International Ocean Discovery 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 across Australia and overseas, have been awarded several large ARC Discovery grants and major research shiptime awards to investigate the evolution of the Great Barrier Reef in response to sea level, climate and and palaeoenviromental changes.
Several funded honors and PhD student projects are now available. Please contact Jody directly if you are interested.
GEOS2115, GEOS3009, MARS5007
See GRG website for an upto date list of current and past supervised Honours, Masters and PhD student.
Several funded honors and PhD student projects are now available. Please contact Jody directly if you are interested.
Member of IODP3Facility Board (MSP-FB) 2025-
Member of IODP ECORD Facility Board (FB) (ANZIC Representative) 2023-2024
Adjunct Researcher Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
The International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS)
AGU
International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) - Associate Editor (AE) - Sedimentology Journal
2021 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence- Outstanding Research (University of Sydney)
(Prof. Alex Bastos (UFES)) GRG collaborator | |
(Prof. Yusuke Yokoyama (U Tokyo) A/Prof. Marc Humblet (U Nagoya) Prof. Kazuhiko Fujita (U Ryukyus)) Collaboration | |
(Prof. Juan Carlos Braga (U Granada)) GRG collaborator | |
(Dr. Nicola Allison (University of St. Andrews) Dr Jon Hill (Uni. York) Prof. Paula Reimer (U Belfast)) GRG Collaborators | |
(Prof. Don Potts (UCSC) Prof. Christina Ravelo (UCSC) Prof Andrea Dutton (U Wisconsin-Madison)) GRG collaborators |
Project title | Research student |
---|---|
Reconstructing Quaternary climate and coral reef development on Australia's NW and NE shelves: a forward stratigraphic modelling approach | Carra WILLIAMS |
Publications
Book Chapters
- Woodroffe, C., Webster, J. (2025). Coral records of relative sea-level changes. In Scott Elias (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, (pp. 107-125). UK: Elsevier. [More Information]
- Webb, G., Webster, J. (2022). Scientific drilling on the GBR: unlocking the geologic history of the reef. In Sarah Hamylton, Pat Hutchings and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (Eds.), Coral Reefs of Australia: Perspectives from Beyond the Water's Edge. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.
- Puga-Bernabeu, A., Webster, J., Beaman, R., Thran, A., Lopez-Cabrera, J., Hinestrosa, G., Daniell, J. (2020). Submarine Landslides Along the Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate Margin of the Great Barrier Reef (Offshore Australia). In Kei Ogata, Andrea Festa, Gian Andrea Pini (Eds.), Submarine Landslides Subaqueous Mass Transport Deposits from Outcrops to Seismic Profiles, (pp. 313-337). Hoboken: American Geophysical Union. [More Information]
Journals
- Reolid, J., Bialik, O., Lindhorst, S., Eisermann, J., Petrovic, A., Hincke, C., Beaman, R., Webster, J., Betzler, C. (2024). A new type of Halimeda bioherm on the Queensland Plateau, NE Australia. Coral Reefs. [More Information]
- Deo, R., John, C., Zhang, C., Whitton, K., Salles, T., Webster, J., Chandra, R. (2024). Deepdive: Leveraging Pre-trained Deep Learning for Deep-Sea ROV Biota Identification in the Great Barrier Reef. Scientific Data, 11(1), 957. [More Information]
- Betzler, C., Lüdmann, T., Hübscher, C., Lindhorst, S., Hincke, C., Eisermann, J., Bialik, O., Reolid, J., Beaman, R., Webster, J. (2024). Dismantling of an isolated tropical carbonate platform through flank collapse and canyon erosion, Coral Sea, Northeast Australia. Marine Geology, 475, 107361. [More Information]
Conferences
- Vila-Concejo, A., Scambary, L., Johansson, L., Duce, S., Hamylton, S., Webster, J., Salles, T., Fujita, K., Kan, H. (2019). Wave dissipation and lagoon infilling in the Southern Great Barrier Reef Coastal Sediments. Coastal Sediments 2019, USA: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. [More Information]
- Pall, J., Webster, J., Salles, T. (2018). Climate Studies. Geological Society of Australia Earth Sciences Student Symposium 2017, Australia: Geological Society of Australia.
- Duce, S., Vila-Concejo, A., Hamylton, S., Webster, J. (2015). A geomorphic classification of spurs and grooves: towards a global understanding of high-energy reefs. International Quaternary Association, Japan, Jul 2015.
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Webster, J., McNeil, M., Bostock, H., Nothdurft, L., Byrne, M. (2023). Making sense of the Great Barrier Reef’s mysterious green donuts. Eos.
- McNeil, M., Hoey, A., Webster, J., Nothdurft, L. (2021). Life on the hidden doughnuts of the Great Barrier Reef is also threatened by climate change. The Conversation, Article number 154266.
- Webster, J., Beaman, R., Bridge, T., Davies, P., Byrne, M., Williams, S., Manning, P., Pizarro, O., Thomas, A., Tudhope, S., Thornborough, K., Woolsey, E. (2008). From Corals to Canyons: The Great Barrier Reef Margin. EOS Transactions American Geophysical Union, 89,24.
Report
- Webster, J., Ravelo, A., Grant, H. (2024). International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 389 Preliminary Report.
- Webster, J., Ravelo, A., Grant, H. (2023). Expedition 389 Scientific Prospectus: Hawaiian Drowned Reefs.
- Mohtadi, M., Beaman, R., Boehnert, S., Daumann, M., Floren, V., Gould, J., Hirabayashi, S., Hollstein, M., Kienast, M., Luckge, A., O'Toole, L., Pall, J., Sanborn, K., Webster, J., et al (2017). R/V SONNE Cruise Report SO256, TACTEAC, Temperature And Circulation History of The East Australian Current, Auckland (New Zealand) – Darwin (Australia), 17 April – 09 May 2017.
Other
- Webster, J. (2018), Rise and fall of the Great Barrier Reef over 30,000 years.
- Webster, J., Braga, J., Humblet, M., Potts, D., Iryu, Y., Hinestrosa, G., Bourillot, R., Seard, C., Camoin, G., Yokoyama, Y., et al (2012), IODP Expedition 325 to the Great Barrier Reef: unlocking the history of reef growth and demise since the Last Glacial Maximum.
- Woolsey, E., Byrne, M., Webster, J., Williams, S., Pizarro, O., Thornborough, K., Davies, P., Beaman, R., Bridge, T. (2012), Ophiopsila pantherina beds on subaqueous dunes off the Great Barrier Reef.
Research Reports
- Webster, J., Yokoyama, Y., Cotterill, C., Anderson, L., Green, S., Bourillot, R., Braga, J., Droxler, A., Esat, T., Felis, T., et al (2010). Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 325 Preliminary Report Great Barrier Reef environmental changes The last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific: offshore drilling northeast Australia, (pp. 9 - 127). United States of America: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International.
- Webster, J., Yokoyama, Y., Cotterill, C. (2009). Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 325 Scientific Prospectus: Great Barrier Reef environmental changes - The last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific:offshore drilling northeast Australia 2009, 325, (pp. 1 - 70). United States of America: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International.
2025
- Woodroffe, C., Webster, J. (2025). Coral records of relative sea-level changes. In Scott Elias (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, (pp. 107-125). UK: Elsevier. [More Information]
2024
- Reolid, J., Bialik, O., Lindhorst, S., Eisermann, J., Petrovic, A., Hincke, C., Beaman, R., Webster, J., Betzler, C. (2024). A new type of Halimeda bioherm on the Queensland Plateau, NE Australia. Coral Reefs. [More Information]
- Deo, R., John, C., Zhang, C., Whitton, K., Salles, T., Webster, J., Chandra, R. (2024). Deepdive: Leveraging Pre-trained Deep Learning for Deep-Sea ROV Biota Identification in the Great Barrier Reef. Scientific Data, 11(1), 957. [More Information]
- Betzler, C., Lüdmann, T., Hübscher, C., Lindhorst, S., Hincke, C., Eisermann, J., Bialik, O., Reolid, J., Beaman, R., Webster, J. (2024). Dismantling of an isolated tropical carbonate platform through flank collapse and canyon erosion, Coral Sea, Northeast Australia. Marine Geology, 475, 107361. [More Information]
2023
- Hassan, M., Tagliaro, G., Harper, B., Droxler, A., Herrero-Bervera, E., Yokoyama, Y., Puga-Bernabeu, A., Webster, J., Jovane, L. (2023). A magnetic and geochemical approach to the changing sedimentation accumulation on the upper slope of the great barrier reef, northeastern Australian margin. Quaternary Science Reviews, 315(Article 108230). [More Information]
- Wright, R., Beaman, R., Daniell, J., Bridge, T., Pall, J., Webster, J. (2023). Benthic communities of the lower mesophotic zone on One Tree shelf edge, southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 74(13), 1178-1192. [More Information]
- Harris, D., Webster, J., Vila-Concejo, A., Duce, S., Leon, J., Hacker, J. (2023). Defining multi-scale surface roughness of a coral reef using a high-resolution LiDAR digital elevation model. Geomorphology, 439(Article 108852). [More Information]
2022
- Esat, T., Yokoyama, Y., Webster, J. (2022). Constraining rapid sea level change through radiometric dating of corals growing over a range in paleowater depths. Quaternary Science Advances, 7, 100053-1-100053-6. [More Information]
- Webster, J., Dechnik, B., Sanborn, K., Yokoyama, Y., Braga, J., Renema, W., Humblet, M., Beaman, R., Nothdurft, L., Webb, G., Murphy, R., et al (2022). Coral reef development and sea-level changes over the past 50,000 years: new evidence from the northwest shelf of Australia. IAS Special Publication ‘Coral Reefs and Sea-Level Change: Quaternary Records and Modelling A window into the Future’, SP49, 215-273. [More Information]
- McNeil, M., Nothdurft, L., Hua, Q., Webster, J., Moss, P. (2022). Evolution of the inter-reef Halimeda carbonate factory in response to Holocene sea-level and environmental change in the Great Barrier Reef. Quaternary Science Reviews, 277(107347), 1-19. [More Information]
2021
- Hallmann, N., Camoin, G., Webster, J., Humblet, M. (2021). A standardized database of Marine Isotopic Stage 5e sea-level proxies on tropical Pacific islands. Earth System Science Data, 13(6), 2651-2699. [More Information]
- Lebrec, U., Lang, S., Paumard, V., O'Leary, M., Yokoyama, Y., Hacker, J., Webster, J. (2021). Discovery of Holocene ooid shoals in a siliciclastic delta, De Grey River, North West Shelf, Australia. Geology, 51(4), 366-371. [More Information]
- Dechnik, B., Bastos, A., Vieira, L., Webster, J., Fallon, S., Yokoyama, Y., Braga, J., Pereira, M., Nothdurft, L., Sanborn, K., et al (2021). Environmental controls on holocene reef development along the eastern brazilian margin. Coral Reefs, 40(4), 1321-1327. [More Information]
2020
- Sanborn, K., Webster, J., Webb, G., Braga, J., Humblet, M., Nothdurft, L., Patterson, M., Dechnik, B., Warner, S., Graham, T., Murphy, R., et al (2020). A new model of Holocene reef initiation and growth in response to sea-level rise on the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Sedimentary Geology, 397, 1-18. [More Information]
- Pall, J., Chandra, R., Azam, D., Salles, T., Webster, J., Scalzo, R., Cripps, S. (2020). Bayesreef: A Bayesian inference framework for modelling reef growth in response to environmental change and biological dynamics. Environmental Modelling and Software, 125, 1-19. [More Information]
- Patterson, M., Webster, J., Hutchings, P., Braga, J., Humblet, M., Yokoyama, Y. (2020). Bioerosion traces in the Great Barrier Reef over the past 10 to 30 kyr. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 542, 1-18. [More Information]
2019
- Yagioka, N., Nakada, C., Fujita, K., Kan, H., Yokoyama, Y., Webster, J. (2019). Depositional environments beneath the shelf-edge slopes of the Great Barrier Reef, inferred from foraminiferal assemblages: IODP Expedition 325. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 514, 386-397. [More Information]
- Sherman, C., Locker, S., Webster, J., Weinstein, D. (2019). Geology and Geomorphology. In Loya, Y., Puglise, K.A., Bridge, T.C.L. (Eds.), Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems, (pp. 849-878). Cham: Springer. [More Information]
- Dechnik, B., Bastos, A., Vieira, L., Webster, J., Fallon, S., Yokoyama, Y., Nothdurft, L., Sanborn, K., Batista, J., Moura, R., et al (2019). Holocene reef growth in the tropical southwestern Atlantic: Evidence for sea level and climate instability. Quaternary Science Reviews, 218, 365-377. [More Information]
2018
- Salles, T., Ding, X., Webster, J., Vila-Concejo, A., Brocard, G., Pall, J. (2018). A unified framework for modelling sediment fate from source to sink and its interactions with reef systems over geological times. Scientific Reports, 2018 (8), 1-11. [More Information]
- Bastos, A., Moura, R., Moraes, F., Vieira, L., Braga, J., Ramalho, L., Amado-Filho, G., Magdalena, U., Webster, J. (2018). Bryozoans are Major Modern Builders of South Atlantic Oddly Shaped Reefs. Scientific Reports, 8(9638), 1-11. [More Information]
- Pall, J., Webster, J., Salles, T. (2018). Climate Studies. Geological Society of Australia Earth Sciences Student Symposium 2017, Australia: Geological Society of Australia.
2017
- Humblet, M., Webster, J. (2017). Coral community changes in the Great Barrier Reef in response to major environmental changes over glacial-interglacial timescales. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 472, 216-235. [More Information]
- Rohling, E., Hibbert, F., Williams, F., Grant, K., Marino, G., Foster, G., Hennekam, R., de lange, G., Roberts, A., Yu, J., Webster, J., et al (2017). Differences between the last two glacial maxima and implications for ice-sheet, d18O, and sea-level reconstructions. Quaternary Science Reviews, 176, 1-28. [More Information]
- Puga-Bernabeu, A., Beaman, R., Webster, J., Thomas, A., Jacobsen, G. (2017). Gloria Knolls Slide: A prominent submarine landslide complex on the Great Barrier Reef margin of north-eastern Australia. Marine Geology, 385, 68-83. [More Information]
2016
- Duce, S., Vila-Concejo, A., Hamylton, S., Webster, J., Bruce, E., Beaman, R. (2016). A morphometric assessment and classification of coral reef spur and groove morphology. Geomorphology, 265, 68-83. [More Information]
- Lopez-Cabrera, F., Puga-Bernabeu, A., Webster, J., Beaman, R. (2016). Analisis morfometrico de los deslizamientos submarinos en el sector central del margen de la Gran Barrera de Arrecifes, noreste de Australia [Morphometric analysis of the submarine landslides in the central Great Barrier Reef margin, north-eastern Australia]. Geogaceta, 60, 43-46.
- Renema, W., Pandolfi, J., Kiessling, W., Bosellini, F., Klaus, J., Korpanty, C., Rosen, B., Santodomingo, N., Wallace, C., Webster, J., et al (2016). Are coral reefs victims of their own past success? Ecology, 2(4), 1-6. [More Information]
2015
- Duce, S., Vila-Concejo, A., Hamylton, S., Webster, J. (2015). A geomorphic classification of spurs and grooves: towards a global understanding of high-energy reefs. International Quaternary Association, Japan, Jul 2015.
- Insua, L., Hamel, L., Moran, K., Anderson, L., Webster, J. (2015). Advanced classification of carbonate sediments based on physical properties. Sedimentology, 62(2), 590-606. [More Information]
- Camoin, G., Webster, J. (2015). Coral reef response to Quaternary sea-level and environmental changes: State of the science. Sedimentology, 62(2), 401-428. [More Information]
2014
- Camoin, G., Webster, J. (2014). Coral Reefs and Sea-Level Change. In Stein, Blackman, Inagaki and Larsen (Eds.), Earth and Life Processes Discovered from Subseafloor Environments, (pp. 395-441). Netherlands: Elsevier. [More Information]
- Woodroffe, C., Webster, J. (2014). Coral reefs and sea-level change. Marine Geology, 352, 248-267. [More Information]
- Puga-Bernabeu, A., Webster, J., Beaman, R., Reimer, P., Renema, W. (2014). Filling the gap: A 60 ky record of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic turbidite deposition from the Great Barrier Reef. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 50, 40-50. [More Information]
2013
- Gischler, E., Dietrich, S., Harris, D., Webster, J., Ginsburg, R. (2013). A comparative study of modern carbonate mud in reefs and carbonate platforms: Mostly biogenic, some precipitated. Sedimentary Geology, 292, 36-55. [More Information]
- Vila-Concejo, A., Harris, D., Shannon, A., Power, H., Webster, J. (2013). Coral reef sediment dynamics: evidence of sand-apron evolution on a daily and a decadal scale. International Coastal Symposium, Plymouth University: Plymouth University.
- Vila-Concejo, A., Harris, D., Shannon, A., Webster, J., Power, H. (2013). Coral reef sediment dynamics: evidence of sand-apron evolution on a daily and decadal scale. Journal of Coastal Research, 65, 606-611. [More Information]
2012
- Barrett, S., Webster, J. (2012). 3D numerical modelling of the Holocene evolution of One Tree Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef: Implications for understanding the growth and architecture of coral reefs. European Geophysical Union, Europe: EGU.
- Thomas, A., Fujita, K., Iryu, Y., Bard, E., Cabioch, G., Camoin, G., Cole, J., Deschamps, P., Durand, N., Hamelin, B., Webster, J., et al (2012). Assessing subsidence rates and paleo water-depths for Tahiti reefs using U-Th chronology of altered corals. Marine Geology, 295-298, 86-94. [More Information]
- Humblet, M., Potts, D., Webster, J. (2012). Changing coral assemblages since the Last Glacial Maximum: IODP Expedition 325. 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns: ICRS.
2011
- Gischler, E., Droxler, A., Webster, J. (2011). Facies and diagenesis of older Pleistocene coral reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Meeting / AAPG 2011: Making the Next Giant Leap in Geosciences.
- Harris, D., Webster, J., De Carli, E., Vila-Concejo, A. (2011). Geomorphology and morphodynamics of a sand apron, One Tree Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 64, 760-764.
- Abbey, E., Webster, J., 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, 61-78. [More Information]
2010
- Hearty, P., Webster, J., Clague, D., Clague, D., Bright, J., Southon, J., Renema, W. (2010). A pulse of ooid formation in Maui Nui (Hawaiian Islands) during Termination I. Marine Geology, 268(1-4), 152-162. [More Information]
- Lado-Insua, T., Moran, K., Anderson, L., Webster, J., Morgan, S., Fehr, A., Lofi, J., Lukies, V., Loggia, D. (2010). Are physical properties able to differentiate glacial and interglacial coral identity. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2010 / AGU 2010. American Geophysical Union.
- Williams, S., Pizarro, O., Webster, J., Beaman, R., Mahon, I., Johnson-Roberson, M., Bridge, T. (2010). Autonomous Underwater Vehicle-Assisted Surveying of Drowned Reefs on the Shelf Edge of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Journal of Field Robotics, 27(5), 675-697. [More Information]
2009
- Webster, J., Braga, J., Clague, D., Gallup, C., Hein, J., Potts, D., Renema, W., Riding, R., Riker-Coleman, K., Silver, E., et al (2009). Coral reef evolution on rapidly subsiding margins. Global and Planetary Change, 66(1-2), 129-148. [More Information]
- Webster, J., Yokoyama, Y., Cotterill, C. (2009). Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 325 Scientific Prospectus: Great Barrier Reef environmental changes - The last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific:offshore drilling northeast Australia 2009, 325, (pp. 1 - 70). United States of America: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International.
- Camoin, G., Seard, C., Deschamps, P., Webster, J., Abbey, E., Braga, J., Durand, N., Bard, E., Hamelin, B., Yokoyama, Y. (2009). Reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglaciation. IODP Expedition 310 “Tahiti Sea Level�. EGU General Assembly 2009, Vienna: EGU.
2008
- Hughey, J., Braga, J., Aguirre, J., Woelkerling, W., Webster, J. (2008). Analysis of ancient DNA from fossil corallines (Corallinales, Rhodophyta). Journal of Psychology, 44(2), 374-383. [More Information]
- Williams, S., Pizarro, O., Johnson-Roberson, M., Mahon, I., Webster, J. (2008). AUV-assisted surveying of Relic Reef sites. 2008 MTS/IEEE Oceans Conference.
- Webster, J., Beaman, R., Bridge, T., Davies, P., Byrne, M., Williams, S., Manning, P., Pizarro, O., Thomas, A., Tudhope, S., Thornborough, K., Woolsey, E. (2008). From Corals to Canyons: The Great Barrier Reef Margin. EOS Transactions American Geophysical Union, 89,24.
2007
- Lewis, S., Wust, R., Webster, J., Shields, G. (2007). Mid-late Holocene sea-level variability in eastern Australia. Terra Nova: the European journal of geosciences, 20(1), 74-81. [More Information]
- Webster, J., Wallace, L., Clague, D., Braga, J. (2007). Numerical modeling of the growth and drowning of Hawaiian coral reefs during the last two glacial cycles (0-250 kyr). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 8(3), Q03011. [More Information]
- Allison, N., Finch, A., Webster, J., Clague, D. (2007). Palaeoenvironmental records from fossil corals: The effects of submarine diagenesis on temperature and climate estimates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71(19), 4693-4703. [More Information]
2006
- Webster, J., Clague, D., Braga, J., Spalding, H., Renema, W., Kelley, C., Applegate, B., Smith, J., Paull, C., Moore, J., et al (2006). Drowned coralline algal dominated deposits off Lanai, Hawaii; carbonate accretion and vertical tectonics over the last 30 ka. Marine Geology, 225(1-4), 223-246. [More Information]
- Riker-Coleman, K., Gallup, C., Wallace, L., Webster, J., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. (2006). Evidence of Holocene uplift in east New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Geophysical Research Letters, 33(L18612), L18612-1-L18612-4. [More Information]
2005
- Camoin, G., Iryu, Y., McInroy, D., Webster, J. (2005). Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Volume 310 Expedition Reports TAHITI SEA LEVEL. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Texas: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International.
2004
- Webster, J., Wallace, L., Silver, E., Potts, D., Braga, J., Renema, W., Riker-Coleman, K., 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.
- Davies, P., Braga, J., Lund, M., Webster, J. (2004). Holocene Deep Water Algal Buildups on the Eastern Australian Shelf. Palaios, 19(6), 598-609. [More Information]
2003
- Webster, J., Davies, P. (2003). Coral variation in two deep drill cores: significance for the Pleistocene development of the Great Barrier Reef. Sedimentary Geology, 159, 61-80. [More Information]
2001
- Davies, P., Webster, J., Abram, N., Dullo, W. (2001). Biological response of coral reefs to sea surface temperature variation: evidence from the raised Holocene reefs of Kikai-jima (Ryukyu Islands, Japan). Coral Reefs, 20, 221-234.
- Alexander, I., Andres, M., Braithwaite, C., Braga, J., Cooper, M., Davies, P., Elderfield, H., Gilmour, M., Kay, R., Kroon, D., Webster, J., et al (2001). New constraints on the origin of the Australian Great Barrier Reef: Results from an international project of deep coring. Geology, 29(6), 483-486.
1998
- Webster, J., Davies, P., Konishi, K. (1998). Model of fringing reef development in response to progressive sea level fall over the last 7000 years - (Kikai-jima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan). Coral Reefs, 17, 289-308. [More Information]
Selected Grants
2023
- IODP Expedition 389: Hawaiian Drowned Reefs, a Mission Specific Platform (MSP), Webster J, Australian and New Zealand International Ocean Discovery Program Consortium (ANZIC)/Research Support
- Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program 2023-24, Webster J, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF)
2022
- IODP Expedition 389 Hawaiian Drown Reefs, Webster J, Australian and New Zealand International Ocean Discovery Program Consortium (ANZIC)/Research Support
In the media
29/04/24
How did the early Great Barrier Reef manage rapid environmental change? A new study, conducted at the University of Sydney research station at One Tree Island, shows that coral reef growth wasn’t halted but just went deeper, slower. The research was conducted at theUniversity of Sydney research station at One Tree Island, in collaboration with the University of Queensland, Southern Cross University and the University of Tokyo. Using a jack-up drill rig, geoscientists drilled into the reef, extracting cores from 12 sites. The extracted cores provided fossilised records of corals for examination and geochemical analysis (paleowater quality reconstructions) . Check out the interestingpress releasecovering some highlights of this amazing research voyage.
22/02/24
International research team obtains first high-resolution fossil coral record of environmental data off Hawai’i. Check out the interestingpress releasecovering some of the details of IODP Exp. 389.
19/10/22
Unravelling the mystery of green doughnuts on the Great Barrier Reef. Halimeda bioherms are one of the poorest understood parts of the reef. In this multidisciplinary study of the area, under a fact-finding project namedHALO, a team of Australian and international scientists set out aboard the CSIRO research vesselRVInvestigatorto understand how these sometimes near-perfect rings formed over the past 12,000 years of the Holocene, their importance as reef habitats and their role in cycling chemicals. Check out the interesting press release covering some highlights of this amazing research voyage.
12/12/20
Nice outreach video covering the objectives of our Ice Age Geology of the Great Barrier Reef Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) voyage (FK201122) to the southern GBR.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YN1diD6Nc&w=987&h=555]
3/09/20
Geologic ‘glue’ thickness is an accurate measure for historic pH. Thispaperhas been getting some nice media coverage andbuilds directly on theNatureandNature Geosciencepapers we published recently on theIODP Exp. 325(Great Barrier Reef Environmental Changes) and provides important new insights into the role that microbialites played in the growth and development of the Great Barrier reef over the past 30,000 years.
18/08/20
Coral Sea’s deep-water reef secrets revealed as pandemic sees research ship redeployed. Check this nice coverage by the ABC of our recently completedSchmidt Ocean Institute (SOI)voyage investigating the reefs out in theCoral Sea. The Schmidt Ocean Institute works to advance the frontiers of global marine research by providing state of the art operational, technological, and informational support to the pioneering ocean science and technology development projects at sea. Scientists are able to bid for ship (RV Falkor) and ROV (SuBastian) time through a competitive proposal process and the GRG, with colleagues from around Australia, is involved in several cruises in the region in 2020.
04/12/19
Great Barrier Reef study shows how reef copes with rapid sea-level rise,PhD studentKelsey Sanbornhas shown how the reef has dealt with environmental stresses in the recent past in order to understand how it might react to climate change in the future.“We wanted to understand past reef resilience to multiple environmental stresses during the formation of the modern reef,” said lead authorKelsey Sanborn.
01/07/19
Why revisiting the Great Barrier Reef’s past could protect its future, Could reimagining 500,000 years of evolution uncover how to conserve one of the world’s greatest natural wonders — the Great Barrier Reef? An interesting article as part of USYD branding campaign“Unlearning the reef to predicts its future”to promote the GRG’s work on coral reef systems.
24/11/19
Marine heatwaves and the GBR. Check out this TV spot we did for the ABC National news Nov 24th. Some beautiful imagery of One Tree Reef where the GRG is doing alot of interesting coral reef geology, physical process measurements and numerical modeling.
25/07/18
Fossil reefs record rapid changes in global ice sheets.Check out this TV spot I did for the BBC World News about the publication of our recent sea level research published inNature.
28/05/18
Rise and a fall of the Great Barrier Reef over the past 30,000 years.See the link for a summary of the wide media exposure our recent paper inNature Geosciencegenerated. The paper was also names in the top 10 (#4)science discoveriesat USYD in 2018.
29/04/18
Untangling the role of climate on sediment and reef evolution over millennial timescales
24/10/17
Check out this new article by the website CNET. GRG Collaborator Rob Beaman and I make an appearance talking about using multibeam sonar to map the GBR sea bed. This part of a larger series of articles focused coral reefs and climate change.
03/10/17
Catalyst: Can we save the reef? An interesting program hosted by Prof. Emma Johnston that aired on3rd Oct 2017. Our segment on the evolution of the GBR through time in response to natural climate change appears about 36 mins into the program.
[wpvideo zq338nlM]
28/09/17
Evidence of reef drowning around Hawaii as a result of catastrophic sea level rise about 14,700 years ago. Some nice media coverage of GRG PhD student Kelsey Sanborn's new paper providingevidence of a meltwater pulse (referred to as meltwater pulse 1-A), based on analysis of fossil coral reef samples from off the coast of Kawaihae, on the northwest of the Big Island of Hawaii.
7/02/17
Largest undersea landslide revealed on Great Barrier Reef; also check out the interview our GRG collaborator Rob Beaman did with Fran Kelly on the ABC Radio National Breakfast Program[audio mp3="https://grgusyd.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/bst_20170208_0754.mp3"][/audio].
15/01/17
Great Barrier Reef almost drowned during Last Interglacial, climate impact study finds.
The segment was also aired on the ABC National News on 15th Jan 2017.
14/09/16
Halimeda bioherms - huge "doughnut reefs" discovered behind the Great Barrier Reef
25/11/15
Tsunamis and the Great Barrier
New reef coring campaign unlocks the climate change secrets of the Great Barrier Reef
05/05/15
Reef slowdown after Ice Age sounds a warning for Great Barrier Reef's future
22/01/15
Relative sea level ~2,000 years ago controls Great Barrier Reef lagoon sediment infilling
21/12/12
Submarine landslides in the GBR
01/07/10
More IODP Exp. 325 coverage