Marine connectivity patterns around the Australian continent

The Australian Connectivity Interface or Aus-ConnIe has been developed as a web-tool for marine scientists and managers to investigate the large-scale patterns of spatial connectivity around Australia associated with ocean currents. Specifically, it provides an estimate of the probability that any two regions of the upper water column are connected over a user specified dispersion period. Results generally compare favourably with observed trajectories of satellite-tracked ocean drifters. Aus-ConnIe is expected to find applications in areas such as larval dispersion and recruitment studies, and the development of scenarios and preliminary risk assessments for contaminant dispersion.