Magryn were engaged by Adelaide University to assess present and future coastal hazards at Muralag Island (Prince of Wales Island) in the Torres Strait.
Muralag is the largest of the Torres Strait Islands and is home to a significant number of archaeological and cultural heritage sites of importance to the Kaurareg People, the island's Traditional Owners.
Increasing rates of coastal erosion and rising sea levels pose a growing and urgent threat to these sites. Magryn undertook a coastal geomorphology review, historical shoreline change analysis, water level determination for present-day and future conditions, and bathtub flood mapping across all four sites.
A hazard and risk assessment was produced for each area, identifying which archaeological sites are at risk of inundation under 1:1 through to 1:100 ARI storm tide events across current and future sea level projections.
Numerical inundation modelling of Long Beach, the site identified by the Client and Kaurareg Community as the priority area, was undertaken by project partners Port and Coastal Solutions (PCS).
PCS utilised a state of the art model of the Torres Strait, producing outputs for maximum inundation extent, water depth, current speed, and flood duration.
Magryn prepared adaptation guidance for the University and Kaurareg Community covering a range of potential measures including engineered revetments, dune restoration, hybrid protection approaches, cultural heritage relocation, monitoring programmes, and community led initiatives.
Findings
The findings confirm that low-lying archaeological sites at all four areas of interest face substantial and increasing inundation risk, and that further targeted investigations and community-engaged management planning are warranted.
