Southern Cross University

Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland’s coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorus having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. Groundwater discharge accounted for approximately one-third of new nitrogen and two-thirds of phosphorus inputs, indicating that nearly twice the amount of nitrogen enters the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters. Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland's coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorus having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. The findings, published today in Environmental Science and Technology, indicate current efforts to preserve and restore the health of the Reef may require a new perspective. Southern Cross University's Dr Douglas Tait leads the ground-breaking study, 'Submarine groundwater discharge exceeds river inputs as a source of nutrients to the Great Barrier Reef'. Submarine groundwater discharge is any water released to the ocean below the waterline from various sources, including underground aquifers and the seafloor. The research team, which also includes CSIRO, AIMS and Gothenburg University (Sweden), collected data from offshore transects, rivers and coastal bores in an area from south of Rockhampton to north of Cairns. The use of radium isotopes allowed the scientists to track how much nutrient is transported from the land and shelf sediments via invisible groundwater flows. Southern Cross Professor Damien Maher said the team's work showed that groundwater discharge was 10-15 times greater than river inputs, something previously unaccounted for. "Groundwater discharge accounted for approximately one-third of new nitrogen and two-thirds of phosphorus inputs, indicating that nearly twice the amount of nitrogen enters the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters," Professor Maher said. Professor Maher added that the lion's share of efforts to mitigate the impact of nutrients on the Reef were focused on outflow from river systems. Lead author Dr Douglas Tait said: "Nutrients are essential to support the incredible biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef." "However, an excess of nutrients can lead to detrimental issues such as harmful algal blooms, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, and fish diseases, which have been on the rise in the Reef over the past few decades. "Our study underscores the need for a strategic shift in management approaches aimed at safeguarding the Great Barrier Reef from the effects of excess nutrients." Dr Tait said unlike river outflow, nutrients in groundwater could be stored for decades underground before being discharged into coastal waters, meaning research and strategies to protect the Reef needed to be long-term. "This study sheds new light on the complex nutrient dynamics within the Great Barrier Reef," Dr Tait said. "Our understanding and ability to manage the sources of nutrients is pivotal in preserving the Reef for generations to come." The project was supported with funding from the Australian Research Council, the Herman Slade Foundation and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

"Right now, humans are the leaders, managers, and decision makers in these complex health services, but AI is transforming this space." TORONTO and PHILADELPHIA, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian researchers have established a set of protocols for a research project in JMIR Research Protocols that aims to explore whether humans will continue in meaningful decision-making roles in an AI-driven future. The researchers, Dr Nandini Doreswamy and Dr Louise Horstmanshof from Southern Cross University, found that there is a dearth of guidance in establishing whole sets of protocols for methods used in complex health research. They have now established protocols that focus on non-clinical health services such as health regulation and health policy. These health services can be complex, the researchers say, and even more extensive in their scope and scale than clinical healthcare. During the pandemic, these services formed a continuum of rules, laws, and public health measures that varied from country to country. An array of organizations, including private organizations, commercial concerns, and different levels of government may be involved in the oversight and control of these services. "Right now, humans are the leaders, managers, and decision makers in these complex health services, " Dr Doreswamy said, "but AI is transforming this space. The time has come to ask whether humans will continue to have meaningful decision-making roles in this domain." AI-driven decision-making may not be as accountable, unbiased, or transparent as required, the researchers say, but nevertheless, it is starting to dominate these complex domains. It may be prone to incorrect or unfair decisions, which is, perhaps, why AI is not currently allowed to make the final decisions in complex health services. "Furthermore, rationality has long dominated this space," Dr Horstmanshof said. "What role does intuition play?" The researchers have established protocols for a research project that aims to explore these questions. The project will consist of four steps. The first is a review that will identify and map human attributes that influence decision-making in complex health services. The second is also a review, one that will identify and map AI attributes that influence decision-making in this context. The third step is a comparative analysis of the two sets of attributes - human and AI - to find out whether humans have attributes that could influence decision-making for the better. The fourth and final step is a simulation study, where a virtual human and a virtual AI decision maker will be introduced into a simulated health policy environment. "We want to explore, observe, and document how humans interact with AI, at least in a simulated environment," Dr Doreswamy said. "It may show us whether humans are likely to compete, cooperate, or converge with AI, and thus remain relevant in the decision-making of the future, in complex healthcare." Dr Horstmanshof noted that the protocols not only provide a roadmap for the proposed research, but also provide an example of a 'protocol of protocols' for methods used in health research. This may be relevant and useful in other spheres of complex research, she said, such as human-AI interaction and health informatics. It may also offer an opportunity to further investigate the issue of bias, the dominance of rationality, and the likely influence of intuition. DOI - Full-text - Corresponding author - Nandini Doreswamy, MBA, MBBS, MS, National Coalition of Independent Scholars, Suite 465, 48 Dickson Place, Dickson, ACT, AU Phone - 61 424890997 Email - [email protected] Keywords - human decision-making, AI decision-making, human-AI interaction, human roles, artificial intelligence, nonclinical health services, health policy, health regulation About JMIR Publications JMIR Publications is a leading, born-digital, open access publisher of 30+ academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on the intersection of health and technology. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is the leading digital health journal globally in content breadth and visibility, and it is the largest journal in the medical informatics field. 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