OzCoasts

For a bunch of debtors and criminals, those Australians can put together some slick online Sciencey type resources, man. I just found this online: OzCoasts, which is a huge database of coastal environments, including much of the geomorphic, meteorological, biological, and geological data from something like 780 coastal waterways in Australia. These data are all searchable, so it seems to be a pretty powerful set of tools for looking at a variety of environments.

They also have a pretty impressive library of general block diagrams and coastal system models, tailored for specific settings, and detailing any number of attributes, including hydrodynamics, depositional environments, and critters living in the setting. Furthermore, you can make your own block diagram, which is actually a pretty handy little tool for quickly whipping up a diagram for class. There are also whole lot of "Coastal Indicator Factsheets", including sections on sea-level rise, sediment quality, and habitat issues (among other things).

Also, they have some very nice interactive 3-D models of several localities, including Cockburn Sound and Sydney Harbor, which are both areas where a lot of work has been done. These maps include CHIRP derived bathymetry and sub-surface data, as well as details on grab-cores and samples from these localities.

All in all, there is a lot of stuff to look at on this site, and it would serve as a nice model for other databases for other geographic (or geomorphic) settings. Someone should really get on that.

Anyway, just so this isn't only text, here's a picture (from NASA WorldWind) of the Gascoyne River Delta:


And here's an unknown river a little south of the Gascoyne, winding its way through some dunes.