Impact of land use on cloud formation. Large scale land clearing has the potential to significantly modify regional climates yet current climate models do not incorporate an adequate representation of the land surface. Within Western Australia the rabbit fence provides a unique environment in which the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere can be studied without other competing influences. A combination of satellite, aircraft and ground based observations will be used to relate ....Impact of land use on cloud formation. Large scale land clearing has the potential to significantly modify regional climates yet current climate models do not incorporate an adequate representation of the land surface. Within Western Australia the rabbit fence provides a unique environment in which the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere can be studied without other competing influences. A combination of satellite, aircraft and ground based observations will be used to relate cloud formation to land characteristics and provide a clearer insight into the climatic impact of human-induced land surface changes.Read moreRead less
Interactions between sulfur, nitrogen, and iron cycles in the sustainable management and use of acid sulfate soils. Acid Sulfate Soils (ASS) can cause major land management and environmental problems. It has been proposed that the linkages between the Sulfur, Nitrogen, and Iron biogeochemical cycles deterrmine the environmental and crop production hazards associated with use of ASS. In order to develop best management practices for ASS, it is important to research those linkages and determine th ....Interactions between sulfur, nitrogen, and iron cycles in the sustainable management and use of acid sulfate soils. Acid Sulfate Soils (ASS) can cause major land management and environmental problems. It has been proposed that the linkages between the Sulfur, Nitrogen, and Iron biogeochemical cycles deterrmine the environmental and crop production hazards associated with use of ASS. In order to develop best management practices for ASS, it is important to research those linkages and determine their contribution to fluxes of materials exported from these soils. This project will carry out that research and will transfer results to industry partners to improve land management practices and identify appropriate landuses in ASS landcapes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453434
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,077.00
Summary
A new airborne facility for environmental, hydrological, atmospheric and oceanic research: high resolution measurement of soil moisture, temperature and salinity. This proposal seeks to establish a new national capability for airborne remote sensing of key environmental variables. It will enable high-resolution mapping of near-surface soil moisture, land surface salinity and temperature, and ocean surface salinity and temperature. It will be a new tool for hydrologic, atmospheric and oceanic r ....A new airborne facility for environmental, hydrological, atmospheric and oceanic research: high resolution measurement of soil moisture, temperature and salinity. This proposal seeks to establish a new national capability for airborne remote sensing of key environmental variables. It will enable high-resolution mapping of near-surface soil moisture, land surface salinity and temperature, and ocean surface salinity and temperature. It will be a new tool for hydrologic, atmospheric and oceanic researchers, providing unprecedented detail on characteristics critical to our understanding and management of the environment. The small instrument size and weight will enable use of a light aircraft as the observing platform, providing the national (and international) research community with an affordable tool, hitherto unavailable.Read moreRead less
Daily hydrological and erosion modelling utilising sub-daily rainfall intensity distributions. Australian catchments face major environmental problems. Computer modelling for predicting outcomes of management decisions, in the priority setting process and for assisting with setting local targets is central to environmental management today. This research will develop a new approach for modelling runoff and erosion that is consistent with key process time and space scales. The research is based o ....Daily hydrological and erosion modelling utilising sub-daily rainfall intensity distributions. Australian catchments face major environmental problems. Computer modelling for predicting outcomes of management decisions, in the priority setting process and for assisting with setting local targets is central to environmental management today. This research will develop a new approach for modelling runoff and erosion that is consistent with key process time and space scales. The research is based on improved process understanding and will utilize the large Australian database of hydroclimate and spatial data. This research will lead to improved estimation of runoff and erosion in gauged and ungauged catchments, allowing decisions on land and water resources and environmental management to be made with more reliable information.Read moreRead less
Coupled Atmosphere-Bushfire Modelling with Application to Canberra 2003. Large bushfires are by far the largest contributor to property losses in Australia. Prescribed fire is an important land management tool for farmers, foresters and park managers among others. There is a need to develop practical and accurate tools for predicting the behaviour and spread of both prescribed and uncontrolled fires. Australian bushfire research and land management would benefit greatly from the application of m ....Coupled Atmosphere-Bushfire Modelling with Application to Canberra 2003. Large bushfires are by far the largest contributor to property losses in Australia. Prescribed fire is an important land management tool for farmers, foresters and park managers among others. There is a need to develop practical and accurate tools for predicting the behaviour and spread of both prescribed and uncontrolled fires. Australian bushfire research and land management would benefit greatly from the application of modern, advanced computational methods. The time is ripe for the huge advances in computer technology and numerical modelling to be applied directly to fire problems, benefiting public safety and the safety of fire-fighting volunteers.Read moreRead less
The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data a ....The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data and model the Earth System will allow policymakers to make more informed decisions with regard to water, biodiversity, human health, industry and agriculture sustainability; thereby enhancing the national capacity to respond to climate change and variability and securing our common interest.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354594
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
The Australian Climate System Network. The climate system integrates the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, biosphere, land-surface and the fluxes of energy, water and biogeochemical quantities between these elements. Changes in climate affect Australia dramatically: for example, the cost of the recent drought exceeded $10 billion. To enable internationally competitive climate system research, networking is required to enhance our national capability and our international connectivity. We will expl ....The Australian Climate System Network. The climate system integrates the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, biosphere, land-surface and the fluxes of energy, water and biogeochemical quantities between these elements. Changes in climate affect Australia dramatically: for example, the cost of the recent drought exceeded $10 billion. To enable internationally competitive climate system research, networking is required to enhance our national capability and our international connectivity. We will explore the establishment of a Climate System Network by facilitating communication between Universities, government agencies and CRCs. The Climate System Network will enable new climate-related questions relating to the sustainability of the Australian physical and Human environments to be explored.Read moreRead less
Nutrient Cycling in Lagoon of Islands,Tasmania: management to control eutrophication. Hydro Tasmania manages the Lagoon of Islands, a shallow freshwater lake on Tasmania's central plateau. The lagoon provides irrigation water and supports a significant recreational fishery. Over the last decade the lake has suffered increased nutrient enrichment, despite catchment management works to reduce external nutrient loads.
Preliminary nutrient budgets suggest that a significant proportion of the wat ....Nutrient Cycling in Lagoon of Islands,Tasmania: management to control eutrophication. Hydro Tasmania manages the Lagoon of Islands, a shallow freshwater lake on Tasmania's central plateau. The lagoon provides irrigation water and supports a significant recreational fishery. Over the last decade the lake has suffered increased nutrient enrichment, despite catchment management works to reduce external nutrient loads.
Preliminary nutrient budgets suggest that a significant proportion of the water column nutrient load comes from the sediments, phytoplankton or macrophytes. Internal nutrient loads and loading mechanisms will be characterised. Cost effective strategies for their management will be developed utilising hydrological manipulation - a largely unexplored technique.Read moreRead less
Understanding the role of vegetation in nitrogen removal by biofiltration. Many of Australia's bays and waterways are threatened by eutrophication due to excess nitrogen loads, particularly from urban stormwater. Biofiltration systems are a widely used (Melbourne Water alone has a programme of constructing 10000 systems in partnership with municipalities over the next 5 years) and potentially effective treatment, but their nitrogen removal is highly dependent on the type of vegetation used. Th ....Understanding the role of vegetation in nitrogen removal by biofiltration. Many of Australia's bays and waterways are threatened by eutrophication due to excess nitrogen loads, particularly from urban stormwater. Biofiltration systems are a widely used (Melbourne Water alone has a programme of constructing 10000 systems in partnership with municipalities over the next 5 years) and potentially effective treatment, but their nitrogen removal is highly dependent on the type of vegetation used. This project will improve the understanding of the role of vegetation in nitrogen retention by stormwater biofilters, and will thus provide important guidance on plant selection and design for biofiltration.Read moreRead less
Physico-chemical Controls on Growth, Toxicity and Succession of Microcystis and Anabaena Species in Sydney Water Supply Reservoirs. Insight into the forms of nutrients that are most readily assimilated by Microcystis and Anabaena species prevalent in Lake Burragorang and other Sydney water supply reservoirs will assist in determining the key drivers to occurrence of blooms of these organisms, particularly when combined with an understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of the forms o ....Physico-chemical Controls on Growth, Toxicity and Succession of Microcystis and Anabaena Species in Sydney Water Supply Reservoirs. Insight into the forms of nutrients that are most readily assimilated by Microcystis and Anabaena species prevalent in Lake Burragorang and other Sydney water supply reservoirs will assist in determining the key drivers to occurrence of blooms of these organisms, particularly when combined with an understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of the forms of nutrients, the dynamics of transformation between these various forms and the key parameters of light and temperature. In addition, the particular forms in which nutrients are acquired may influence the extent of toxin production. Thus, the findings of the project will also assist in elucidating the conditions under which toxin generation is expected.Read moreRead less