Deeper and broader life cycle risk assessment - extending the frontier for hybrid methodologies. This project is about combining detailed and global perspectives of environmental health risk from different fields of planning practice. It aims to improve the depth and breadth of the types of information used by government regulators and the community in decisions about the development of capital works.
Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical chan ....Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical change; and 4) priority setting. Through links with Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the outcomes of this project will improve indicator selection and use by catchment managers.Read moreRead less
What are the risks of viral infections in drinking water storages? South East Queensland's population growth is the fastest in Australia but our drinking water supplies will be fully allocated by 2020. Maintaining public health standards of the existing supplies is vital. Declines in water quality in these unprotected catchments will influence viral infection but we don't know how. Toxin producing algae (cyanobacteria) also bloom and we don't know why. We have an innovative approach to determine ....What are the risks of viral infections in drinking water storages? South East Queensland's population growth is the fastest in Australia but our drinking water supplies will be fully allocated by 2020. Maintaining public health standards of the existing supplies is vital. Declines in water quality in these unprotected catchments will influence viral infection but we don't know how. Toxin producing algae (cyanobacteria) also bloom and we don't know why. We have an innovative approach to determine how changing water quality influences viral infection of toxic cyanobacteria and the potential of human viral pathogens (disease causing) to infect. This new knowledge will improve SEQWater's ability to manage public and ecosystem health risks in drinking water storages.Read moreRead less
Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknes ....Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknesses of centralised urban water supply schemes by potentially drawing 30-50 per cent less demand on their reserves. This research study will provide evidence to support the implementation of best practice DWSS based on an evidence based holistic assessment of their performance considering potable water savings, capital and operation costs, energy demand, as well as environmental and community impacts.Read moreRead less
Sources of phosphorus promoting cyanobacteria in subtropical reservoirs. Water managers around Australia are currently considering various strategies to deal with water shortages. Many of these management actions have potential to impact water quality, through altering the nutrient balance within reservoirs and hence affecting nutrients available for cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria blooms pose an increasing threat to water supplies, with economic, social and environmental costs of $150M pa in Aus ....Sources of phosphorus promoting cyanobacteria in subtropical reservoirs. Water managers around Australia are currently considering various strategies to deal with water shortages. Many of these management actions have potential to impact water quality, through altering the nutrient balance within reservoirs and hence affecting nutrients available for cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria blooms pose an increasing threat to water supplies, with economic, social and environmental costs of $150M pa in Australia. The project will provide tools to water quality managers to assess how changes to subtropical reservoirs, such as water recycling, catchment land-use changes and increased drawdown are likely to affect nutrient budgets and cyanobacteria blooms.Read moreRead less
A novel and theoretically consistent method for correcting systematic errors in earth observation data and earth system model results. For a correct interpretation of satellite-based earth observation data and/or Earth system model results, it is very important that these data are free of systematic errors, commonly referred to as bias. It is well known that both these data sources are prone to a significant bias, which is currently neglected in many environmental impact and prediction studies. ....A novel and theoretically consistent method for correcting systematic errors in earth observation data and earth system model results. For a correct interpretation of satellite-based earth observation data and/or Earth system model results, it is very important that these data are free of systematic errors, commonly referred to as bias. It is well known that both these data sources are prone to a significant bias, which is currently neglected in many environmental impact and prediction studies. This project will present a method to develop models for these biases. A state update technique, the Ensemble Kalman Filter, will be adapted to correctly take into account bias in the merging of the two data sources. The project outcomes will be of high importance for long-term environmental studies, since these strongly rely on physically-based models and remote sensing data.Read moreRead less
A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding .... A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding the critical exchanges of water and greenhouse gases (GHGs) combining field methodologies and hydrological models, under different climatic conditions. The intended outcomes will benefit management of GHG emissions, coastal flooding and vulnerable groundwater dependent habitats.Read moreRead less
Development of an integrated sustainability framework for best management practice of urban water systems. The aim of the project is to develop an integrated sustainability framework for Australian urban water systems. The project will aim to overcome major methodological limitations that are caused by the separate consideration of environmental impacts, health risks, economic and social aspects, by taking a holistic, inter-disciplinary and integrated approach.
The outcome will be a sound, co ....Development of an integrated sustainability framework for best management practice of urban water systems. The aim of the project is to develop an integrated sustainability framework for Australian urban water systems. The project will aim to overcome major methodological limitations that are caused by the separate consideration of environmental impacts, health risks, economic and social aspects, by taking a holistic, inter-disciplinary and integrated approach.
The outcome will be a sound, comprehensive, mostly quantitative, reproducible, transparent and reliable framework for sustainability. This new method will be trialled for developing sustainable water strategies for five major Australian cities. Its value is greatly increased by the fact that the project will be developed with strong community engagement.Read moreRead less
Identifying critical thresholds to prioritise lake restoration. This project aims to conduct a global assessment of lake water quality and prioritise lakes for restoration. This project expects to generate new understanding of trends in lake condition based on application of geospatial frameworks and models for nutrient loads and in-lake trophic state. This information will help to quantify the magnitude of actions required to restore lakes at landscape scale. The intended outcome is a global at ....Identifying critical thresholds to prioritise lake restoration. This project aims to conduct a global assessment of lake water quality and prioritise lakes for restoration. This project expects to generate new understanding of trends in lake condition based on application of geospatial frameworks and models for nutrient loads and in-lake trophic state. This information will help to quantify the magnitude of actions required to restore lakes at landscape scale. The intended outcome is a global atlas linking catchment hydrology, nutrient loads and lake attributes. Expected outcomes of this project include improved methods to predict effects of land use and climate change on lakes across the globe, and recommendations to water resource managers on investing in the restoration of lakes across the landscape.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less