Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely ....Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely collected in Australia's catchments and thereby better predict water quality behaviour. Proposed field studies aim to support this development. The outcomes sought are improved planning and management of water quality in our rivers, lakes and estuaries, improved health of these water bodies and improved water supplies.Read moreRead less
Observed streamflow generation changes: better understanding and modelling. This Project aims to investigate drivers and triggers of variable streamflow response during and after drought and develop modelling strategies and model structures more robust to changing streamflow response. In many catchments during the Millennium Drought, streamflow generation was less than expected and hydrologic models performed poorly. After the drought, streamflow generation is yet to recover in some catchments. ....Observed streamflow generation changes: better understanding and modelling. This Project aims to investigate drivers and triggers of variable streamflow response during and after drought and develop modelling strategies and model structures more robust to changing streamflow response. In many catchments during the Millennium Drought, streamflow generation was less than expected and hydrologic models performed poorly. After the drought, streamflow generation is yet to recover in some catchments. This Project expects to generate new knowledge about variable streamflow response to drought and develop strategies and models to robustly simulate runoff during and after changed conditions, which should provide significant benefit via better understanding and modelling of streamflow response under changing conditions.Read moreRead less
Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during exten ....Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during extended dry periods, and couple this to models of ecological dynamics and failure thresholds. This will improve the success of Australia’s major environmental water programs in sustaining benefits through future multi-year droughts.Read moreRead less
Paving the way to greener roads and healthier waterways. Waste tyre permeable pavement is emerging as an effective stormwater surge mitigation solution. Yet, its behaviour under traffic loads and varied environmental conditions are not fully understood which undermines industry confidence in this technology. This project aims to advance the engineering of waste tyre permeable pavements by creating new knowledge on their mechanical and hydrological performance. The project will develop design gui ....Paving the way to greener roads and healthier waterways. Waste tyre permeable pavement is emerging as an effective stormwater surge mitigation solution. Yet, its behaviour under traffic loads and varied environmental conditions are not fully understood which undermines industry confidence in this technology. This project aims to advance the engineering of waste tyre permeable pavements by creating new knowledge on their mechanical and hydrological performance. The project will develop design guidelines, identify the governing mechanisms and develop a performance prediction framework based on laboratory and field tests, and advanced numerical modelling. The mechanisms of performance from micro to macro level will be identified, generating knowledge for industry to support widespread uptake.Read moreRead less
Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies ....Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies of hydro-climate forecasting, with federal, state and regional water agencies.Read moreRead less
Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. ....Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. Expected outcomes include a refined estimate of the net carbon sequestration potential across Australian biomes and seasons. This should provide significant benefits such as avoiding misalignment of greenhouse gas abatement policies and advancing carbon cycling models and predictions.Read moreRead less