Rocky coasts: a framework for risk assessment in order to reduce drowning. Reducing drowning on the rocky coast through modelling how waves impact and where people use the shore is the aim of this project. In collaboration with Surf Life Saving Australia, the latest laser surveying and modelling techniques will be combined with perception surveys to develop an innovative and new risk framework for coastal management.
Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between val ....Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between valley incision and lateral expansion processes along river courses. Understanding controls on these rivers is critical in determining how they modify their form in response to various disturbance events (whether 'natural' of human-induced). Results will provide a rigorous basis with which to explain cross-catchment variability in river forms and processes, aiding our capacity to predict future adjustments to disturbance and develop river management strategies that 'work with nature'.Read moreRead less
Understanding and modelling of interannual hydroclimatic variability in the context of historic streamflow. Recent persistently dry conditions in Australia have triggered water restrictions in major cities and re-emphasised the importance of water to this country. This project represents an integrated package of research that will enhance our understanding of interannual hydroclimatic variability, and its implications for land and water resources systems. The methodologies and model developed he ....Understanding and modelling of interannual hydroclimatic variability in the context of historic streamflow. Recent persistently dry conditions in Australia have triggered water restrictions in major cities and re-emphasised the importance of water to this country. This project represents an integrated package of research that will enhance our understanding of interannual hydroclimatic variability, and its implications for land and water resources systems. The methodologies and model developed here will directly lead to more informed decision making for sustainable use and management of Australia's increasingly scarce natural resources to cope with changing climate over a range of time scales. This is particularly important for Australia because of its higher interannual hydroclimate variability compared to elsewhere in the world.Read moreRead less
The Antarctic ice sheet through the Last Glacial Cycle - numerical modelling constrained by field evidence. The response of the world's largest ice mass to climate change is important because melting leads to a rise in sea level. Our ability to predict changes in ice volume and sea level under a warming climate, will be enhanced by better understanding of past ice sheet responses to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Improved numerical models now exist that allow realistic simulations of Ant ....The Antarctic ice sheet through the Last Glacial Cycle - numerical modelling constrained by field evidence. The response of the world's largest ice mass to climate change is important because melting leads to a rise in sea level. Our ability to predict changes in ice volume and sea level under a warming climate, will be enhanced by better understanding of past ice sheet responses to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Improved numerical models now exist that allow realistic simulations of Antarctic ice. These models will be developed further and constrained against existing and new field evidence for the Last Glacial Cycle (last 125,000 years), the period for which we can best define past ice sheet behaviour.Read moreRead less
An Ensemble Modelling Framework for Prediction in Ungauged Catchments. An important issue facing the water sector is a rationale for modeling flows in catchments having no prior measurements. Current approaches for modeling flow in ungauged catchments assume a rigid specification which is adopted for all catchments, irrespective of differences in regions and soil types. We propose here a modeling philosophy that better characterises the variability in the flow generation mechanism, with differen ....An Ensemble Modelling Framework for Prediction in Ungauged Catchments. An important issue facing the water sector is a rationale for modeling flows in catchments having no prior measurements. Current approaches for modeling flow in ungauged catchments assume a rigid specification which is adopted for all catchments, irrespective of differences in regions and soil types. We propose here a modeling philosophy that better characterises the variability in the flow generation mechanism, with different mechanisms being represented through different models in a probabilistic sense. We expect our approach to address the limitations of current schemes, and provide a much improved basis for estimating flows for design and management applications.Read moreRead less
Quantifying near-surface diffuse discharge from the southwest Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) supplies one of Australia's largest mining operations and many pastoral enterprises. The GAB is the only significant water resource through much of arid central Australia and supports unique environmental values in this region. This project will provide vital data on natural, near-surface leakage rates from the GAB that can be used to gain a greater understanding of ....Quantifying near-surface diffuse discharge from the southwest Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) supplies one of Australia's largest mining operations and many pastoral enterprises. The GAB is the only significant water resource through much of arid central Australia and supports unique environmental values in this region. This project will provide vital data on natural, near-surface leakage rates from the GAB that can be used to gain a greater understanding of the amount of water available for sustainable extraction. This will assist in the improved management of the GAB resource and in doing so contribute to greater certainty for the mining and pastoral users of the GAB groundwater and provide greater protection for unique ecosystems associated with natural discharge springs.Read moreRead less
Stochastic rainfall generation for design flow estimation. Floods cause one third of all natural disasters worldwide, more than half the fatalities and one-third the economic loss. Accurate design flood estimation can help alleviate this impact. The estimation procedure currently used assumes that a given rainfall leads to a corresponding design flood, negating the influence variations in pre-existing soil moisture conditions may have. An alternative that overcomes the above limitation is to use ....Stochastic rainfall generation for design flow estimation. Floods cause one third of all natural disasters worldwide, more than half the fatalities and one-third the economic loss. Accurate design flood estimation can help alleviate this impact. The estimation procedure currently used assumes that a given rainfall leads to a corresponding design flood, negating the influence variations in pre-existing soil moisture conditions may have. An alternative that overcomes the above limitation is to use stochastically generated rainfall series to simulate flows from which the design flood can be estimated. This study aims to develop a generic framework for stochastic generation of rainfall for design flood estimation in Australia.Read moreRead less
River sensitivity to change: An assessment of threshold shifts between River Styles in Coastal NSW. Over 70% of coastal catchments in northern NSW comprise confined or partly-confined valleys in which floodplains are absent or discontinuous. Evolutionary controls on floodplain presence and their sensitivity to disturbance since European settlement will be explained. Increased understanding of the character, behaviour and evolution of these river types will provide a generic framework to assess ....River sensitivity to change: An assessment of threshold shifts between River Styles in Coastal NSW. Over 70% of coastal catchments in northern NSW comprise confined or partly-confined valleys in which floodplains are absent or discontinuous. Evolutionary controls on floodplain presence and their sensitivity to disturbance since European settlement will be explained. Increased understanding of the character, behaviour and evolution of these river types will provide a generic framework to assess river sensitivity to change. The understanding achieved via this project will form the basis upon which to manage these rivers in an environmentally sustainable manner.Read moreRead less
Narrowing the scatter and assessing the uncertainty of climate change projections of Australian river flows. Recent prolonged dry conditions in south-eastern Australia have triggered water restrictions in major cities, zero irrigation allocations in the Murray-Darling region and highlighted the importance of water to this country. This project represents an integrated package of research that will enhance our understanding of the uncertainty of future annual river flows, leading to more informed ....Narrowing the scatter and assessing the uncertainty of climate change projections of Australian river flows. Recent prolonged dry conditions in south-eastern Australia have triggered water restrictions in major cities, zero irrigation allocations in the Murray-Darling region and highlighted the importance of water to this country. This project represents an integrated package of research that will enhance our understanding of the uncertainty of future annual river flows, leading to more informed decision making for the sustainable management of Australia’s increasingly scarce water resources. The outcomes from this project are highly relevant to the national research priority “An Environmentally Sustainable Australia”, particularly priority goals “Water - a critical resource” and “Responding to climate change and variability”.Read moreRead less