Storying and repairing water places in Wiradjuri Country. This project will centre Aboriginal knowledges to story, care for and repair Wiradjuri Country around the Mudgee area, central west NSW. Sharing information is a key goal of this project. Wiradjuri people are keen to see their cultural, economic, social and environmental knowledge about Country recorded and shared for people in the Mudgee area and beyond. By documenting in story form the proposed on-Country Learning, this project can faci ....Storying and repairing water places in Wiradjuri Country. This project will centre Aboriginal knowledges to story, care for and repair Wiradjuri Country around the Mudgee area, central west NSW. Sharing information is a key goal of this project. Wiradjuri people are keen to see their cultural, economic, social and environmental knowledge about Country recorded and shared for people in the Mudgee area and beyond. By documenting in story form the proposed on-Country Learning, this project can facilitate this process and serve as a pathway for other co-management contexts. At the heart of the project is on-Country Learning which will bring key collaborators, community members and local school students together on, and with, Country. Read moreRead less
Dynamics of Suppressed Mixing Regimes in Australian Rivers. This study aims to further the fundamental science of turbulent mixing in the context of flow in Australian rivers. The focus is on prolonged low flow conditions which when coupled with warm surface temperatures cause the water column to become thermally stratified which then suppresses turbulent mixing. The extreme scale of the river systems has made investigating the true dynamics of the strongly stratified mixing regimes particularly ....Dynamics of Suppressed Mixing Regimes in Australian Rivers. This study aims to further the fundamental science of turbulent mixing in the context of flow in Australian rivers. The focus is on prolonged low flow conditions which when coupled with warm surface temperatures cause the water column to become thermally stratified which then suppresses turbulent mixing. The extreme scale of the river systems has made investigating the true dynamics of the strongly stratified mixing regimes particularly challenging. By taking world first in-situ measurements of turbulent mixing and undertaking high resolution numerical simulations this study will provide definitive data which will allow correct characterization of the mixing regimes and how they are associated with river flow conditions.Read moreRead less
Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to ....Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to influence land use decisions. This should provide significant benefits to landholders, governments involved in land management and the public through increased productivity, profitability, biodiversity and ecosystem health in the context of future climate, agricultural commodity and carbon market uncertainties.Read moreRead less
Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improvin ....Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improving the strength, stability and settlement characteristics of the tailings. Sophisticated testing will be undertaken at three scales (lab, meso and, most importantly, field), as well as the development of generic numerical models, to create practical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of EO in mines around the world.Read moreRead less
Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes incl ....Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes include regulatory guidance strategies and training, advances in applied regulatory theory, and innovative technology tools capturing the complexity of water regulation and supporting decision-making. This will provide public resource savings and ensure fairness and effectiveness of water compliance and enforcement.Read moreRead less
Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools develop ....Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools development in this project. This proposal will integrate results from laboratory element, centrifuge and calibration chamber tests with numerical modelling and in-situ tests to produce a methodology for predicting the susceptibility to static liquefaction.Read moreRead less
Preventing mining disasters: reducing the risk of tailings dam failure. This project aims to improve safety of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Mineral processing produces waste called tailings, being mixtures of water and soil-sized particles. Tailings are stored on sites contained by embankments made from soil or a coarse component of tailings. Sections of the TSFs are partially saturated, have high concentrations of fine particles and physically change with age. Their resistance to earthqu ....Preventing mining disasters: reducing the risk of tailings dam failure. This project aims to improve safety of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Mineral processing produces waste called tailings, being mixtures of water and soil-sized particles. Tailings are stored on sites contained by embankments made from soil or a coarse component of tailings. Sections of the TSFs are partially saturated, have high concentrations of fine particles and physically change with age. Their resistance to earthquake loading and liquefaction, and strength post-earthquake, arising from these properties are poorly understood and can not be quantified reliably so will be addressed here. Anticipated outcomes will be updated industry guidelines for the design and management of TSFs. Mines will benefit and failures will be prevented.Read moreRead less
Tracking flood waters over Australia using space gravity data. This project aims to assess the utility of near-real-time data from the currently operating space gravity satellite mission to quantify and track flood waters in Australia. Through analysis of the satellite data and fusion of observed signals with rainfall, river flows and conventional hydrological modelling, it expects to create new knowledge of soil moisture and movement of flood waters. Expected outcomes include a capability to im ....Tracking flood waters over Australia using space gravity data. This project aims to assess the utility of near-real-time data from the currently operating space gravity satellite mission to quantify and track flood waters in Australia. Through analysis of the satellite data and fusion of observed signals with rainfall, river flows and conventional hydrological modelling, it expects to create new knowledge of soil moisture and movement of flood waters. Expected outcomes include a capability to improve hydrological models by including the information of water signals obtained from the near-real-time observations. This should provide significant benefits such as more accurate land saturation maps and better predictions of runoff and flood risk.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
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less