An Australian storm wave damage and beach erosion early warning system. This project aims to develop a new coastal hazard early-warning system capability for Australia, to alert coastal communities, emergency managers and coastal engineers to impending storm wave damage and coastal erosion. Emergency preparedness informed by early warning is expected to significantly benefit vulnerable communities and infrastructure along Australia’s coasts.
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.
A smartphone rip-detection tool to improve rip current awareness. This project aims to develop a smartphone rip-detection tool and online education game to help reduce the number of Australians drowning in rips each year. The project expects to develop an optimised deep learning algorithm to detect rips from smartphone video taken at Australian beaches, which can then be used by Surf Life Saving Australia for training and education. Expected outcomes of this project are enhanced identification a ....A smartphone rip-detection tool to improve rip current awareness. This project aims to develop a smartphone rip-detection tool and online education game to help reduce the number of Australians drowning in rips each year. The project expects to develop an optimised deep learning algorithm to detect rips from smartphone video taken at Australian beaches, which can then be used by Surf Life Saving Australia for training and education. Expected outcomes of this project are enhanced identification and literacy of rip currents, particularly among priority high-risk demographics like young males, culturally and linguistic diverse communities and rural visitors. This should provide significant benefits in reducing rip-current drowning and rescue incidents in Australia, particularly at unpatrolled beaches.Read moreRead less
Rip currents: an evidence based approach to managing the greatest beach hazard. For the first time, an understanding of the action of swimmers caught in rip currents will be linked through interviews with rip current survivors and measurements of swimmer response and rip flow. This project will provide information that will improve existing rip current education and assist in reducing the unacceptably high drowning toll on Australian beaches.
Australian coastal observation network: monitoring and forecasting coastal erosion in a changing climate. Australia's coastline is one of this country's greatest natural, economic and cultural resources. The asset value of existing beach-front infrastructure is immeasurable. Climate change is driving sea-level rise and changing regional wave climates, resulting in coastal erosion and increasing the threat to coastal sustainability. This research launches a strategic university-industry-governmen ....Australian coastal observation network: monitoring and forecasting coastal erosion in a changing climate. Australia's coastline is one of this country's greatest natural, economic and cultural resources. The asset value of existing beach-front infrastructure is immeasurable. Climate change is driving sea-level rise and changing regional wave climates, resulting in coastal erosion and increasing the threat to coastal sustainability. This research launches a strategic university-industry-government alliance to address the considerable and growing pressure for solutions to observe and forecast accelerating shoreline erosion. The new knowledge, greater cross-sector collaboration and international linkages to be fast-tracked by this project will inform and build the capacity of Australia's coastal managers to confront the challenges of a changing climate.Read moreRead less
The big flood: will it happen again? If we could better predict the frequency of extreme flood events, would we be better prepared to safeguard human lives and settlements? This project provides a time-line of flood activity in the south east Queensland region extending back thousands of years using state-of-the-art dating techniques and seeks to identifiy those settlements most at risk.
Improved seasonal rainfall prediction for grain growers using farm level data and novel modelling. Successful grain production, a key export commodity for Australia, depends heavily on reliable seasonal forecasts. However, the highly variable climate means that for Australia’s 25,000 grain growers current forecasts lack detail in space and time. Using a combination of fuzzy classification and artificial neural networks, this project will develop a locally detailed continuously updating data-driv ....Improved seasonal rainfall prediction for grain growers using farm level data and novel modelling. Successful grain production, a key export commodity for Australia, depends heavily on reliable seasonal forecasts. However, the highly variable climate means that for Australia’s 25,000 grain growers current forecasts lack detail in space and time. Using a combination of fuzzy classification and artificial neural networks, this project will develop a locally detailed continuously updating data-driven seasonal forecast system using high density climate data from the 17,000 Grain Growers Association members and climate drivers such as sea surface temperature from the Bureau of Meteorology. After validation against observed data, the forecasts will be delivered via a web-based portal to users.Read moreRead less
Understanding extreme wind gusts and associated risks in NSW. Wind gusts are rare bursts of high wind, often associated with thunderstorm outflows. They can do significant structural damage, and their rarity and small scale make prediction and risk assessment difficult. This proposal seeks to better understand and predict wind gusts and their impacts to aid in planning. The project aims to use past observations, modelling, and basic theory to show what conditions lead to wind gusts and how like ....Understanding extreme wind gusts and associated risks in NSW. Wind gusts are rare bursts of high wind, often associated with thunderstorm outflows. They can do significant structural damage, and their rarity and small scale make prediction and risk assessment difficult. This proposal seeks to better understand and predict wind gusts and their impacts to aid in planning. The project aims to use past observations, modelling, and basic theory to show what conditions lead to wind gusts and how likely they are to exceed key thresholds. It targets important scientific and practical issues such as the joint occurrence of gusts and high rainfall, role of gusts in contributing to dust and other airborne pollutants, impacts of gusts on subsequent storm activity, and gusts in a warming climate.Read moreRead less
Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. This project aims to develop a new shark deterrent technology to protect surfers and paddlers. Shark attacks are physically and emotionally devastating for the victims, and make the community disproportionately afraid. Surfers are at most risk of attack, but current surfboard-mounted deterrents are ineffective and not widely used. This project will build on the recent discove ....Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. This project aims to develop a new shark deterrent technology to protect surfers and paddlers. Shark attacks are physically and emotionally devastating for the victims, and make the community disproportionately afraid. Surfers are at most risk of attack, but current surfboard-mounted deterrents are ineffective and not widely used. This project will build on the recent discovery that white sharks do not attack counter-illuminated (light emitting) seal-shaped decoys, and use new information about shark vision to understand why this ‘camouflage’ is so successful. This will also help to protect threatened shark species by reducing reliance on culling programs to keep people safe in the water.Read moreRead less
Enhancing sunscreen DNA and photo-ageing protection. Skin damage from UV exposure is costly for individuals and the community, particularly in Australia, where the population has predominantly fair skin. While public campaigns to persuade the population to use sun protection and avoidance have been useful, this project will be the first to extend this approach to deliver a way to reduce sun damage from any UV exposure that does nevertheless occur, by incorporating the active agents into topical ....Enhancing sunscreen DNA and photo-ageing protection. Skin damage from UV exposure is costly for individuals and the community, particularly in Australia, where the population has predominantly fair skin. While public campaigns to persuade the population to use sun protection and avoidance have been useful, this project will be the first to extend this approach to deliver a way to reduce sun damage from any UV exposure that does nevertheless occur, by incorporating the active agents into topical sunscreens or creams for after-sun use. The project will also build infrastructure for translational research on photo-damage, combining world-class facilities for this research with advanced formulation and manufacturing operations.Read moreRead less