Prediction of Sea Level Change around Australia and its Calibration and Validation by Satellite-Geodetic Measurements. The redistribution of mass and loading due to deglaciation will change the gravity field, spin axis and centre of mass of the Earth. As such, global sea level will not rise by the same amount in all places, and will even fall in some. This project will extend our realistic Earth model, constructed from a previous ARC grant, to simulate such changes in sea level. These simulat ....Prediction of Sea Level Change around Australia and its Calibration and Validation by Satellite-Geodetic Measurements. The redistribution of mass and loading due to deglaciation will change the gravity field, spin axis and centre of mass of the Earth. As such, global sea level will not rise by the same amount in all places, and will even fall in some. This project will extend our realistic Earth model, constructed from a previous ARC grant, to simulate such changes in sea level. These simulated values will be compared with contemporary estimates of ice mass balance and temporal gravity changes measured by satellite geodesy. Ultimately, this will allow for more informed management of sea level change in Australasia.Read moreRead less
MoistureMonitor: A multi-mission soil moisture monitoring system for a water limited future. A long-term soil moisture record for Australia is critical to understanding climate change feedback mechanisms and their impacts on water management. This project will validate, downscale and harmonise soil moisture retrievals from three satellite missions across this decade, each using a new and different low resolution antenna technology and interpretation approach. Moisture Monitor, the framework to d ....MoistureMonitor: A multi-mission soil moisture monitoring system for a water limited future. A long-term soil moisture record for Australia is critical to understanding climate change feedback mechanisms and their impacts on water management. This project will validate, downscale and harmonise soil moisture retrievals from three satellite missions across this decade, each using a new and different low resolution antenna technology and interpretation approach. Moisture Monitor, the framework to deliver this soil moisture record, will be verified using airborne campaigns and hydrological monitoring infrastructure in the Murrumbidgee catchment. Important outcomes will be validation of a new soil moisture satellite and development of a high resolution soil moisture product for improved land and water management and policy for Australia.Read moreRead less
Towards an Active and Passive L- and P-band soil moisture satellite mission. This project tests alternate configurations for remote sensing of soil moisture using a new state-of-the-art Active/Passive (ie radar/radiometer) P-/L-band (ie microwave) satellite concept through a series of airborne field experiments. Timely soil moisture information is critical to improved water management for food production in the face of climate variability. The challenge is to do this accurately over large areas ....Towards an Active and Passive L- and P-band soil moisture satellite mission. This project tests alternate configurations for remote sensing of soil moisture using a new state-of-the-art Active/Passive (ie radar/radiometer) P-/L-band (ie microwave) satellite concept through a series of airborne field experiments. Timely soil moisture information is critical to improved water management for food production in the face of climate variability. The challenge is to do this accurately over large areas with an appropriate spatio-temporal detail, and for a soil depth that closely approximates the layer which impacts crop/pasture growth and influences management decisions. The longer P-band allows deeper penetration into the soil while the active/passive combination uses the respective resolution and accuracy characteristics.Read moreRead less
P-band soil moisture sensing from space. This project aims to develop radiative transfer models to demonstrate that a P-band radiometer capability can remotely sense the top ~15cm layer of soil moisture, through a series of tower and airborne field experiments. Timely soil moisture information on this near-surface layer is critical to improved water management for food production in the face of extreme climate variability. Current satellite technologies are limited to the top ~5cm layer of soil ....P-band soil moisture sensing from space. This project aims to develop radiative transfer models to demonstrate that a P-band radiometer capability can remotely sense the top ~15cm layer of soil moisture, through a series of tower and airborne field experiments. Timely soil moisture information on this near-surface layer is critical to improved water management for food production in the face of extreme climate variability. Current satellite technologies are limited to the top ~5cm layer of soil using an L-band radiometer. This project is expected to give farmers the soil moisture data they need to optimise their available water resources to maximise food productionRead moreRead less
Caught in a vice: Modelling crustal deformation in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is trapped between the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. This proposal uses GPS methods to measure and model the tectonic motion across Papua New Guinea, identifies and quantifies areas undergoing regional deformation near plate boundaries and within tectonic blocks, and evaluates the tectonic processes associated with such deformation. Numerical models will be developed to match the observed site ....Caught in a vice: Modelling crustal deformation in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is trapped between the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. This proposal uses GPS methods to measure and model the tectonic motion across Papua New Guinea, identifies and quantifies areas undergoing regional deformation near plate boundaries and within tectonic blocks, and evaluates the tectonic processes associated with such deformation. Numerical models will be developed to match the observed site motions, thereby revealing the nature of the active plate boundaries and the characteristics of the Earth's crust and mantle. The project will produce new results necessary for assessing the tectonic hazards of Papua New Guinea.
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Remote sensing estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from floodplains in the wet-dry tropics. This project provides regional-scale estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from major floodplains in the wet-dry tropics. These estimates are required for future national carbon accounting, and are critical knowledge gaps for current global climate models.
Efffective Management of Water Resources in Semiarid Regions Using Remote Sensing. Due to the vast expense and difficulties to access many areas from the ground, there is currently no effective system for assessing and managing water resources over many large semi-arid regions of the world. Through the study of two complementary Basins - The Murray and Lake Chad Basins - we propose a new approach based on satellite imagery to provide regular and detailed information on the state of our water res ....Efffective Management of Water Resources in Semiarid Regions Using Remote Sensing. Due to the vast expense and difficulties to access many areas from the ground, there is currently no effective system for assessing and managing water resources over many large semi-arid regions of the world. Through the study of two complementary Basins - The Murray and Lake Chad Basins - we propose a new approach based on satellite imagery to provide regular and detailed information on the state of our water resources in these areas. These innovative techniques will yield new information on critical water issues: water availability, salinity, groundwater/surface water interactions, climate and land use change impact. This project provides the basis for sustainable water use in regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Generation of Digital Elevation Models by Fusion of Image and Terrain Laser Scan Data. There are currently two separate approaches to obtaining digital elevation models of the terrain surface by remote sensing, image based methods using aerial or satellite images and scanner techniques by terrain laser scanners. Each method provides elevations with high accuracy, but both require significant input from an operator during processing. It is proposed to take advantage of the synegies of these two ....Generation of Digital Elevation Models by Fusion of Image and Terrain Laser Scan Data. There are currently two separate approaches to obtaining digital elevation models of the terrain surface by remote sensing, image based methods using aerial or satellite images and scanner techniques by terrain laser scanners. Each method provides elevations with high accuracy, but both require significant input from an operator during processing. It is proposed to take advantage of the synegies of these two forms of data by combining the processing into a single solution for elevation determination by data fusion. This approach will improve the quality and efficiency of elevation determination.Read moreRead less
Enhancing marine bathymetry using new generation satellite sensors. Highly accurate marine bathymetry are currently lacking in 72% of the global ocean including around Australia, particularly in shallow seas and near-shore coastal zones, contributing to various navigation and marine safety accidents. Ship surveys of the seafloor are time-consuming and expensive. Satellite altimetry data provide an alternative solution. This project will improve Australia’s marine bathymetry by using spatially co ....Enhancing marine bathymetry using new generation satellite sensors. Highly accurate marine bathymetry are currently lacking in 72% of the global ocean including around Australia, particularly in shallow seas and near-shore coastal zones, contributing to various navigation and marine safety accidents. Ship surveys of the seafloor are time-consuming and expensive. Satellite altimetry data provide an alternative solution. This project will improve Australia’s marine bathymetry by using spatially comprehensive and unprecedented data from new radar and laser satellite sensors. We aim to develop techniques for integration of the new data with other independent data sources, producing the most precise marine bathymetry for coastal terrain mapping, marine transport and safety management.Read moreRead less
Data integration, scale and classification of remotely sensed imagery. This project will investigate and resolve the specific problems associated with processing, interpreting and classifying high-resolution satellite imagery. Previous work has shown that current algorithms developed for lower resolution remote sensing data are not appropriate for processing higher resolution data. New algorithms will be developed for geometrically and radiometrically processing high-resolution satellite data ....Data integration, scale and classification of remotely sensed imagery. This project will investigate and resolve the specific problems associated with processing, interpreting and classifying high-resolution satellite imagery. Previous work has shown that current algorithms developed for lower resolution remote sensing data are not appropriate for processing higher resolution data. New algorithms will be developed for geometrically and radiometrically processing high-resolution satellite data so that it can be interpreted in conjunction with other similar data, or existing lower resolution data. Consequently, the potential uses of high resolution satellite imagery will be greatly increased, allowing many more users to access the advantages of this unique source of data.Read moreRead less