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
The history of North Stradbroke Island's wetlands: defining natural climate variability in south-east Queensland and improving ecosystem management. South-east Queensland has among the fastest growing populations in Australia. It has also experienced severe drought lasting more than a decade. These combined pressures have led to the expenditure of more than $9 Billion on water resource development. However, it is not known whether the current drought is part of a natural cycle (or, importantly, ....The history of North Stradbroke Island's wetlands: defining natural climate variability in south-east Queensland and improving ecosystem management. South-east Queensland has among the fastest growing populations in Australia. It has also experienced severe drought lasting more than a decade. These combined pressures have led to the expenditure of more than $9 Billion on water resource development. However, it is not known whether the current drought is part of a natural cycle (or, importantly, if it represents the worst extremes in such a cycle). We will determine whether this is the case and, in doing so, contribute to national and international debates about the role of human-induced vs natural climate change.Read moreRead less
New approaches for protecting stream health in temperate Australia: Devising nutrient and salinity guidelines using diatoms. Salinity and nutrient enrichment are the most significant forms of water quality degradation in Australian lowland rivers. This project will identify the biological effect of the water quality pollution and develop new methods for its assessment. Most importantly, through the identification of water quality "thresholds" which result in reduced biodiversity, better guidelin ....New approaches for protecting stream health in temperate Australia: Devising nutrient and salinity guidelines using diatoms. Salinity and nutrient enrichment are the most significant forms of water quality degradation in Australian lowland rivers. This project will identify the biological effect of the water quality pollution and develop new methods for its assessment. Most importantly, through the identification of water quality "thresholds" which result in reduced biodiversity, better guidelines for maintaining stream health will be developed.Read moreRead less
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
Fire Scar Impacts on Surface Heat and Moisture Fluxes in Australia's Tropical Savanna and Feedbacks to Local and Regional Climate. Fire burns as much as 250,000 km2 of northern Australia every year, mostly tropical savanna land. The atmospheric impacts of burning extend beyond the direct emissions of aerosol and trace gases to include the effects of land surface alteration on atmospheric circulation. Using observation and modelling, this study examines the modification of surface heat and mois ....Fire Scar Impacts on Surface Heat and Moisture Fluxes in Australia's Tropical Savanna and Feedbacks to Local and Regional Climate. Fire burns as much as 250,000 km2 of northern Australia every year, mostly tropical savanna land. The atmospheric impacts of burning extend beyond the direct emissions of aerosol and trace gases to include the effects of land surface alteration on atmospheric circulation. Using observation and modelling, this study examines the modification of surface heat and moisture fluxes to the atmosphere caused by fire scars, along with the impact of such changes on atmospheric motion and precipitation at a range of scales. This unique work is of fundamental scientific interest and significance for current and future management of this important national resource.Read moreRead less
Patterns and processes of carbon and water budgets across northern Australian landscapes: From point to region. Quantifying carbon sources and sinks and understanding the underlying processes are pre-requisites to informed policy decisions, especially as nations seek to develop strategies to manage carbon emissions and sequestration. Australia is unique because of its poor soils and high climate variability and is likely to have patterns and process of carbon that are globally different. We fo ....Patterns and processes of carbon and water budgets across northern Australian landscapes: From point to region. Quantifying carbon sources and sinks and understanding the underlying processes are pre-requisites to informed policy decisions, especially as nations seek to develop strategies to manage carbon emissions and sequestration. Australia is unique because of its poor soils and high climate variability and is likely to have patterns and process of carbon that are globally different. We focus on Australia's Top-End region, but will develop tools/methods that can be applied to other important Australian hot-spots. This project will support the existing National Carbon Accounting System by providing new information on processes and spatial variability and regional budgets of carbon and water budgets that underpin our international commitments.Read moreRead less
Understanding the effect of climate change on runoff variability and water resource systems performance. This project aims to assess the impacts of climate changes on annual runoff variability. Understanding variability of annual runoff is important in managing water resources, in catchment and stream management, and to researchers in hydrology, stream ecology and fluvial geomorphology. Expected outcomes from this research are an estimate of impact on the variability of annual runoff from futu ....Understanding the effect of climate change on runoff variability and water resource systems performance. This project aims to assess the impacts of climate changes on annual runoff variability. Understanding variability of annual runoff is important in managing water resources, in catchment and stream management, and to researchers in hydrology, stream ecology and fluvial geomorphology. Expected outcomes from this research are an estimate of impact on the variability of annual runoff from future climate change, improvement in understanding the processes that operate on the variability of annual runoff, and an assessment of the performance of water resource systems under a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Automated Vector Extraction from Airborne Laser Scan Data. This project considers the problem of automatically extracting and vectorising the outlines of objects from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. The industry partner, AAM GeoScan, is a leading user of ALS systems in Australia, and has a need to develop automated solutions to this problem. ALS data is typically a dense cloud of 3D point data which represents the local terrain, as well as any trees, buildings or vehicles which may be in t ....Automated Vector Extraction from Airborne Laser Scan Data. This project considers the problem of automatically extracting and vectorising the outlines of objects from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data. The industry partner, AAM GeoScan, is a leading user of ALS systems in Australia, and has a need to develop automated solutions to this problem. ALS data is typically a dense cloud of 3D point data which represents the local terrain, as well as any trees, buildings or vehicles which may be in the field of view. Spatial data is a very important resource, widely used in many types of urban and rural planning operations. Planning software packages require vectorised descriptions of building outlines and other spatial data, however this is not presently available from raw ALS data. The project will investigate this problem and develop new and effective means for producing it automatically from raw ALS data. Expected outcomes include a successful research masters studentship, the development of novel solutions to the problem which are directly applicable to the industry partner's core business, peer reviewed publications, and an strengthened link between the universities and the industry partner.Read moreRead less
European impact on Eastern Australian coastal lakes: understanding pre-impact conditions and post-settlement modification. Coastal lakes are vulnerable to European impact, yet little is known about how they have been altered in the last 200 years. For example: Are blue-green algal blooms a natural occurrence in coastal lakes? How long have freshwater lakes been isolated from the ocean? Preliminary results indicate that, at key sites, blue-green algae were more abundant before European settlement ....European impact on Eastern Australian coastal lakes: understanding pre-impact conditions and post-settlement modification. Coastal lakes are vulnerable to European impact, yet little is known about how they have been altered in the last 200 years. For example: Are blue-green algal blooms a natural occurrence in coastal lakes? How long have freshwater lakes been isolated from the ocean? Preliminary results indicate that, at key sites, blue-green algae were more abundant before European settlement and that coastal lakes thought to be permanently fresh have been exposed to the ocean within the past 200 years. By documenting change at representative sites, the project will identify which lake types are most vulnerable to impact. Results from the project will ensure that costly restoration efforts are not misplaced.Read moreRead less