Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and ....Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and climate change influence catchment water yields. This project will estimate water yields over time and space in ungauged catchments with disturbed eucalypt forests. This research is expected to enable more effective risk mitigation and planning for augmentations; improved fire management strategies; and better water management of the Murray Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Assessment of the potential consequences of large-scale eradication of rice grass from the Tamar Estuary, Tasmania. Introduced Rice grass has trapped large volumes of intertidal sediment, yet reduced amenity values of the Tamar Estuary, transforming beaches into muddy rice grass meadows, threatening aquaculture industries, and silting up coastal developments. This project will investigate the consequences of rice grass eradication, by determination of sediment volume trapped, contaminants contai ....Assessment of the potential consequences of large-scale eradication of rice grass from the Tamar Estuary, Tasmania. Introduced Rice grass has trapped large volumes of intertidal sediment, yet reduced amenity values of the Tamar Estuary, transforming beaches into muddy rice grass meadows, threatening aquaculture industries, and silting up coastal developments. This project will investigate the consequences of rice grass eradication, by determination of sediment volume trapped, contaminants contained, and monitoring of processes active after removal. The outcomes of this research will enable informed decisions on management of the Tamar rice grass infestation, and provide an understanding the impacts of large scale eradication to management authorities of similar infestations in Victoria, New Zealand, Europe, China and the USA.Read moreRead less
Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. This project aims to develop a world-class global ocean-sea ice model framework through a nationwide consortium. The resulting high resolution models are expected to provide the foundation for the next decade of Australian ocean-sea ice modelling capacity. This research should lead to improved ocean and sea ice prediction, ocean reanalyses, and climate projections, enhancing Australia's capacity to pred ....Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. This project aims to develop a world-class global ocean-sea ice model framework through a nationwide consortium. The resulting high resolution models are expected to provide the foundation for the next decade of Australian ocean-sea ice modelling capacity. This research should lead to improved ocean and sea ice prediction, ocean reanalyses, and climate projections, enhancing Australia's capacity to predict the ocean state on timescales of days to decades. This is expected to yield efficiencies in shipping, marine search and rescue and naval operations, and increase the accuracy of projected future changes in climate, sea level, ocean ecosystems and the cryosphere.Read moreRead less
Building Australia's next-generation ocean-sea ice model. Ocean and sea ice models are used for predicting future ocean and climate states, and for climate process research. This project aims to bring the next generation of ocean-sea ice models to Australia and configure the models for our local priorities. The ultimate goal is to create a new coupled ocean-sea ice model for Australia that includes surface waves and biogeochemistry. The model will be optimised and evaluated on Australian facilit ....Building Australia's next-generation ocean-sea ice model. Ocean and sea ice models are used for predicting future ocean and climate states, and for climate process research. This project aims to bring the next generation of ocean-sea ice models to Australia and configure the models for our local priorities. The ultimate goal is to create a new coupled ocean-sea ice model for Australia that includes surface waves and biogeochemistry. The model will be optimised and evaluated on Australian facilities, and released for community use. These developments underpin future ocean state forecasts, sea ice forecasts, wave forecasts, decadal climate prediction and climate process studies. The project will benefit search and rescue, Defence and shipping operations, and will enhance future climate projections.Read moreRead less
A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit i ....A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit in areas where a strong need exists for conservation of prey species with economic importance too low to justify expensive at-sea research.Read moreRead less
Are coastal wetlands vulnerable to bushfires? The ‘Black Summer’ fires burned extensive areas of coastal wetland not typically associated with fire impact. These wetlands rely upon plant growth and sediment delivery to respond to sea-level rise, processes which may be impacted by fire. This project aims to quantify the distribution and severity of fire impact, and establish post-fire vegetation and surface elevation trajectories. By integrating fire ecology and wetland science approaches, this p ....Are coastal wetlands vulnerable to bushfires? The ‘Black Summer’ fires burned extensive areas of coastal wetland not typically associated with fire impact. These wetlands rely upon plant growth and sediment delivery to respond to sea-level rise, processes which may be impacted by fire. This project aims to quantify the distribution and severity of fire impact, and establish post-fire vegetation and surface elevation trajectories. By integrating fire ecology and wetland science approaches, this project will ascertain the resilience of coastal wetlands to the cumulative impacts of fire and sea-level rise. Expected outcomes of this project include new, spatially-explicit fire management tools which will aid the sustainable, long-term management of coastal wetlands in a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass ....Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass restoration utilising sediment microbes that can be integrated into management and policy. This project should provide significant benefits, such as the development of key strategic alliances to enhance management of seagrasses, and the ecosystem services, and economic and social benefits they provide.Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Advanced micro analysis systems for environmental monitoring. Understanding of the behaviour of the nutrients controlling nuisance algae in water bodies is currently limited by the cost and logistics of collecting and analysing the large numbers of samples required.
This proposal describes the development and evaluation of portable multiparameter micro analysis systems that will be capable of high frequency measurements from a sampling vessel. This will enable environmental agencies to perfo ....Advanced micro analysis systems for environmental monitoring. Understanding of the behaviour of the nutrients controlling nuisance algae in water bodies is currently limited by the cost and logistics of collecting and analysing the large numbers of samples required.
This proposal describes the development and evaluation of portable multiparameter micro analysis systems that will be capable of high frequency measurements from a sampling vessel. This will enable environmental agencies to perform rapid on-site mapping of nutrients and other water quality parameters in large water bodies, intensive scale mapping of effluent mixing and dispersal zones, quick assessment of the impact of dredging and aquaculture, and compliance monitoring in effluent streams.
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Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-tim ....Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-time information regarding the quality of the remediated water. We expect this to improve the availability of regional water resources by providing a low-cost remediation solution with integrated monitoring to provide assurances of meeting the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006).Read moreRead less