Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean a ....Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean ages for the sample. This project aims to determine whether it is possible to determine moments of the groundwater age distributions from measurements made with different environmental tracers. The project also aims to examine whether the degree of heterogeneity within the aquifer can be determined from the disparity between ages obtained with different tracers. This project aims to tackle the largest problem with using groundwater chemistry to estimate water age – that mixing processes in the subsurface are never known. Solving this problem will allow much more accurate estimates of groundwater velocity and aquifer recharge rates. The groundwater industry contributes an estimated $6.8 billion per annum to the Australian economy, and this project will contribute to the sustainable management of the groundwater resource.Read moreRead less
Optimising seasonal decisions for environmental water use. This project will develop a tool to optimise the use of environmental water, drawing on seasonal forecasts of streamflow and water price, and predicted ecological responses to changing flows. This tool will strengthen the effectiveness of the government organisations responsible for managing Australia's environmental water reserves.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100045
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
A mass spectrometer to analyse carbonate isotope records of Australia's climate, soil and groundwater history. Water is a critical resource in Australia, yet there is a fundamental lack of knowledge about the causes and timing of groundwater recharge in the past. This facility will allow researchers to better understand climate and groundwater interactions through high resolution isotope analysis of deposits, such as cave stalagmites and marine corals.
Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understand ....Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understanding to the social mechanisms behind these practices at water catchments. It will improve the predictability and precision of water resources management and increase our ability to maintain our options for a sustainable future. This will have a profound effect on catchment sustainability, a globally significant problem.Read moreRead less
A decadal to inter-decadal streamflow prediction system. This project will develop the first ever decadal streamflow prediction system for Australia, leading to predictions of streamflow for the next 10 years and beyond that take into account both natural climatic variability (driven by factors such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation) and changing greenhouse gas concentrations due to a warming planet.
Superhydrophobic fabrics for solar desalination of water. This project will further strengthen Australia's world leading position in water desalination technology and advanced fibrous materials research. It will lead to new membrane materials and techniques for high-efficiency, low-cost and energy-saving desalination of sea/saline water, which will have significant social and economic benefits.
Exploring water worlds for ecohydrologic modelling of ephemeral catchments. This project aims to identify and quantify the key processes driving the generation of streamflow in ephemeral catchments with different rainfall regimes, topography, geology, and two contrasting land uses. Four ephemeral catchments in south-western Victoria will be used as a case study to identify how these catchments store and release water. Particular focus will be directed to understanding the roles of groundwater an ....Exploring water worlds for ecohydrologic modelling of ephemeral catchments. This project aims to identify and quantify the key processes driving the generation of streamflow in ephemeral catchments with different rainfall regimes, topography, geology, and two contrasting land uses. Four ephemeral catchments in south-western Victoria will be used as a case study to identify how these catchments store and release water. Particular focus will be directed to understanding the roles of groundwater and surface runoff in supplying the streams when they flow, and how rainfall is partitioned between tree water use, groundwater recharge, and streamflow. The outcomes from experimental observations will be used to improve current hydrological models to support land and water management.Read moreRead less
Forecasting drought impacts months ahead using satellite data. Skillful seasonal water and crop forecasts could do much to help cope with drought and water-related food crises. Recent advances in hydrological modelling and satellite remote sensing of surface soil moisture, landscape water storage and vegetation biomass have created a great opportunity to produce such forecasts over large areas. This project will exploit that opportunity by assimilating the satellite observations into a global wa ....Forecasting drought impacts months ahead using satellite data. Skillful seasonal water and crop forecasts could do much to help cope with drought and water-related food crises. Recent advances in hydrological modelling and satellite remote sensing of surface soil moisture, landscape water storage and vegetation biomass have created a great opportunity to produce such forecasts over large areas. This project will exploit that opportunity by assimilating the satellite observations into a global water and vegetation forecasting model. The resulting improvement in seasonal forecasts of stream flow, soil moisture and crop production will be quantified and compared to the limited forecasts that are currently available.Read moreRead less
A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust ....A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust streamflow forecasts to water agencies such as South East Queensland Water and others across Australia. Accurate predictions of future water flows are of tremendous value to urban and rural Australian communities whose economic prosperity, water security and social well-being depend on reliable estimates of water availability.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing millennial-scale streamflow variability to assess near-future risks to water-generated renewable energy. Hydroelectric power is a key component of Australia's national renewable energy policy. The project will combine Hydro Tasmania's water supply and distribution network with historical reconstructions of streamflow variability to conduct stress tests of future water supplies and hydroelectric generating capacity for the Australian power grid.