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
The characterisation of wastewater distribution patterns for the production of decision support systems for pathogenic risk analysis in water catchments. The project will aim to collate data and map base-level distribution patterns of molecular and microbial markers of human sewage and natural/agricultural contamination with reference to diurnal and seasonal fluctuations. These data will then be used to develop decision support systems that predict contaminant dispersion and identify high-risk c ....The characterisation of wastewater distribution patterns for the production of decision support systems for pathogenic risk analysis in water catchments. The project will aim to collate data and map base-level distribution patterns of molecular and microbial markers of human sewage and natural/agricultural contamination with reference to diurnal and seasonal fluctuations. These data will then be used to develop decision support systems that predict contaminant dispersion and identify high-risk contamination sources. The diurnal collection of data is expected to show significant variations in the measured parameters associated with time of day, light intensity and temperature. Mapping of the sewage and nutrient loads throughout the year will provide base line data for identifying potential hotspots for targeting system upgrades or improved management programs.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.
Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vib ....Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vibration sensors and actual survey instrumentation to confirm its effectiveness, robustness and durability.Read moreRead less
Robust streamflow predictions by improving the identification of hydrological model structure. This project aims to provide Australian environmental agencies, design engineers and policy-makers with robust methods that better utilise observed environmental data and process understanding to produce hydrological models with stronger scientific basis and improved operational predictive ability in gauged and ungauged catchments.
Sustainability of water and wastewater treatment chemicals. In recent years, the environmental design and management of water and wastewater treatment facilities has broadened from consideration of water quality outcomes to include the environmental consequences of energy and material inputs. This has produced nationally agreed approaches to estimating greenhouse gas emissions from power consumption, but for important chemical additives analysts are forced to work with low-quality estimated dat ....Sustainability of water and wastewater treatment chemicals. In recent years, the environmental design and management of water and wastewater treatment facilities has broadened from consideration of water quality outcomes to include the environmental consequences of energy and material inputs. This has produced nationally agreed approaches to estimating greenhouse gas emissions from power consumption, but for important chemical additives analysts are forced to work with low-quality estimated data. In a time when society wants to account for the 'carbon-footprint' of decisions and more broadly consider the resources used and emissions produced by industry, this research will make this quantitatively possible for chemicals used in water and wastewater treatment.Read moreRead less