Developing a decision support system for the management of road runoff for water quality protection. Multiple stakeholders share a vested and often significant financial commitment to ensure water quality standards. These industries, in turn, are vital to the social and economic sustainability of many rural communities in Australia. Recent climatic trends of increasing drought episodes and related natural disasters such as bushfires are expected to increase the delivery of sediments and associat ....Developing a decision support system for the management of road runoff for water quality protection. Multiple stakeholders share a vested and often significant financial commitment to ensure water quality standards. These industries, in turn, are vital to the social and economic sustainability of many rural communities in Australia. Recent climatic trends of increasing drought episodes and related natural disasters such as bushfires are expected to increase the delivery of sediments and associated pollutants to streams. The proposed DSS will allow testing of various management scenarios with respect to road position and layout, thereby providing a planning and management tool, and a method to educate the practitioners involved in environmental management in Australia. Read moreRead less
TERRESIM: A simulation system for understanding and managing the interactions between runoff, vegetation, soils and climate in a changing environment. The landforms around us evolve in response to the processes of hydrology, erosion, climate and vegetation that develops on them. Likewise, the past behaviour of these processes (thus historical climatic fluctuations) in written in the deposited sediment. To study these interactions will be develop a state-of-the-art landform simulator (TerreSim). ....TERRESIM: A simulation system for understanding and managing the interactions between runoff, vegetation, soils and climate in a changing environment. The landforms around us evolve in response to the processes of hydrology, erosion, climate and vegetation that develops on them. Likewise, the past behaviour of these processes (thus historical climatic fluctuations) in written in the deposited sediment. To study these interactions will be develop a state-of-the-art landform simulator (TerreSim). We will use it to explore the evolution, development and sustainability of soils, vegetation, and hydrology (e.g. water supply) so as to better understand their response to climatic changes. We will also study rates of cliff retreat and debris flow in steep landscapes to better understand cliff stability.Read moreRead less
Sediment stock-piling and the fate of Australian floodplains. Historic landuse practices have profoundly altered Australia's river systems in less than 200 years. Up to 80% of the sediment and associated pollutants eroded from Australia's catchments are stored in floodplains. The assumption that floodplains can continue to absorb the impacts of upland erosion and land degradation is extremely risky, yet it underpins current catchment management policies in Australia. This project delivers essent ....Sediment stock-piling and the fate of Australian floodplains. Historic landuse practices have profoundly altered Australia's river systems in less than 200 years. Up to 80% of the sediment and associated pollutants eroded from Australia's catchments are stored in floodplains. The assumption that floodplains can continue to absorb the impacts of upland erosion and land degradation is extremely risky, yet it underpins current catchment management policies in Australia. This project delivers essential data on floodplain storage and remobilisation rates using innovative sediment dating and tracing technologies. The significance of this research lies in its immediate relevance to rural industries and the management of Australian riverine and offshore ecosystems.
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Soil erosion and river system response to climate change and early human activity in Australia. This project will provide a much needed quantitative understanding of how soils and rivers have responded and adapted to climate change and human activity in Australia. The outcomes will inform models to predict how our environment is likely to adapt to new conditions in the future as a result of indirect (global warming) and direct (intensive land use) human-related stresses. This project will contri ....Soil erosion and river system response to climate change and early human activity in Australia. This project will provide a much needed quantitative understanding of how soils and rivers have responded and adapted to climate change and human activity in Australia. The outcomes will inform models to predict how our environment is likely to adapt to new conditions in the future as a result of indirect (global warming) and direct (intensive land use) human-related stresses. This project will contribute to the innovative character of Australian research through the development and implementation of new approaches to study soil and river processes.Read moreRead less
The response of soil and river processes to climate change and human activity in Australia. This project will provide a much needed quantitative understanding of how soils and rivers have responded and adapted to climate change and human activity in Australia. The outcomes will inform models to predict how our environment is likely to adapt to new conditions in the future as a result of indirect (global warming) and direct (intensive land use) human-related stresses. This project will assess the ....The response of soil and river processes to climate change and human activity in Australia. This project will provide a much needed quantitative understanding of how soils and rivers have responded and adapted to climate change and human activity in Australia. The outcomes will inform models to predict how our environment is likely to adapt to new conditions in the future as a result of indirect (global warming) and direct (intensive land use) human-related stresses. This project will assess the extent and rate of depletion of soil resources in Australia and also contribute to the innovative character of Australian research through the development and implementation of a new approach to study soil and river processes.Read moreRead less
Beach groundwater dynamics: measurement and modelling. Beach groundwater is a highly complex, dynamic system interacting with tides, waves and swash. Such interactions affect beach sediment movement and contaminant transport/transformation in coastal aquifers. This project aims to measure and model the groundwater's behaviour at three different types of beaches: sand, gravel and gravel-sand mixed beaches. The study will provide much needed understanding and quantification of the beach groundwate ....Beach groundwater dynamics: measurement and modelling. Beach groundwater is a highly complex, dynamic system interacting with tides, waves and swash. Such interactions affect beach sediment movement and contaminant transport/transformation in coastal aquifers. This project aims to measure and model the groundwater's behaviour at three different types of beaches: sand, gravel and gravel-sand mixed beaches. The study will provide much needed understanding and quantification of the beach groundwater dynamics over a range of time scales. The outcome will help to assess the extent and intensity of mass and momentum exchanges across the beach face, and the resulting effects on beach stability and the fate of contaminants in coastal aquifers.Read moreRead less
Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. ....Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. Restoring hydrological connectivity is vital for replenishing groundwater storage and increasing base flows that affect fundamental riverine processes. Using an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, our project unites multidisciplinary scientific and industry expertise to investigate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of secondary floodplain channels and in-stream structures on riverine groundwater processes.Read moreRead less
Geomorphic and vegetative controls of streambank stability and channel migration in streams of tropical Queensland. Streambank erosion and channel migration are natural processes, but major environmental and management problems can arise when they are accelerated by human activities. This project aims to establish how channel morphology and riparian vegetation characteristics influence streambank stability and channel dynamics for streams in tropical northeast Queensland. A predictive model of ....Geomorphic and vegetative controls of streambank stability and channel migration in streams of tropical Queensland. Streambank erosion and channel migration are natural processes, but major environmental and management problems can arise when they are accelerated by human activities. This project aims to establish how channel morphology and riparian vegetation characteristics influence streambank stability and channel dynamics for streams in tropical northeast Queensland. A predictive model of streambank and channel stability will be developed that will allow mobile and stable stream reaches to be identified. This model may be applied to optimise stream stabilisation and rehabilitation strategies, and to improve local riparian and downstream ecosystem quality.Read moreRead less