Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key out ....Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key outcome will be an accurate appreciation of long-term drought occurrence. This will also provide a stronger basis for utilising climate information in guiding day-to-day reservoir and water supply management. The proxy histories are of key importance in estimating future flood and drought risk assessments for water resources management and planning.Read moreRead less
A Stochastic Downscaling Framework for Catchment Scale Climate Change Impact Assessment. We propose a framework for climate change impact assessment at the catchment scale, that can both assess the change in catchment yield, as well as refine management policies to mitigate likely impacts. A key aim is to represent the full uncertainty in the simulated streamflow, thus enabling a risk-based comparison of current policies with those for climate change conditions. Given the importance of this rese ....A Stochastic Downscaling Framework for Catchment Scale Climate Change Impact Assessment. We propose a framework for climate change impact assessment at the catchment scale, that can both assess the change in catchment yield, as well as refine management policies to mitigate likely impacts. A key aim is to represent the full uncertainty in the simulated streamflow, thus enabling a risk-based comparison of current policies with those for climate change conditions. Given the importance of this research to the availability of water under a climate change scenario, this proposal has been listed under the ARC's Research Priority 1: 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia', with the specific priority goals being 'Water - A Critical Resource', and 'Responding to climate change and variability'.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on coastal floodplain wetland biogeochemistry and surface water quality. The most vulnerable Australian landscapes to global warming driven sea-level rise are our low-lying coastal floodplains. Seawater inundation dramatically affects soil chemistry and water quality. Over 74,000 km2 of the low-lying coastal floodplains of Australia contain acid sulfate soils. For these soils, seawater inundation has the potential to greatly enhance the release of acidity, with a high c ....Impacts of climate change on coastal floodplain wetland biogeochemistry and surface water quality. The most vulnerable Australian landscapes to global warming driven sea-level rise are our low-lying coastal floodplains. Seawater inundation dramatically affects soil chemistry and water quality. Over 74,000 km2 of the low-lying coastal floodplains of Australia contain acid sulfate soils. For these soils, seawater inundation has the potential to greatly enhance the release of acidity, with a high capacity to severely degrade wetlands, estuaries and farmland. This project will directly contribute to our national capacity to assess and manage impacts from climate change, providing greater protection of our coastal floodplains resources.Read moreRead less
Toxic cyanobacterial blooms in a carbon dioxide (CO2)-rich world: assessing the impacts of global climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms in Australia cost the country over $150 million every year because of their impacts on water quality and animal and human health. The frequency, distribution and intensity of these blooms are all expected to increase worldwide as global climate change impacts increase over the next century. This project will provide much needed information of the severity of imp ....Toxic cyanobacterial blooms in a carbon dioxide (CO2)-rich world: assessing the impacts of global climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms in Australia cost the country over $150 million every year because of their impacts on water quality and animal and human health. The frequency, distribution and intensity of these blooms are all expected to increase worldwide as global climate change impacts increase over the next century. This project will provide much needed information of the severity of impacts on cyanobacteria commonly causing blooms in Australian aquatic ecosystems. This information will be important to authorities responsible for managing our precious water resources.Read moreRead less
Impact of land use on cloud formation. Large scale land clearing has the potential to significantly modify regional climates yet current climate models do not incorporate an adequate representation of the land surface. Within Western Australia the rabbit fence provides a unique environment in which the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere can be studied without other competing influences. A combination of satellite, aircraft and ground based observations will be used to relate ....Impact of land use on cloud formation. Large scale land clearing has the potential to significantly modify regional climates yet current climate models do not incorporate an adequate representation of the land surface. Within Western Australia the rabbit fence provides a unique environment in which the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere can be studied without other competing influences. A combination of satellite, aircraft and ground based observations will be used to relate cloud formation to land characteristics and provide a clearer insight into the climatic impact of human-induced land surface changes.Read moreRead less
Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and ....Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and with the human occupation of Australia. The results will provide valuable information with which to better understand the the main global drivers of episodes of profound wetness and dryness in Australian climate. Read moreRead less
How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilome ....How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilometres of fresh water adjacent to the now-barren Flinders Ranges. It will show if this water had a tropical or temperate source, fundamental information for understanding Australia's past climate, and allow predictions of future climate to be based on firm evidence.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775739
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$135,000.00
Summary
Environmental Research Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (ERIRMS). The projects supported by this facility are esential to: sustainable management of Sydney's surface and groundwater; understanding food webs and trophic interactions in Sydney Harbour and elsewhere on the eastern seaboard; developing predictive models for the impacts of climate change on Australia's forests, especially carbon sequestration and water yield; understanding the trade-offs involved in managing fire risks through prescr ....Environmental Research Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (ERIRMS). The projects supported by this facility are esential to: sustainable management of Sydney's surface and groundwater; understanding food webs and trophic interactions in Sydney Harbour and elsewhere on the eastern seaboard; developing predictive models for the impacts of climate change on Australia's forests, especially carbon sequestration and water yield; understanding the trade-offs involved in managing fire risks through prescribed burning, especially trade-offs involving carbon and water; and understanding and predicting air quality and the effects of emissions from cars, industry, fires and natural sources.
Read moreRead less
A new flood design methodology for a variable and changing climate. The extreme temporal and spatial variability of Australia's rainfall affects the quantity and quality of water resources, the productivity of agricultural systems, and aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Given the impact of extreme events such as floods and the massive investment in water-related infrastructure, evaluation of these risks is an issue of national economic and environmental significance. Monte Carlo simulation tech ....A new flood design methodology for a variable and changing climate. The extreme temporal and spatial variability of Australia's rainfall affects the quantity and quality of water resources, the productivity of agricultural systems, and aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Given the impact of extreme events such as floods and the massive investment in water-related infrastructure, evaluation of these risks is an issue of national economic and environmental significance. Monte Carlo simulation techniques will quantify the risks associated with current and future climate change, and the combined risks that come from multiple sources, such as from coastal tides and storm runoff. This research will provide a new spatial framework for calculating risk as well as tools to evaluate flood risk.Read moreRead less
Using Advances in Bayesian Statistics to Estimate Australian Rainfall Variations in a Climate Change World. Modelling changes to rainfall patterns answers many important questions about changes in Australia's climate. This is essential to protecting our biodiversity and ensuring Australia's environmental sustainability. The project will address such issues as the extent to which the entire distribution of daily rainfall has changed over time, which areas of Australia have been most affected by t ....Using Advances in Bayesian Statistics to Estimate Australian Rainfall Variations in a Climate Change World. Modelling changes to rainfall patterns answers many important questions about changes in Australia's climate. This is essential to protecting our biodiversity and ensuring Australia's environmental sustainability. The project will address such issues as the extent to which the entire distribution of daily rainfall has changed over time, which areas of Australia have been most affected by this change and to what extent are these changes related to global climate indices. The latest advances in Bayesian statistics will be used to introduce flexibility and complexity into the model.Read moreRead less