Climate change leaving Australia parched
An international team of researchers report that human-driven climate change may explain changes in water availability during the driest month of the year.
Tag: water
Drinking water under threat from bushfire
Rainfall after fire brings immediate relief but the environmental effects can sometimes be as significant as the fire itself.
Central Gippsland irrigation funding
The Victorian Government is investigating ways to ensure agriculture in central Gippsland has a strong and resilient future.
How maths is solving complex water quality issues
Researchers are using complex mathematical modelling to improve the quality and distribution of water, a vital and precious resource that is often taken for granted because of its ‘simple’ journey from reservoir to tap.
‘Black box’ of rules hampers management of Murray-Darling Basin flows
The often-overlooked “human factor” in water management rules can have serious consequences for water supply for both irrigated agriculture and the environment, new UNSW Sydney research has found.
Pilot project taps into new digital water trading opportunities for FNQ irrigators
The latest Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) collaboration sees blockchain and digital technology experts Civic Ledger working with researchers and industry representatives to deliver the “Improving water markets and trading through new digital technologies” pilot research project over the next six months.
Sink or Swim: mismatch between land and seafloor debris revealed in global study
The Journal of Environmental Pollution have published a study by scientists at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency; Project AWARE, a global non-profit connecting community action and policy; and Ocean Conservancy, a US-based advocacy non-profit, that evaluated the relationship between land-based debris and what is found…
Historic lake could be key to better management of Murray Darling Basin
A team of scientists – from the University of Newcastle and the University of Sydney – has published important findings revealing that between 5000 and 8000 years ago when sea-levels were approximately two metres higher than today, the Lower Murray River turned into a large,…
Global database for water-use efficiency compiled from tree-ring data
By examining the carbon isotope composition of tree-rings, researchers from Swinburne and the University of California, Davis have compiled the first comprehensive global database for water-use efficiency.
Satellite images used to detect plastic pollution floating in our oceans
A new method of detecting patches of floating macroplastics ― larger than 5 millimetres ― in marine environments is presented in Scientific Reports. The approach, which uses data from the European Space Agency Sentinel-2 satellites, is able to distinguish plastics from other materials with 86%…
Collective behaviour of ocean microbes plays big role in climate processes
The new research quantifies the way specific marine bacteria process a key chemical called dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which is produced in enormous amount by phytoplankton. This chemical plays a pivotal role in the way sulphur and carbon get consumed by microorganisms in the ocean and released…
Charles Sturt calls for solutions to fix Australia’s biggest water problems
Charles Sturt supports the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge, which is calling for submissions on the country’s biggest water issues to implement research and technology to better use this resource.