The models we use to manage our rivers and groundwater aquifers are not just equations and maths, but are a formalisation of how we think nature behaves in response to droughts and floods. A major, and implicit, assumption […]
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A climate watcher has said she is being “blown away” and “in shock” by Australia’s start to summer which is refusing to play by the rules. A climate watcher has said that she is “in shock” at how […]
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Public attention on the disastrous bushfire crisis in Australia will rightly continue for weeks to come. But as we direct resources to coping and recovery, we should not forget other weather and climate challenges looming this summer. Bushfires […]
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The recent ABC Four Corners program ‘Cash Splash’ portrayed implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan as a “failure and a farce”, asserting that it constituted a gross waste of public money and was producing little to no benefit. […]
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When designing urban water infrastructure, planners rely on historical rain gauge observations to quantify the intensity, duration and frequency of rainfall. However, with rapid urbanisation and a changing climate this infrastructure is becoming increasingly susceptible to rainfall events […]
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Globally the cooling of the atmosphere by radiation is balanced by its heating from condensation and heat transfer from the Earth’s surface. This study is the first to investigate this so-called Radiative Convective Equilibrium – or RCE – […]
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Australia’s rainfall is among the most variable rainfall in the world. The highest rainfall is received along the coast; an area that supports more than 84% of the population of the country. Australia has seen some major changes […]
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People have used moving water to create energy for thousands of years. Today, pumped hydro is the most common form of grid-connected energy storage in the world. This technology is in the spotlight because it pairs so well […]
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Rain of biblical proportions, heatwaves, tornadoes and bushfires — extreme weather events happen around the world on a regular basis and Australian scientists are hoping to improve their forecasting with the help of citizen scientists. A new app […]
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Floods are among the most frequent and destructive natural disasters. An accurate and reliable flood forecast system which should model runoff generation, runoff concentration, streamflow propagation and floodplain inundation, can provide vital information for land management and emergency […]
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Has the Australian climate change debate changed? You could be forgiven for thinking the answer is no. Just this week The Australian has run a series of articles attacking the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather observations. Meanwhile, the federal […]
Read moreThe Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes is a major seven-year initiative that brings together five of Australia’s leading universities and a suite of national and international partners. Our goal is to transform our understanding […]
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New research has assimilated both near-surface soil moisture (SM) observations and total water storage (TWS) observations into a water balance model and shown that using both permits for more accurate water storage estimates. This is the first time […]
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New research shows that satellite and model-based methods to estimate near-surface soil moisture both have their relative strengths and weaknesses – but not always in the ways science has assumed. Soil moisture plays a key role in the hydrological cycle and in governing […]
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Drought and water stress monitoring plays an important role in the management of water resources, especially during periods of extreme climate conditions. A recently developed drought index that considers both hydrometeorological and ecological concepts has revealed new aspects […]
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Floodplain lakes of the Yarra River became increasingly disconnected from the main river over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. This discovery was highlighted in a new study published in Science of The Total Environment by […]
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