Hundreds of billions of litres of water is missing from the Murray-Darling Basin, according to a new report. An Australian National University (ANU) study claimed the Federal Government had grossly exaggerated the amount of water being returned to […]
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Coupling between the land surface and the atmosphere can affect how much and when it rains. One way coupling has been uncovered in nature is through identifying when the amount of rainfall has been affected by how wet […]
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In predicting the trajectory of future climate, water and ecosystems, we can no longer ignore the many ways in which human feedbacks modify our natural systems. The 5th national OzEWEX workshop explored how well we understand stores and […]
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If you want a salutary example of the taxpayers’ money that can be wasted and the harm that can be done when governments yield to the temptation to prop up declining – and, in this case, environmentally damaging […]
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Most people imagine that as temperature rises, evaporation increases. While that is true under specific circumstances, in general this is not the case. This is because when evaporation increases it causes a surface to cool and thereby reducing […]
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New research in Nature Climate Change suggests droughts may not increase as a result of climate change. This finding resulted from researchers investigating an apparent climate model contradiction that saw climate change projections of the 21st Century produce […]
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Australian native plants show that leaf traits can be predicted from the growth environment, but that models should incorporate intra-specific variation. Vegetation models are used to help us understand observed vegetation patterns across the world and the underlying […]
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The height of individual tree crowns near Alice Springs derived from TERN’s airborne lidar collection. The sheer abundance of data on Australia’s natural environment means that the data cannot be easily explored and analysed by non-expert users. To […]
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Clearfell logging in the Thomson Catchment with the Thomson Reservoir in the background. (Source: Chris Taylor) Continued logging in Melbourne’s water catchments could reduce the city’s water supply by the equivalent of 600,000 people’s annual water use every […]
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Less than 1% of global river flows is used for irrigation, and only 1% of that occurs in Australia. That is the result of a high-resolution global model-data analysis we published recently. The importance of evaporation from wetlands, […]
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All over the world, the wind is slowing. Bit by bit, low-level land wind speeds have been decreasing since reliable records began in the 1970s. It is called “the stilling”. The decline was silently sneaking through under the […]
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The Australian Climate and Water Summer Institute is a six-week event (7 December 2017 – 2 February 2018) during which several of the most talented Australian students and early career researchers work in teams with experts from a […]
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A National Environmental Observation and Prediction System for the year 2030 The 4th national OzEWEX workshop explored what a future comprehensive National Environmental Prediction system should look like and what observations it will need. The workshop was held […]
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A new study led by ANU has warned that Melbourne and Sydney should prepare for 50 degree Celsius days under the Paris Agreement global warming limit of 2 degrees. Lead researcher Dr Sophie Lewis said the study assessed […]
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The New South Wales regional water minister, Niall Blair, has quietly granted himself the power to approve illegal floodplain works retrospectively. A Wentworth Group scientist, Jamie Pittock, has accused the NSW government of actively undermining the Murray-Darling basin […]
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We are inviting applications for a competitive fellowship grant to participate in the 2018 Australian Climate and Water Summer Institute, organised by a consortium of government and research organisations. This prestigious six-week event offers around 18 of the most talented […]
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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Whenever droughts occur in Australia, our ability to monitor, attribute, forecast and manage them is shown to be insufficient. That is the conclusion of a a new study by Australian researchers undertaken through OzEWEX, and published in the […]
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Generation Y has grown up in a rapidly warming world. According to the US National Climate Data Centre, every month since February 1985 has seen above average global temperatures, compared with the twentieth century. I have no memories […]
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