Murray Darling Basin

Hydrological monitoring is essential for meaningful water-management policies and actions, especially where water resources are scarce and/or dwindling, as is the case in Australia. In this paper, we investigate the regional 4° × 4° mascon (mass concentration) GRACE solutions for Australia provided by GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA) for their suitability in monitoring Australian hydrology, with a particular focus on the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). Using principal component analysis (PCA) and multi-linear regression analysis (MLRA), the main components of spatial and temporal variability in the mascon solutions are analysed over the whole Australian continent and the MDB. The results are compared to those from global solutions provided by CSR (Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, USA) and CNES/GRGS (Centre National d'Études Spatiales/Groupe de Recherche de Geodesie Spatiale, France) and validated using data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), water storage changes predicted by the WaterGap Global Hydrological Model (WGHM) and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), and ground-truth (river-gauge) observations. For the challenging Australian case with generally weak hydrological signals, the mascon solutions provide similar results to those from the global solutions, with the advantage of not requiring additional filtering (destriping and smoothing) as, for example, is necessary for the CSR solutions. A further advantage of the mascon solutions is that they offer a higher temporal resolution (i.e., 10 days) compared to approximately monthly CSR solutions. Examining equivalent water volume (EWV) time series for the MDB shows a good cross-correlation (generally > 0.7) among the GRACE solutions when considering the whole basin, although lower (generally < 0.5) when all the GRACE solutions are compared to the TRMM, WGHM and GLDAS time series. Examining smaller portions of the MDB see the correlation among the GRACE solutions and the TRMM, WGHM and GLDAS EWV time series increase slightly (> 0.6), with all time series appearing to visually follow the general behaviour of the river-gauge data, although the cross-correlations are relatively low (between 0.3 and 0.6).► Mascon provides equivalent results as global CSR & CNES/GRGS solutions. ► All examined GRACE releases reveal seasonal & tropical north signals. ► GRACE, modelled hydrology & precipitation show similar behaviour Australia wide. ► GRACE solutions generally follow river gauge data.

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Counter-acting forces to increase rural production and/or its efficiency, and to sustain an ecosystem now recognised to be under increasing and destructive pressures have created exigencies in achieving balanced natural resource management (NRM). Nowhere is this more apparent than in the management of the Murray Darling System in south-eastern Australia. All actions affecting natural resources impinge on the ecosystems that support those resources, the economy based on them, and the human society and culture connected to them. Change is best managed with the cooperation of those most affected. If NRM is to be achieved through informed community decisions, there is a need for a multidisciplinary process, drawing on specialist (intra-disciplinary) expertise, and a requirement to pull the resultant knowledge into an integrated form which supports decision-making at the management and community level. We propose a framework that identifies tasks necessary to support community decision-making and inject specialist technical knowledge into the process. For complex NRM issues, it is likely that there is insufficient information in one or more disciplines to support a strong decision. Where possible, this should lead to the interposition of targeted pilot trials, based on principles of adaptive management, prior to the final assessment and (presumedly) management plans. These ‘management experiments’ follow a similar path to specialist hypotheses and measurements (based on the same management intervention) followed by an integrated assessment. It appears that identification of, and engagement with, components of the community, and analytical techniques to support integrated assessment are two major areas in which new knowledge is urgently needed.

This article evaluates irrigated agriculture sector response and resultant economic impacts of climate change for a part of the Murray Darling Basin in Australia. A water balance model is used to predict reduced basin inflows for mild, moderate and severe climate change scenarios involving 1, 2 and 4°C warming, and predict 13, 38 and 63% reduced inflows. Impact on irrigated agricultural production and profitability are estimated with a mathematical programming model using a two-stage approach that simultaneously estimates short and long-run adjustments. The model accounts for a range of adaptive responses including: deficit irrigation, temporarily following of some areas, permanently reducing the irrigated area and changing the mix of crops. The results suggest that relatively low cost adaptation strategies are available for a moderate reduction in water availability and thus costs of such a reduction are likely to be relatively small. In more severe climate change scenarios greater costs are estimated. Adaptations predicted include a reduction in total area irrigated and investments in efficient irrigation. A shift away from perennial to annual crops is also predicted as the latter can be managed more profitably when water allocations in some years are very low.

Large scale forest plantations in the Murray–Darling Basin are a possible carbon sequestration mechanism which may be adopted in response to the introduction of a carbon price. However, increased tree plantation will be associated with reduced inflows to river systems because of increased transpiration, interception and evaporation. This could have significant implications for regions vulnerable to drought. This study examines the interaction between carbon pricing, water pricing, and agricultural land use in the Murray–Darling Basin and its impact on water flow under current and climate change settings.

Australia’s largest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, is the focus of scientific and political attention, due mainly to the competing issues of economic productivity versus environmental flows. Central to this dialogue is the need to know about the Basin’s natural condition and the degree to which the system has deviated from this pre-disturbance, baseline status. This study examines the patterns of ecological change in Lake Cullulleraine, a permanently connected artificial wetland adjacent to Lock Nine on the Murray River, south-east Australia. A 43-cm sediment core was collected in January 1998 and diatoms were analysed at 1-cm intervals for use as aquatic ecological indicators. The sediment core was dated using 210Pb. Changes in the diatom community have occurred since the time of lake formation in 1926, particularly shifts between Aulacoseira subborealis, Staurosira construens var. venter, Aulacoseira granulata, Staurosirella pinnata and Pseudostaurosira brevistriata. An electrical conductivity (EC) transfer function was applied to the fossil diatom assemblages and inferred EC values were compared to long-term, historical EC data from the River. Despite the presence of good analogues between fossil and modern diatom assemblages, inferred EC did not reflect measured EC accurately. In recent decades, patterns in the two data sets were reversed. Despite clear changes in the fossil record, quantitative palaeo-environmental interpretation was limited because the dominant taxa occupy broad ecological niches. Despite these limitations, changes in the Lake Cullulleraine record, particularly in the planktonic taxa, can be interpreted in terms of landscape change. Furthermore, because of the good chronology from the site, the record may be useful for dating changes observed in sites with poor chronological control.

... with regional models of NRM delivery also enhance the &amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;wickedness&amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27; of the MDB situation (Morrison 2006; Robins and Kanowski 2011), so much so that water reform in Australia has stalled (NWC 2009) and there is danger of systemic water governance failure (Godden and ...

A methodology is presented for assessing the average changes in groundwater recharge under a future climate. The method is applied to the 1,060,000 km2 Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia. Climate sequences were developed based upon three scenarios for a 2030 climate relative to a 1990 climate from the outputs of 15 global climate models. Dryland diffuse groundwater recharge was modelled in

Coarse woody debris (fallen wood, CWD) has been largely stripped from both rivers and their floodplains in the southern Murray-Darling basin of south-eastern Australia. Some of our work suggests that as little as 20 t/ha (on average) remains on floodplains where once the figure may have been closer to 90–125 t/ha. Here we examine the consequences of this depletion of

River regulation has led to a decline in the condition of Australia’s dominant riverine tree species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., in the Murray-Darling Basin.  A quantitative method of assessing the condition of these important riparian forests is required for effective monitoring and management.  A range of stand structural, morphological and physiological variables was measured in stands of contrasting condition along the Murray River in southeastern Australia.  Percentage live basal area, plant area index and crown vigour were found to be reliable, objective indicators of stand condition.  Little difference was detected in the physiological performance of trees in terms of water potential and chlorophyll fluorescence among stands of good and poor condition.

Resource condition targets have been specified for river salinity, biodiversity conservation, and wind erosion mitigation in the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin (SA MDB). The revegetation of cleared, privately owned agricultural land with deep rooted perennials has been widely promoted as one approach to satisfy the resource condition targets. Current estimates indicate the scale of revegetation necessary to meet the targets

Australia&#x27;s Murray-Darling Basin and south western United States share: (1) climate variability resulting in the need for large water storage investment; (2) the need for internal and cross-border (state) water management; (3) an historical over-allocation of water to irrigators; and (4) ...

We hear a lot about environmental pressures associated with natural resource-based production systems in Australia: • Salinisation of land and water • Acidification of soil • Soil erosion and deterioration of soil structure • Spread of weeds • Eutrophication of streams and lakes • Loss of biodiversity Taken together, these are usually seen as Australia&#39;s worst environmental problem. Australia is