Monitoring the health of river systems.
Clever environmental management
CSIRO's information and communication technologies and mathematical and statistical services are providing the information about complex natural systems needed to better manage our environment.
- 31 August 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011
Smart sensors, statistical models and mathematical expertise together are helping us gather and make sense of environmental data, providing new environmental services and management tools in an increasingly resource-constrained world.
CSIRO scientists are delivering solutions for collecting, monitoring and analysing real-world data about our natural environment, ranging from small river systems to large catchment areas and the open ocean.
Our world-class statistical models and mathematical expertise are helping to design better environmental surveys and understand patterns in data and changing environmental systems.
This includes understanding complex food web interactions, designing a survey method to count whales and predicting extreme weather events.
Our focus in information sciences for the environment is in:
- data acquisition
- monitoring and analysis
- modelling and forecasting scenarios
- risk analysis
- future resource use and planning
- environmental service design.
Our work includes:
- Smart wireless sensor networks. CSIRO's low-cost, energy-efficient sensor nodes collect environmental data in the field and communicate with each other to provide real-time, remotely accessible information to scientists, farmers and environmental managers. Read more about Smart sensors monitoring water quality and catchment health.
- Sensor webs. Our sensor web technology gathers data from thousands of sensors of different kinds and makes it available through the web. Our test bed in the South Esk River catchment in Tasmania, Australia demonstrates new water management services including world-first 48-hour stream flow forecasting, used nationally and internationally as a research resource. Read more about Ensuring sustainable water resource use.
- Report cards rate water quality. CSIRO environmental statisticians helped develop an annual auditing system for waterways managers. We are ensuring maximum usable information is obtained from environmental monitoring, better displaying this information so changes in ecosystem health indicators are clear and assessing the effectiveness of catchment management decisions. Read more about Monitoring water quality in South-East Queensland.
- Remote sensing technologies. CSIRO is combining data from satellite images with information from other data sources and on-the-ground observations to create maps that help environmental managers monitor land use change and make predictions. CSIRO's vegetation change maps were essential in providing information for Australia’s National Carbon Accounting System. Read more about Using remote sensing for environmental monitoring and mapping.
- Autonomous robots. CSIRO has developed inexpensive autonomous boats and a submarine that use a mix of sensors, smart navigation, guidance and information processing techniques for open water monitoring and mapping. Easily navigating complex underwater terrains, they assist environmental scientists with the collection of data and inspection of natural habitats.
Read more about Starbug: CSIRO's award-winning robotic submarine.
- Forecasting systems. CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Royal Australian Navy created the BLUElink ocean forecasting system which delivers daily forecasts for the oceans around Australia, which feed into global ocean climate models. BLUElink provides a service to all marine users including the Australian Navy, transport providers, the fishing industry, tourism operators and marine environment managers. Read more about BLUElink: reliable ocean forecasting.
- Modelling and risk assessment tools. CSIRO is helping decision makers in industry, government and the public sector to, for example, better predict extreme weather events, manage Australia's natural resources more wisely and accurately calculate the risk of disease resistant plants becoming weeds. Read more about Investments, risk and decision analysis.
Find out more about CSIRO's research in science for our Environment.
