scholarly journals Morphological Exposure of Rocky Platforms: Filling the Hazard Gap Using UAVs

Drones ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Rafael C. Carvalho ◽  
Colin D. Woodroffe
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Hazard Index ◽  
Wave Direction ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Edge Type ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Seaward Edge ◽  
High Wave Energy ◽  
Study Sites

Rock platforms are dangerous environments commonly subject to high wave energy on the open coast. Platform morphology is central to understanding what makes one stretch of coastline more hazardous than another, and it can be used to create site-specific morphological exposure hazard indices to assess the relative risk of being washed into the sea, assisting coastal managers in an effort to reduce the number of injuries and drowning incidents. This paper describes the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to derive morphological parameters for two data-poor rock platforms along the Illawarra coast of southern New South Wales, to fill the gap using an easily replicable site-specific hazard index, developed previously, that can be applied to other microtidal wave-dominated settings. The approach is based on the subdivision of the terrestrial seaward edge of platforms into segments, classified according to mean elevation, orientation and edge type, to model different weighting scenarios of predominant southeasterly and northeasterly wave direction. UAV-derived results were deemed satisfactory for all study sites, and a comparison of results derived from LiDAR for two platforms suggested that UAV data can be successfully used to guide risk policy on rock coasts, despite differences in the delimitation of the seaward edge due to tidal level during survey acquisition.

If long fallow cropping is leaky then shallow groundwaters on the Liverpool Plains should be of recent origin

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Young ◽  
A. Broughton ◽  
J. M. Bradd ◽  
J. F. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
New South ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Deep Drainage ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Recent Origin ◽  
Unexpected Outcome

Previous groundwater studies have indicated that up to 195 000 ha of the Liverpool Plains catchment, south of Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia, are at risk from shallow saline watertables. Replacement of hydraulically stable, native perennial grasslands with more ‘leaky’ annual cropping systems since the 1950s, particularly long fallow wheat–sorghum rotations, has been held responsible for an apparent increased frequency of shallow watertables and saline discharge. If so, then it follows that shallow groundwater in the alluvium will be recent (less than about 30 years old) and the solution to the problem is a straightforward reduction in deep drainage under farming systems via increased evapotranspiration. However, in this study, we have found levels of bomb pulse tritium in shallow groundwaters that indicate that about half of the shallow groundwaters in the Mooki subcatchment pre-date current agricultural practices. A hypothesis for this unexpected outcome suggests that the problem is complex and that solutions need to be site-specific.

scholarly journals Can UAV-Based Infrared Thermography Be Used to Study Plant-Parasite Interactions between Mistletoe and Eucalypt Trees?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter Maes ◽  
Alfredo Huete ◽  
Michele Avino ◽  
Matthias Boer ◽  
Remy Dehaan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Thermography ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
New South ◽  
Canopy Temperature ◽  
Plant Water Relations ◽  
Plant Parasite ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Some of the remnants of the Cumberland Plain woodland, an endangered dry sclerophyllous forest type of New South Wales, Australia, host large populations of mistletoe. In this study, the extent of mistletoe infection was investigated based on a forest inventory. We found that the mistletoe infection rate was relatively high, with 69% of the Eucalyptus fibrosa and 75% of the E. moluccana trees being infected. Next, to study the potential consequences of the infection for the trees, canopy temperatures of mistletoe plants and of infected and uninfected trees were analyzed using thermal imagery acquired during 10 flights with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in two consecutive summer seasons. Throughout all flight campaigns, mistletoe canopy temperature was 0.3–2 K lower than the temperature of the eucalypt canopy it was growing in, suggesting higher transpiration rates. Differences in canopy temperature between infected eucalypt foliage and mistletoe were particularly large when incoming radiation peaked. In these conditions, eucalypt foliage from infected trees also had significantly higher canopy temperatures (and likely lower transpiration rates) compared to that of uninfected trees of the same species. The study demonstrates the potential of using UAV-based infrared thermography for studying plant-water relations of mistletoe and its hosts.

Population characteristics and management of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) in high-quality habitat in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda A. Norton ◽  
Alison Prentice ◽  
Juliet Dingle ◽  
Kris French ◽  
Andrew W. Claridge
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Live Trapping ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Fox Control ◽  
Potorous Tridactylus

Since European settlement in Australia the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) has suffered greatly from fox predation and habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. To better understand the threats it faces we examined the population dynamics of the potoroo at two study sites in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales over five years, using live-trapping. As neither site had experienced inappropriate habitat change for over 25 years, fox predation was considered the major threat to this population. An assessment of fox activity and diet was undertaken at both sites for comparison with potoroo abundance. Potoroos increased at both sites over time, although at one site this increase was only in density and not range. The density increase would not have been detected using camera surveys, a monitoring technique recommended for this species. The relative abundance of foxes fluctuated over the study despite fox control in one of the two sites. Analysis of fox scats at the same sites indicated high levels of predation on potoroos. Future management should aim to provide effective fox control (particularly following any fire due to the associated loss of ground cover) and improved fox monitoring to ensure an accurate understanding of what is happening to the fox population.

Feeding Ecology of the Barn Owl, Tyto Alba, in Arid Southern Australia.

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton ◽  
AA Martin
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Barn Owls ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Study Sites

In arid parts of Australia the barn owl appears to feed largely on rodents which form irruptions or plagues, i.e. undergo marked changes in abundance. Barn owls became common at the height of an irruption of house mice, Mus musculus, in western New South Wales, but were comparatively scarce after the mice decreased in numbers. There was some evidence that the owls' diet, determined by analysis of pellets, was more varied immediately after the numbers of mice decreased, but its major part still consisted of M. musculus. The mean number of prey units represented in each pellet rose during the irruption and then declined to the original level. At a variety of sites in arid New South Wales and South Australia, barn owls' diet consisted almost entirely of small mammals. The most common prey species were rodents that fluctuate widely in abundance, and the mean amount of prey per pellet differed greatly among the study sites. The feeding ecology of barn owls in arid Australian environments is essentially similar to that described for more mesic habitats; hence, a greatly increased variation in the abundance of mammalian prey has not led to an increase in breadth of food niche.

Decline of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) in the lower Blue Mountains, New South Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Smith ◽  
Judy Smith
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
New South ◽  
Direct And Indirect Effects ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Habitat Variables

The range of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) is predicted to contract with climate change. Following indications of a decline in the Blue Mountains, we collated records and undertook surveys in 2015–16 to assess whether a decline has occurred and whether the decline is associated with climate change or other factors. We were unable to relocate greater gliders at 35% of our study sites, even though all were in known former locations. The species is now rare at lower elevations but remains relatively common at higher elevations: about seven times more abundant above 500 m than below. Historical data suggest that in 1986–96 it occurred in similar abundance across all elevations, 80–1060 m. Nine habitat variables accounted for 84% of the variation in greater glider density between our study sites, with significant independent contributions from elevation (37%) and time since fire (23%). We found no evidence that greater gliders have been impacted by increasing numbers of owls or cockatoos or that either the fire regime or rainfall has changed in the last 20 years. The most likely cause of the decline is the direct and indirect effects of a marked increase in temperature in the Blue Mountains. Similar declines are likely throughout the distribution of the species with increasing climate change.

Mineral Sand Mining and Its Effect on Groundwater Quality

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 95-100
Author(s):  
M. N. Viswanathan
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Treatment ◽  
New South ◽  
Unconfined Aquifer ◽  
Additional Treatment ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Sand Mining ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Excess Iron ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Urban Water Use

Tomago sandbeds (New South Wales, Australia) is a coastal unconfined aquifer, where mining of mineral sands, like Rutile, Zircon, Ilmenite etc., was in progress since 1972. Groundwater is also extracted from Tomago aquifer for urban water use. Groundwater iron levels vary from 0.1 mg/litre to about 10 mg/litre. Iron in excess of 0.3 mg/litre is removed by chemical treatment. Mining of mineral sands resulted in the substantial increase of iron levels. The level of increase itself being very site specific. Several processes were identified as being responsible for such increases. If water were to be extracted from the mined area, additional treatment would be required to remove excess iron.

The potential of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for soil analysis — a case study from the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 607 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. W. Dunn ◽  
G. D. Batten ◽  
H. G. Beecher ◽  
S. Ciavarella
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
New South ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Reflectance Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Reflectance ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
South Wales

Environmental management in agricultural systems must be maintained while controlling costs and increasing productivity. To obtain a better response from inputs in agriculture, cost-effective soil analysis is needed to enable site-specific applications. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) technology has the potential to provide a rapid, low-cost analysis enabling within field variability to be identified. NIRS was evaluated for its ability to predict a range of soil properties in the Riverine Plain soils of southern New South Wales. Over 550 topsoil (0-10�cm) and 300 subsoil (40-50 cm) samples from a range of soil types were air dried and ground before scanning with a NIRSystems model 6500 scanning spectrophotometer. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression procedure was used to determine the best correlation (i.e. calibration) between the chemical reference data and spectral data for both topsoil and subsoil samples. A validation set of samples was used to test the predictive ability of NIRS for a number of soil properties. The results demonstrated that NIRS can successfully determine some soil properties in both the topsoil and subsoil. In the topsoil, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable Ca and Mg, pH and Ca : Mg ratio were predicted with a high level of accuracy and organic carbon and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) with an acceptable level of accuracy. In the subsoil, CEC, exchangeable Na, Ca, Mg, ESP, pH and Ca : Mg ratio were all predicted with a high degree of accuracy. The predictive ability of NIRS for many soil constituents may make it suitable for use in agricultural soil assessment for site-specific agriculture in the Riverine Plain soils of southern New South Wales.

Radiotherapy utilization in New South Wales from 1996 to 1998: Comment

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Kearsley
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales
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