Products and achievements supported by WIRADA
Dynamic map of Australia's river network, water features and management points
The Geofabric maps our hydrological features and allows users to discover, report and model water information in a standard way across Australia. This capability underpins a range of our information products including water resource assessments and streamflow forecasts.
Science advances through WIRADA allowed us to develop:
- a new suite of methods to correct and transform satellite-based radar data into a hydrologically-enforced digital elevation model for the continent. This was used as the foundation for hydrological typology of the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric, and was developed through collaboration with Geoscience Australia and Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organsiation.
- a harmonised information model to describe surface water features. This model describes relationships between hydrological features in ways that are independent of spatial scale. This provided the basis for the geofabric structure and product suite.
Seven day streamflow forecasts are available across Australia
7-day streamflow forecasts help water managers optimise water releases to improve environmental flow management and efficiently operate rivers and storages to make best use of the nation’s water.
Science advances through WIRADA allowed us to develop:
- a linked a set of models that use climate and streamflow observations with weather forecasts to produce forecasts out to 7-days
- completely automated the forecasting system so that streamflow forecasts could be generated continually and in a large number of locations across Australia.
Streamflow forecasts three months ahead and beyond
Seasonal streamflow forecasts provide longer term information to support optimal water use and to inform planning and strategic decision-making.
Science advances through WIRADA allowed us to develop:
- new methods to use information on the states of catchment and climate to forecast streamflow out to 3 months
- new mathematical techniques to quantify and convey the uncertainty present in each forecast
- a suite of diagnostic tools to verify probabilistic forecasts.
A common language to share water data
The Water Data Transfer Format provides national definitions of water information concepts. It enables organisations to share, use and understand each other's data files and enables automated data exchanges, reducing the burden on organisations required to provide water data.
Science advances through WIRADA allowed us to develop:
- the first version of Water Data Transfer Format (WDTF). By incorporating CSIRO research and capabilities in spatial data exchange standards, WDTF was designed using existing standards and best practices. This allowed rapid development of an exchange format that is consistent with international open standards. Using open standards ensures the Bureau can be part of the ongoing standards development to satisfy future needs and is not locked into specific software vendors.
- international standards for surface water data exchange (WaterML2.0) as well as groundwater data (GWML2.0) and timeseries data (timeseriesML) through extension of the WDTF research and working with global partners.
A new understanding of Australia's water balance
The Australian Water Resource Assessment (AWRA) modelling system for the first time allows us to simulate the distribution and movement of water across Australia's landscape and rivers for the past 100 years to the present. It is used by the Bureau to provide Landscape Water Balance information and to produce the National Water Account, Water in Australia, Regional Water Information and the Monthly Water Update.
Science advances through WIRADA allowed us to develop:
- a fully coupled landscape and river system model
- techniques that make use of all available data sources to provide regionally and continentally consistent estimates of the water balance.
