Australian Water Information Dictionary

Alphabetical list of items

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   Y   Z   other  

B

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backscatter

The deflection of waves or particles through angles greater than 90 degrees by an obstacle.

Source: © Macquarie Dictionary Fourth Edition, 2005, Macquarie Dictionary Publishers

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backwater

Water backed-up or retarded in its course as compared with its normal or natural condition of flow.

Source: USGS, viewed 2 October 2018.

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bare ground

Land not covered by vegetation that does not fall into any other land use/cover category. It includes eroded areas and construction sites.

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baseflow

The component of streamflow supplied by groundwater discharge.

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basin

A tract of country, generally larger catchment areas, drained by a river and its tributaries.

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basinal aquifer

A subsurface porous and permeable layer present in a basin. A basin is a concave or syncline-like bedrock structure filled or partially filled with sediments.

Related: aquifer

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BATEA

Bayesian total error analysis

A generalised Bayesian framework for environmental model calibration and validation. BATEA permits the use of explicit probabilistic errors models which are used to describe the uncertainty associated with observed data, notably, in forcing inputs and outputs, e.g. rainfall and discharge data.

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Bayesian

Refers to methods in probability or statistics, e.g. Bayesian Joint Probability, named after Thomas Bayes (c. 1702-61), who provided the first mathematical treatment of Bayesian inference.

Source: S E Fienberg, 2006, When Did Bayesian Inference Become "Bayesian"?, Bayesian Analysis, 1 (1), 1-40.

Related: Bayesian total error analysis

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Bayesian joint probability (BJP)

A statistical modelling method to produce predictions of seasonal streamflows. Application of the BJP method to streamflow forecasting was developed by the CSIRO.

See the Seasonal Streamflow Forecast Research papers section for more information.

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This definition applies to:

Bayesian total error analysis

A generalised Bayesian framework for environmental model calibration and validation. BATEA permits the use of explicit probabilistic error models which are used to describe the uncertainty associated with observed data, notably, in forcing inputs and outputs, e.g. rainfall and discharge data.

Source: G Kuczera, D Kavetski, S Franks, M Thyer 2006, Towards a Bayesian total error analysis of conceptual rainfall-runoff models: Characterising model error using storm-dependent parameters, Journal of Hydrology, 331:1-2,161-177.

Related: Bayesian

This definition applies to:

bias error

A measurement error that remains constant in magnitude for all observations; a kind of systematic error.

Source: McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms sixth edition, Copyright © 2003, McGraw-Hill Education

This definition applies to:

BJP

Bayesian joint probability

A modelling system that uses statistical methods to produce predictions of seasonal streamflows. BJP was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). See the Seasonal Streamflow Forecast Research papers section for more information.

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blanking distance

The distance from the transducers of an ADCP in which no measurement is taken. Also known as the “blank”.

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blue line

The typical depiction of a river or stream in a cartographic product.

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bootstrapping

A type of resampling where large numbers of smaller samples of the same size are repeatedly drawn, with replacement, from a single original sample. This technique allows estimation of the sampling distribution of almost any statistic using random sampling methods.

Source: Derived from V Fortin, J Bernier, B Bobee 1997, Simulation, Bayes, and bootstrap in statistical hydrology, WATER RESOUCES RESEARCH, VOL. 33, No. 3

For example, in the 7-day ensemble streamflow forecasting system, forecast skill is computed from 200 samples. Each sample is comprised of approximately three years of daily streamflow observations/forecast pairs generated by randomly drawing monthly sub-samples repeatedly from an original dataset of three years of daily streamflow observations/forecast pairs.

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bore

A hole drilled in the ground, a well or any other excavation used to access groundwater. May be used for observation of groundwater (including water level, pressure or quality).

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bore feature

Point feature class that represents the location of a bore and associated attributes. Multiple independently screened bore pipes are regarded as separate bore features.

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bore line

A three dimensional line feature class that represents the hydrogeologic units along a borehole.

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bore log

A table with rock or sediment types classified into hydrogeologic units along a borehole.

Synonym: hydrostratigraphy log

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bore pipe

An independently screened inlet to a bore that can be pumped or monitored separately. A bore can have multiple pipes, each having one or more screens.

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bore screen

The construction component of a bore that allows groundwater to enter e.g. casing with slots or holes.

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Related: construction log

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bottom tracking

Acoustic method used to measure boat speed and direction by computing the Doppler shift of sound reflected from the stream bed relative to the ADCP.

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broadacre

Farms or industries engaged in the production of grains, oilseeds and other crops (especially wheat, barley, peas, sorghum, maize, hemp, safflower and sunflower), or the grazing of livestock for meat or wool, on a large scale.

Source: © Organisation for Ecomonic Co-operation and Development, Glossary of Statistical Terms, Viewed 5 October 2011, http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=235

This definition applies to:

BT

bottom tracking

Acoustic method used to measure boat speed and direction by computing the Doppler shift of sound reflected from the stream bed relative to the ADCP.

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bulk diversion and extraction

The volume of water diverted from streams and storages (surface water) or extracted from bores (groundwater) by water providers for various uses.

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bulk water

Water supplied by a water provider to another water provider.

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bulk water access entitlement

A water access entitlement allowing an infrastructure operator to access, take and hold water for the supply of water to another person.

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bulk water charge

A charge payable for the storage of water for, and the delivery of water to, any of the following:

(a) infrastructure operators;

(b) other operators of reticulated water systems;

(c) other persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

In the Regulation 1.05A, a person is prescribed for the above paragraph (c) if:

(a) the person diverts water directly from a watercourse for the person’s use, including for one of the following purposes:

(i) agricultural purposes;

(ii) industrial purposes;

(iii) irrigation;

(iv) stock and domestic water use; and

(b) the water is made available through a bulk water service.

Source: Derived from Water Act 2007 Part 1 Section 4 and Water Regulations 2008 Regulation 1.05A, at 8 Febraury 2019. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to Federal Register of Legislation.

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bulk water supplier

An entity who imposes a bulk water charge for a bulk water service.

Source: Water Regulations 2008 Regulation 4.01A. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to Federal Register of Legislation

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bundled right

The aggregation of individual rights into a single right. These might include but are not limited to: land property title, water access entitlement, water allocations, water use rights, delivery rights, irrigation rights and works approvals.

Equivalent: water market equivalent terms

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Bureau

Bureau of Meteorology

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