IT Tools: Water Resources Observation Network

In September 2008, CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Bureau of Meteorology established a water information research and development alliance, the largest water information research project in the southern hemisphere.

The Water Information Research and Development Alliance (WIRADA) is a five-year, $50 million research partnership between Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) and CSIRO. The research alliance will deliver a national database on Australia’s water resources, through the combination of the Water for a Healthy Country's leading expertise in water and information sciences and the Bureau's operational responsibilities in water information.

New science and technology developed through the alliance aims to produce a technology platform to provide an Australia-wide network of water information systems delivering dynamic, timely reporting and forecasting of Australia’s water resources. Through the alliance, the adoption of CSIRO's leading science and technology by the Bureau will result in vastly improved water data integration, water resource assessments, national water accounts, flood forecasts and water availability outlooks.

Water Resources Observation Network

The R&D program includes the development of the national Water Resources Observation Network (or WRON), which is establishing the technology platform to provide an Australia-wide network of water information systems delivering dynamic, timely reporting and forecasting of Australia’s water resources. The designers of WRON recognise that in order to achieve this aim, it is vital that the information and data captured by the national network can be communicated and presented in engaging and understandable ways.

front-page-300x225 To this end, the development of the WRON Visualisation Centre is intended to provides the tools, interfaces and technologies required to communicate this information using novel visualisation and presentation strategies. The Visualisation Centre also serves as an education and presentation facility where information about Australia's national water resources can be showcased to the community and to water planning stakeholders. This type of interactive delivery of information and data enables and encourages collaboration between stakeholders in planning decision-making.