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Detailed soil data has been collected in the Corangamite region of south-east Australia for over 80 years, as a testament to the productive value of the region’s agricultural soils. Soil science ov...

The use of biophysical models to support increased food production and environmental protection is on the rise. This paper reviews the demand for, and trends in, soil property data for various biophysical models being used in Victoria, Australia, over the 2009–2014 period. The study used surveys, workshops and interviews with public sector modellers to examine perceptions of the soil parameters that affect model sensitivity and error. Although the data requirements of models have remained similar over the 5 year period, the diversity of models used has decreased. There is evidence of increased application of models at point/site scale to support grains, dairy and livestock production industries in Victoria. Opportunities are identified to deliver finer scale soil data from digital soil mapping to better meet modelling requirements for agricultural industries in Victorian landscapes.

International audience; WML2 is an international standard for the online exchange of groundwater data that addresses the problem of data heterogeneity. This problem makes groundwater data hard to find and use because the data are diversely structured and fragmented into numerous data silos. Overcoming data heterogeneity requires a common data format; however, until the development of GWML2, an appropriate international standard has been lacking. GWML2 represents key hydrogeological entities such as aquifers and water wells, as well as related measurements and groundwater flows. It is developed and tested by an international consortium of groundwater data providers from North America, Europe, and Australasia, and facilitates many forms of data exchange, information representation, and the development of online web portals and tools.; GWML2 est une norme internationale pour l’échange en ligne de données sur les eaux souterraines qui aborde le problème de l’hétérogénéité des données. Ce problème rend les données sur les eaux souterraines difficiles à découvrir et à utiliser parce qu’elles sont structurées et fragmentées en de nombreux silos. Surmonter l’hétérogénéité des données requiert un format de données commun; cependant, jusqu’au développement de GWML2, une norme internationale appropriée faisait défaut. GWML2 représente les principales entités hydrogéologiques telles que les aquifères et les puits d’eau, ainsi que les mesures connexes et les écoulements d’eau souterraine. La norme fut développée et testée par un consortium international de fournisseurs de données sur les eaux souterraines en provenance d’Amérique du Nord, d’Europe et d’Australasie; elle facilite de nombreuses formes d’échange de données, la représentation de l’information et le développement de portails web et d’outils en ligne.

The Newer Volcanics of the Melbourne region consist of an extensive overlay of basalt which forms part of a major geological province of Victoria. The volcanic activity which formed the rocks of the Newer Volcanics group can broadly be equated with "hot spot" volcanism, as it was not associated with a major tectonic plate boundary. In general, the activity of the Newer Volcanics was that of numerous, short-lived eruptions from relatively small vents. The lava flows of the Newer Volcanics were generally very fluid and fast flowing. Columnar jointing, developed in varying degrees, is common in the basalts of the Newer Volcanics. The Newer Volcanic activity produced both lava and pyroclastic products. The basalts of the Newer Volcanics are almost always altered to some degree, as many of the constituent minerals, such as olivine and the pyroxenes, are relatively susceptible to alteration. The Newer Volcanics are weathered by the elements in a variety of ways.

The importance of transience in the management of hydrogeologic systems is often uncertain. We propose a clear framework for determining the likely importance of transient behavior in groundwater systems in a management context. The framework incorporates information about aquifer hydraulics, hydrological drivers, and time scale of management. It is widely recognized that aquifers respond on different timescales to hydrological change and that hydrological drivers themselves, such as climate, are not stationary in time. We propose that in order to assess whether transient behavior is likely to be of practical importance, three factors need to be examined simultaneously: (1) aquifer response time, which can be expressed in terms of the response to a step hydrological change (tau step) or periodic change (tau cycle); (2) temporal variation of the dominant hydrological drivers, such as dominant climatic systems in a region; (3) the management timescale and spatial scale of interest. Graphical tools have been developed to examine these factors in conjunction, and assess how important transient behavior is likely to be in response to particular hydrological drivers, and thus which drivers are most likely to induce transience in a specified management timeframe. The method is demonstrated using two case studies; a local system that responds rapidly and is managed on yearly to decadal timeframes and a regional system that exhibits highly delayed responses and was until recently being assessed as a high level nuclear waste repository site. Any practical groundwater resource problem can easily be examined using the proposed framework.

The connection between the removal of native vegetation, rising water tables and increasing stream salinity has been established for many catchments across Australia. However, the West Moorabool River in south west Victoria is an example of a catchment where there has been little discernable effect on groundwater levels following land clearing. Over the past 150 years, a significant portion of the catchment has been cleared of dense forest for agricultural development. Historic standing water-level records from 1870–1871 and 1881 are compared with contemporary measurements (1970s to 2007) recorded in the government bore databases. The data show that the earliest recorded groundwater levels are well within the seasonal range of values observed today. By integrating geology and hydrogeology with historical observations of groundwater levels, climate data and land use, the contemporary field observations of stream salinity are linked to the changed water use and shift in rainfall. In contrast to the normally accepted axiom, reafforestation as a management strategy to mitigate the rising salinity in the West Moorabool River catchment would seem inappropriate.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of the public's beliefs, attitudes and knowledge regarding rockfalls, and to see whether these variables could predict whether a person is likely to enter high‐risk rockfall areas.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed to measure beliefs (informed by the health belief model), knowledge, and previous behaviour in relation to rockfalls. Questions were also included to measure attitudes regarding rockfall caution signs. In total, 138 members of the general public completed the questionnaire.Findings – High‐risk behaviour was more likely if the person was male and if the person had the belief that sign‐posted high‐risk areas were not dangerous. Further, believing that the sign‐posted areas were not dangerous was more likely among people who held negative attitudes towards cautionary signs; specifically, these participants were more likely to doubt the validity of the warning signs.Research limitations/implications – The resea...

Rockfalls are a major safety hazard in open cut mines, particularly in large-scale deep pits. The geotechnical design relies on in-situ, site-specific, rock slope data to predict the trajectories and velocities of rockfalls that present a residual hazard in the mines. This paper presents slope stability analyses using both static general limit equilibrium methods and finite element stress analyses to estimate unstable areas and slope displacements in the mid-west slope at Glencore Zinc’s Handlebar Hill Open Cut mine at Mt. Isa, Queensland, Australia. A conventional program -RocFall- was used for the slope rockfall risk assessment. Results indicate the possible slope benches involved in the initiation of rockfalls, and the maximum run-out distance, which could be defined as the pit's hazardous zone. A rockfall restraining system to absorb the impact energy of boulders and prevent them further falling was also modelled.

Although salinity is widely regarded as a significant geohazard within Australia, there is no nationally consistent approach to salinity risk management. Salinity risk assessment, prediction or management, is limited by the variety of meanings of ``risk' in its popular usage. A salinity risk framework based on the Australian/New Zealand Standard on Risk Management (AS/NZS 4360:2004) is currently being developed in the Corangamite region of south west Victoria, one of the priority regions in the National Action Plan for salinity and water quality. This paper outlines a process for salinity risk assessment that considers salinity in the broader context, both secondary salinity as a threat to assets, and primary salinity which constitutes the regions most valuable environmental assets. In the most recent Federal and State salinity frameworks, the emphasis has been placed on the protection of community and catchment assets. In this context, the adoption of a national risk management framework based on the principles of AS/NZS 4360:2004 is both logical and timely. The standard provides a systematic, disciplined and rigorous approach to salinity risk management. It provides logical and defendable processes and practices for the assessment of salinity risk. It can inform the development of strategies and decision making to protect all classes of assets which are threatened by changes to salinity processes, even those where the salinity itself is the asset (e.g. a saline wetland or estuary).

The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors relating to non-adherence to warning signs about falling rocks from coastal cliff faces. Face-to-face interviews (n = 62) in a naturalistic setting (in the vicinity of a high-risk rockfall area) were conducted to investigate attention to and comprehension of warning signs, as well as beliefs relating to non-adherence of the signage. It was found that, while most participants could correctly identify the danger in the area and had noticed the warning signage, less than half of the participants could correctly interpret the signage. The perception of danger did not differ significantly between the participants who had, or had not, entered the high-risk zone. Differences in knowledge and beliefs between local residents and visitors to the area were identified. It was concluded that the warning signs did not provide enough detail for people to make informed decisions about safe behaviours. Comprehension of the signage may have been hampered by a lack of prior-knowledge of the particular risk, a failure to think carefully about the situation (i.e. low-effort processing), and the pictorial representation on the signs misleading the participants as to the true danger.

Techniques for landslide risk management in Australia have evolved considerably since the publication of the first formal process in 1985. The Australian Geomechanics Society recently published the next generation of updated landslide risk documents in 2007. The estimation of landslide likelihood is fundamental to the outcome of the landslide risk management process. However, experienced practitioners still regard this component as one of the most difficult and challenging aspects of the assessment as it requires information about the age of landslides, an understanding of landscape processes and the rate of slope evolution. Such information is difficult to obtain and is often not a core competency among practitioners undertaking landslide risk assessment. In order to provide insight into the methods of estimating and constraining landslide likelihood, a number of different geomorphological approaches are herewith reviewed through a series of selected Australian cases studies. Whilst the case studies highlight inherent limitations and uncertainties they also demonstrate how geomorphological studies can provide validation and constraints to a quantification of likelihood and ultimately risk.