Recent News
WRON Visualisation Centre (video 2:27) June 2008
Video about the Water Research Observation Network (WRON) Visualisation Centre which provides an environment for the investigation and development of visualisation tools and interfaces that display information in an engaging and easily understood manner.
Water Resources Information Model Workshop 25-27 September 2007, Canberra
The task of developing a Water Resources Observation Network (WRON) that shares and harmonises water information on a national scale is not without challenge. A particular issue in developing a distributed, interoperable infrastructure of this nature is that when sharing information, computers have no way of distinguishing the differences that exist when different parties define a term. The solution is to ensure that all those contributing to the infrastructure use a common information model, often realised in the form of an XML schema eg. a WaterML.
Development of a common information model is an important task as it ensures that data transferred between two parties at a machine level will be viewed in the same format, but more importantly there is confidence that the concepts within the data are common.
CSIRO discovered that a number of groups worldwide were developing a similar information model within the water information domain which led to the initiative of creating an International Water Information Model. Representatives from 18 organisations spanning six nations were invited to meet in Canberra in September 2007 with a view to understanding what each was undertaking within the water information model space, and to identify the gaps and opportunities for collaboration in developing a harmonized model. The Water Resources Information Model workshop was a huge success and resulted in the International Water Data Interoperability Forum being formed to further steer the progress of an International Water Information Model.
The WRON facilitates a cohesive and standardised national coverage of water resources information and has played a key role in fostering an international standard for exchanging such information.
Read the Workshop Report (PDF, 470 kB)
Media Release 21 March 2007
World Water Day 2007: New sensor technology advances Australia’s water management - World-class wireless sensor network (WSN) technology, developed by CSIRO, is being deployed to help monitor Australia’s scarce water resources.
Podcast 19 February 2007
Podcast (5 mins): Dr Rob Vertessy, Chief of CSIRO’s Land and Water Division, describes why WRON is so important to Australia and what he believes WRON will achieve.
CSIRO SOLVE magazine, Issue 10, February 2007
"Quenching data thirst the first step to water security”. Researchers are developing information technology to lift the accuracy of water resources monitoring and better equip the nation's water managers to plan ahead.
Media Release 1 February 2007
CSIRO leads water information initiative - CSIRO researchers have taken part in an international demonstration of a key technology for monitoring Australia's scarce water resources.
6 November 2006
CSIRO chaired an information session for water industry and
government 'Harnessing the Power of Water Information: An Important
Global Challenge'. Special guest was Dr David Maidment of the
University of Texas at Austin, who discussed the US Hydrologic
Information System (HIS), the largest integrated water tool in the
US. CSIRO's Dr Rob Vertessy delivered a background to Australia's
proposed Water Resources Observation Network, while Dr Stuart
Minchin discussed the technical issues being addressed to make the
WRON a reality.
View Rob Vertessy's address
Australia's water resources information imperative and the role of
the WRON [PDF, 5mB]
View David Maidment's presentation
Hydrologic Information in the
United States [PDF, 4.7mB]
View David Maidment's presentation
HIS-Australia: Building a
National Hydrologic Information System for Australia
[PDF, 3.4mB]
View Stuart Minchin's address
WRON Technology
[PDF, 2.7mB]
13 October 2006
www.water.gov.au -
Australian Water Resources 2005 website launched today.
Australian Water Resources 2005 is the baseline assessment of water resources at the beginning of the National Water Initiative.
This first stage assessment documents a range of performance indicators on the management of Australia's water resources.
The second stage assessment will be completed in early 2007and is described in Objectives of AWR 2005.
9 - 11 May 2006
Dr Rob Vertessy gave two keynote
addresses at the Enviro06
Conference & Exhibition (Tuesday
9 - Thursday 11 May 2006 in Melbourne).
The first address "Is sustainable water
resource management possible in Australia?",
explored this issues around water resource
management for Australia and introduced
the concept of the Water
Resources Observation Network (WRON).
View
the presentation (PDF, 1.3 MB)
The second address "Towards establishment
of a Water Resources Observation Network
for Australia", provided the perfect
opportunity to describe progress towards
the establishment of an Australian Water
Resources Observation Network (WRON).
View
the presentation (PDF, 2.7 MB)
9 May 2006
Dr Rob Vertessy gave a presentation on
the WRON at the annual CSIRO CLIMATE
science meeting, which was held from Wednesday
17 - Friday 19 May 2006 at The Shangri-la
Hotel, The Rocks, Sydney.
The first day featured presentations from
key industry and government stakeholders
and ample opportunities for interactions
with stakeholders and CSIRO CLIMATE colleagues.
The second day was set aside for CSIRO
presentations and for presentations from
collaborators.
View
the presentation (PDF, 3.3 MB)
March 22, 2006
eWater
CRC launch (WRON is an important
project for the eWater CRC)
At the launch, Stuart Minchin will demonstrate
the Australian Dam Levels Monitor developed
by CSIRO. This provides an up-to-date snapshot
of dam storage levels for over 300 dams
across Australia. These dams account for
97% of the volume of Australia’s
water resource storages. See WRON Teasers
March, 2005
In
the March
2006 issue of ECOS magazine, Clare
Peddie reports on the emergence of
the Water
Resources Observation Network (WRON). (PDF,
594 kB)
October 4, 2005
Dr Rob Vertessy presents to the National
Water Commission in Canberra on WRON.
The presentation includes a small movie.
Click here to
see the presentation (Flash, 30 MB).
September 20, 2005
WRON Teasers are now live.
Click here to
see the current selection.
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