Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation Research Articles

Promoting Australian industry: CSIRO 1949–79

This paper addresses the manner in which the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) transferred its technology to Australian industry during the period 1949 to 1979. The analysis is framed within the changing economic and political scene in Australia and the changing expectations for public research organisations such as CSIRO. During the 1950s and 1960s CSIRO gave little direct attention to the processes of technology transfer but instead, following the prevailing wisdom, focused on high quality science and relied on existing extension services and patenting to capture the benefits from its research. This ‘science-push’ approach proved successful for Australia’s rural industries but, with a few exceptions, less so for the country’s secondary industries. By the early 1970s CSIRO faced pressures for change, induced by a tougher economic climate and changing views on the role of public research institutions. A shift toward greater customer relevance in its research would also need to be matched by new thinking about technology transfer.

Joan Mary Anderson 1932–2015

Joan Mary (Jan) Anderson pioneered the investigation of the molecular organisation of the plant thylakoid membrane, making seminal discoveries that laid the foundations for the current understanding of photosynthesis. She grew up in Queenstown, New Zealand, obtaining a BSc and MSc at the University of Otago in Dunedin. After completing her PhD at the University of California, she embarked on a glittering career at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and then Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Not only a gifted experimentalist, Jan was a creative thinker, not afraid to put her insightful and prophetic hypotheses into the public domain. Her many notable achievements include establishing the details and the physiological significance of lateral heterogeneity in the distribution of the two photosystems between stacked and unstacked thylakoid membranes and the dynamic changes in the extent of stacking that occur in response to changes in the light environment. Her investigations brought her into collaboration with prominent researchers throughout the world. Recognised with many honours as a leading scientist in Australia, international recognition included Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Photosynthesis Research, and Honorary Fellowships at Universities in the UK and USA.

Near Real-Time Extracting Wildfire Spread Rate from Himawari-8 Satellite Data

Fire Spread Rate (FSR) can indicate how fast a fire is spreading, which is especially helpful for wildfire rescue and management. Historically, images obtained from sun-orbiting satellites such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were used to detect active fire and burned area at the large spatial scale. However, the daily revisit cycles make them inherently unable to extract FSR in near real­-time (hourly or less). We argue that the Himawari-8, a next generation geostationary satellite with a 10-min temporal resolution and 0.5–2 km spatial resolution, may have the potential for near real-time FSR extraction. To that end, we propose a novel method (named H8-FSR) for near real-time FSR extraction based on the Himawari-8 data. The method first defines the centroid of the burned area as the fire center and then the near real-time FSR is extracted by timely computing the movement rate of the fire center. As a case study, the method was applied to the Esperance bushfire that broke out on 17 November, 2015, in Western Australia. Compared with the estimated FSR using the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Grassland Fire Spread (GFS) model, H8-FSR achieved favorable performance with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.54, mean bias error of –0.75 m/s, mean absolute percent error of 33.20% and root mean square error of 1.17 m/s, respectively. These results demonstrated that the Himawari-8 data are valuable for near real-time FSR extraction, and also suggested that the proposed method could be potentially applicable to other next generation geostationary satellite data.

The importance of selection and reporting of the sex of experimental animals

Biased use of males and females in animal studies or omitting specific details of the sex of animals used in publications limits reproducibility, hampers the pace and likelihood of new discoveries and invites adverse events in ensuing clinical research. Hence unbiased use of males and females in animal studies and specific reporting of animal details are increasingly required by funding bodies and scientific journals worldwide. An analysis to determine how males and females are used in animal studies involving the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was undertaken as part of a process to review and further support best practice. In the study 178 publications that contain animal studies and include CSIRO researchers published between January 2014 and December 2016 were analysed for the sex of animals used. The overall sex distribution was males only 26.4% (47/178), females only 15.7% (28/178), males and females 18.0% (32/178) and sex of animals unspecified 39.9% (71/178). Reasons for this distribution include species biology, farming practices and commercial relevance. Although including sex as an experimental variable provides the most information, using both sexes in an animal study requires careful consideration and planning. Furthermore, there are valid biological and experimental reasons why sex distribution in a study may not be balanced. Biological reasons include cases where the severity of disease in a given model differs between males and females, superior husbandry or production traits in one sex and hermaphroditic species that change sex with age. Examples where experiments can only be undertaken in one sex of animal include animal models of female breast cancer, female reproductive traits, male fertility studies and post-castration welfare outcomes. Where there is no biological or experimental reason for using a single sex of animal, future studies should obtain an estimate of sex effect either from the literature or with a pilot study, and experiments should be planned and reported accordingly.

Possibilities of Phoslock® application to remove phosphorus compounds from wastewater treated in hybrid wetlands

Treatment wetland technologies for wastewater treatment can be easily applied for removal of all pollutants except phosphorous. They are applicable in a small towns and rural areas, places where conventional wastewater treatment plant cannot properly operate because of common economic constraints. In Poland only the 8% of rural areas are equipped with sewer system, thus treatment wetlands might be an alternative, effective and low-cost method to treat wastewater from households. The aim of this study was to optimise the operational parameters for Phoslock® application on treated wastewater and to prove that Phoslock® may also be successfully used to remove phosphorus compounds from treated wastewater and possibly recover them. Phoslock® also known as lanthanum-modified bentonite (LMB) is an adsorbent material developed by the Land and Water Division of Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization). Experimental trials were carried out in the laboratory with batch reactors pilot units in three separate stages to establish sorption capacity of material, define characteristic constants of isotherms of adsorption and verify kinetic parameters by using pseudo-second order model. Carried out research confirmed high sorption capacity of LMB – Phoslock® for removal of phosphorous compounds from wastewater both synthetic and effluent from treatment wetland. Performed kinetic studies have shown that LMB is much less effective in case of real effluent from WWTP (2.09 mg/g) than in synthetic wastewater (4.31 mg/g). Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models have shown relatively good matching of isotherms in graphical. Results obtained for kinetic studies have shown correlation coefficient close to 1.0 both for synthetic and effluent from WWTP. Application of LMB caused not only a rapid decrease of PO43−-P concentration, but also no other meaningful influence on the water solution was discovered.

Optical microscopy as a new approach for characterising dust particulates in urban environment

In urban environments airborne particulates (dust) must be managed to ensure that industry and community coexist in a mutually beneficial and sustainable manner. The composition of the dust is a function of the local environment and industry. In general, there is a view by many community members that a significant proportion of inhalable (PM10) and respirable (PM2.5) dust in these environments could be coal. Thus there is a need to have an analytical method that provides a quantitative analysis of the amount and size distribution of the different particulates that can be present in air samples.Australia's national research body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed a Coal Grain Analysis (CGA) system that uses reflected light optical microscopy to provide a unique visual perspective, a qualitative feeling of the sample and quantitative information on the composition and size of the individual particles greater than 1 μm. Furthermore, semi-automated Optical Dust Marker software uses each individual particle's colour reflectance fingerprint to classify that particle. These markers can currently identify coal, combustion chars, iron, quartz/dark minerals, pyrite/bright materials and particulates of organic origin.This paper presents a case study performed using CGA to evaluate the dust composition and proportion of coal and other particulates and also their size distribution in samples collected in an urban area along a coal rail corridor in Newcastle (Australia). In coastal environments a significant proportion of dust can be water soluble (salt) particulates; the proportion of soluble particulates in those samples varied from 46% to 52.3%. The concentration of insoluble particles in samples varied from 5.9 to 15.5 μg m−3 in the PM2.5-10 fraction and from 0.4 to 0.9 μg m−3 in the PM1-2.5 fraction. All samples consisted predominantly of particles of organic origin (mostly plant and insect remains) – 55.3%–85.3% by mass. Dark material particles of mainly inorganic origin (low reflecting material, mainly stone dust, clay, soot, rubber and soil), combustion char and metal particles (rust and iron oxides) were present in lower concentrations – 0.0% to 19.9% by mass. The amount of coal in the water insoluble fraction of the samples ranged from 5.3% to 19.7% by mass with 2.9%–13.5% by mass of coal particles in the thoracic (2.5–10 μm) and 0.3%–1.2% by mass in the respirable (1–2.5 μm) size fraction.

Agricultural land use and infectious disease risks in southeast Asia: a systematic review and meta analyses

BackgroundAgricultural land use and land-use change activities are a major contributor to biodiversity loss, pollution, and carbon emissions. Evidence from multiple studies also implicates agricultural activities as a factor underlying a range of human infectious disease risks. However, these links have not been systematically assessed or quantified, hindering efforts to incorporate human health effects into land-use decision and policy making. In this study, we test and quantify the association between exposure to agricultural land use and human infectious disease risks, focusing on the highly diverse yet tractable example of southeast Asia. MethodsWe systematically reviewed English peer-reviewed publications from PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, Global Health, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases between April 24, and Sept 10, 2017. Only studies done in southeast Asia testing the association between land use or changes in land use and infectious disease prevalence or incidence in human beings were included. We extracted crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) from the original studies, and for studies that did not present ORs, we calculated crude ORs provided sufficient data were available. We did a meta-analysis with mutually exclusive estimates using a random effects logistic regression model, with heterogeneity of effects addressed using prespecified subgroup analysis, the I2 test for heterogeneity and the Cochrane Q test. We assessed publication bias using funnel plots, a linear regression test, and the trim and fill method, and explored the effect of potential unmeasured confounders with an E-value analysis. The primary outcome was risk of infection in people who worked in agriculture or lived in an agricultural setting. FindingsOf 15 476 unique citations generated from our literature search, 37 articles were included in our meta-analysis. Our results showed that people who live or work in or near agricultural land are more likely to be infected with a pathogen than controls (OR 1·54, 95% CI 1·30–1·83, p<0·0001, E=2·16). Significant between-study heterogeneity was found, thereby warranting the use of subgroup analysis (land-use types and disease categories). No evidence of significant publication or measured or unmeasured confounder bias was detected. InterpretationThe results suggest that agricultural land use consistently exacerbates human infectious disease risks in southeast Asia, highlighting a clear need to consider human health effects of agricultural land use and land-use change policies alongside effects and benefits in other sectors. Although responses clearly vary by land-use and disease types, generalisable results from this and further studies could help identify co-management opportunities for health and the environment. FundingHS has received funding from the Grantham Institute and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). PH has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.

Effect of Seasonal Variation on Clinical Outcome in Patients with Chronic Conditions: Analysis of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) National Telehealth Trial.

BackgroundSeasonal variation has an impact on the hospitalization rate of patients with a range of cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and angina. This paper presents findings on the influence of seasonal variation on the results of a recently completed national trial of home telemonitoring of patients with chronic conditions, carried out at five locations along the east coast of Australia.ObjectiveThe aim is to evaluate the effect of the seasonal timing of hospital admission and length of stay on clinical outcome of a home telemonitoring trial involving patients (age: mean 72.2, SD 9.4 years) with chronic conditions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease coronary artery disease, hypertensive diseases, congestive heart failure, diabetes, or asthma) and to explore methods of minimizing the influence of seasonal variations in the analysis of the effect of at-home telemonitoring on the number of hospital admissions and length of stay (LOS).MethodsPatients were selected from a hospital list of eligible patients living with a range of chronic conditions. Each test patient was case matched with at least one control patient. A total of 114 test patients and 173 control patients were available in this trial. However, of the 287 patients, we only considered patients who had one or more admissions in the years from 2010 to 2012. Three different groups were analyzed separately because of substantially different climates: (1) Queensland, (2) Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, and (3) Tasmania. Time series data were analyzed using linear regression for a period of 3 years before the intervention to obtain an average seasonal variation pattern. A novel method that can reduce the impact of seasonal variation on the rate of hospitalization and LOS was used in the analysis of the outcome variables of the at-home telemonitoring trial.ResultsTest patients were monitored for a mean 481 (SD 77) days with 87% (53/61) of patients monitored for more than 12 months. Trends in seasonal variations were obtained from 3 years’ of hospitalization data before intervention for the Queensland, Tasmania, and Australian Capital Territory and Victoria subgroups, respectively. The maximum deviation from baseline trends for LOS was 101.7% (SD 42.2%), 60.6% (SD 36.4%), and 158.3% (SD 68.1%). However, by synchronizing outcomes to the start date of intervention, the impact of seasonal variations was minimized to a maximum of 9.5% (SD 7.7%), thus improving the accuracy of the clinical outcomes reported.ConclusionsSeasonal variations have a significant effect on the rate of hospital admission and LOS in patients with chronic conditions. However, the impact of seasonal variation on clinical outcomes (rate of admissions, number of hospital admissions, and LOS) of at-home telemonitoring can be attenuated by synchronizing the analysis of outcomes to the commencement dates for the telemonitoring of vital signs.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12613000635763; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=364030&isReview=true (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/ 6xLPv9QDb)

Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Statistics and Probability, Vol. 7, No. 2

International Journal of Statistics and Probability wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal is greatly appreciated.Many authors, regardless of whether International Journal of Statistics and Probability publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers.Reviewers for Volume 7, Number 2 Bibi Abdelouahab, University Mentouri Constantine, AlgeriaCarolyn Huston, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), AustraliaLuiz Ricardo Nakamura, University of Sao Paulo, BrazilMohieddine Rahmouni, University of Tunis, TunisiaPablo José Moya Fernández, Universidad de Granada, SpainPhilip Westgate, University of Kentucky, USASajid Ali, Quaid-i-Azam University, PakistanShatrunjai Pratap Singh, John Hancock Financial Services, USASubhradev Sen, Alliance University, IndiaTomás R. Cotos-Yáñez, University of Vigo, SpainVyacheslav Abramov, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Wendy SmithOn behalf of,The Editorial Board of International Journal of Statistics and ProbabilityCanadian Center of Science and Education

New species of Anarthruridae (Tanaidacea: Crustacea)of the western Australian slope

In the collection of Tanaidacea from the continental slope of Western Australia made during the two scientific cruises of the FRV Southern Surveyor (2005 and 2007) and organised under the aegis of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), five new species of the family Anarthruridae were identified. To accommodate the new species, three new genera Abrotanais n. gen., Macilenta n. gen. and Waki n. gen. are erected. The new species, in contrast to all the other members of the Anarthruridae, have an unusually elongated bodies that are 18 to 50 times longer than broad.

Compliance with Dietary Guidelines Varies by Weight Status: A Cross-Sectional Study of Australian Adults.

Population surveys have rarely identified dietary patterns associated with excess energy intake in relation to risk of obesity. This study uses self-reported food intake data from the validated Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Healthy Diet Score survey to examine whether apparent compliance with dietary guidelines varies by weight status. The sample of 185,951 Australian adults were majority female (71.8%), with 30.2%, 35.3% and 31.0% aged between 18–30, 31–50 and 51–70 years respectively. Using multinomial regression, in the adjusted model controlling for gender and age, individuals in the lowest quintile of diet quality were almost three times more likely to be obese than those in the highest quintile (OR 2.99, CI: 2.88:3.11; p < 0.001). The differential components of diet quality between normal and obese adults were fruit (difference in compliance score 12.9 points out of a possible 100, CI: 12.3:13.5; p < 0.001), discretionary foods (8.7 points, CI: 8.1:9.2; p < 0.001), and healthy fats (7.7 points, CI: 7.2:8.1; p < 0.001). Discretionary foods was the lowest scoring component across all gender and weight status groups, and are an important intervention target to improve diet quality. This study contributes to the evidence that diet quality is associated with health outcomes, including weight status, and will be useful in framing recommendations for obesity prevention and management.

Colin Wesley Ward 1943–2017

Colin Wesley Ward's professional life played out at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) laboratory on Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria, where he was a scientist, leader, raconteur, colleague and friend to several generations of staff who worked there. Ward's scientific legacy encompasses large bodies of work on antigenic variation in influenza viruses, the taxonomy of plant viruses, veterinary vaccines and the structure and function of several growth factor receptors. On retirement from CSIRO he continued work on the insulin receptor with colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, conceived of and founded CSIRO pedia and compiled his family history.

Using ensemble forecasting to examine how climate change promotes worldwide invasion of the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata).

The golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, is one of the world's 100 most notorious invasive alien species. Knowledge about the critical climate variables that limit the global distribution range of the snail, as well as predictions of future species distributions under climate change, is very helpful for management of snail. In this study, the climatically suitable habitats for this kind of snail under current climate conditions were modeled by biomod2 and projected to eight future climate scenarios (2 time periods [2050s, 2080s]×2 Representative Concentration Pathways [RCPs; RCP2.6, RCP8.5]×2 atmospheric General Circulation Models [GCMs; Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCMA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)]). The results suggest that the lowest temperature of coldest month is the critical climate variable to restrict the global distribution range of P. canaliculata. It is predicted that the climatically suitable habitats for P. canaliculata will increase by an average of 3.3% in 2050s and 3.8% in 2080s for the RCP2.6 scenario, while they increase by an average of 8.7% in 2050s and 10.3% in 2080s for the RCP8.5 scenario. In general, climate change in the future may promote the global invasion of the invasive species. Therefore, it is necessary to take proactive measures to monitor and preclude the invasion of this species.

The CSIRO Healthy Diet Score: An Online Survey to Estimate Compliance with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

There are few dietary assessment tools that are scientifically developed and freely available online. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Healthy Diet Score survey asks questions about the quantity, quality, and variety of foods consumed. On completion, individuals receive a personalised Diet Score—reflecting their overall compliance with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Over 145,000 Australians have completed the survey since it was launched in May 2015. The average Diet Score was 58.8 out of a possible 100 (SD = 12.9). Women scored higher than men; older adults higher than younger adults; and normal weight adults higher than obese adults. It was most common to receive feedback about discretionary foods (73.8% of the sample), followed by dairy foods (55.5%) and healthy fats (47.0%). Results suggest that Australians’ diets are not consistent with the recommendations in the guidelines. The combination of using technology and providing the tool free of charge has attracted a lot of traffic to the website, providing valuable insights into what Australians’ report to be eating. The use of technology has also enhanced the user experience, with individuals receiving immediate and personalised feedback. This survey tool will be useful to monitor population diet quality and understand the degree to Australians’ diets comply with dietary guidelines.

Monitoring of Chronic Disease in the community: Australian Telehealth Study on Organisational Challenges and Economic Impact

Introduction : Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia was tasked to lead a National Telehealth Trial for chronic disease in the community to investigate models of care, health service utilization and economic impact on the Australian health system. Chronic and aged care accounted for over 70% of Australia’s $155bn expenditure on healthcare during 2013–14, and is projected to dramatically increase into the future. Australia’s hospital-centric public health system is unnecessarily burdened by the management of chronic disease, which should occur in home and community settings. Telehealth services delivered through home Telemonitoring have been demonstrated to deliver cost effective, timely and improved access to quality care. They also reduce social dislocation and enhance the quality of life within communities and their sustainability by allowing chronically ill and aged members to stay in their homes and communities longer. The development of a robust business case and business models for large scale commercial deployment of Telehealth services based on solid economic evidence is essential if these services are to be scaled up nationally to have any impact on the escalating costs of health service delivery and the increasing deficit in clinical work force. Description of practice change : Trial was designed with the aim of demonstrating how Telehealth services for chronic disease management in the community can be deployed nationally in a range of hospital and community settings, by piloting services in six different locations across five Australian states with a range of health service provider’s, including a hospital, Local Health Districts, Medicare Locals and aged care organisation. The intervention was the provision of Telemonitoring equipment for the collection of vital signs and the administration of questionnaires. Control patients received normal care. In this trial we analysed and compared the performance, across four distinct groups with one hospital site, two community based services, two GP managed Medicare Local coordinated services and one Aged Care focused service. Key Findings : Based on a before and after control intervention (BACI) case matched design this trial evaluated health outcomes, impact of workplace culture and capacity for organizational change management. The project recruited 113 chronically ill patients with multiple co-morbidities and remotely monitored using Telehealth. These patients were compared with 174 patients acting as matched controls who were tracked for periods 6-18 months with at home telemonitoring of vital signs and clinical symptoms. Telehealth monitored patients’ demonstrated: a. Reduction in health services utilisation observed towards the later part of the trial (after 8-9 months) by reduced number of GP visits, specialist consultations, laboratory tests and procedures performed. b. Reduction in primary healthcare costs were demonstrated by the reduction of Medicare benefit costs by more than AUD600/year/patient and pharmaceutical dispensing cost by more than $300/year/patient at end of trial. c. Reduction in hospital length of stay by more than 7 days d. Reduction in rate of hospitalisations by 1 less event e. There were improved Quality of life metrics/Human factors /Useability and acceptability to patients and clinicians Highlights : At all trial sites the Telehealth technology was well accepted by patients. The key barriers were related to integration of Telemonitoring into existing models of care was at the services provider level. These barriers included the capacity to implement/participate in new programs within health organisations and one of our trial sites had to be decommissioned. Main highlight was the continuation of Telemonitoring at three sites post-trial, offering Telehealth as a mainstream service for chronic disease management of patients in their home. This is a big win from the trial where three health service providers have integrated Telehealth as an ongoing sustainable service for chronic disease management in the community. Conclusions : Telemonitoring can be deployed for management of chronic disease in the community as a cost effective alternative. From the experience throughout the trial has demonstrated that successful deployment of remote Telemonitoring of chronic disease requires the following success factors: − Importance of a new Clinical Care Coordination role to centrally coordinate optimal response to caregivers as demonstrated in this trial − Strong support and leadership from the health service management team and the formation of strong clinical governance for the service − Strong alignment of workplace culture and values with the objectives of Telemonitoring. This will often require the implementation of extensive training and education programs − A clear “ownership” and engagement not only with the patient, but with the patient’s carers who may include relatives, neighbours, community nurses and GPs. − Clear governance protocols and lines of communication between the clinical care coordinator and the patient’s care team, in particular the patient’s GP. − Support for Telemonitoring services through automated risk stratification protocols that can identify with high probability patients who are demonstrating an exacerbation of their condition and may require immediate attention to avoid an unnecessary hospitalisation.

The role of geography in sustainable development

Abstract China has achieved unprecedented economic growth in the past decades. This has had serious consequences on the environment and public health. The Chinese government now realizes that it is not just the quantity, but the quality of development that matters. It has begun to instigate a series of policies to tackle pollution, increase the proportion of clean energy, and redress the balance between urban and rural development—in a coordinated effort to build a harmonious society. Building a harmonious world was also the theme of the 33rd International Geographical Congress, which was held in Beijing last August. At the meeting, Bojie Fu, a member of National Science Review’s editorial board, shared a platform with geographers from Australia, China, Canada and France to discuss the challenges of urbanization, the roles of geographers in sustainable development, as well as the importance of food security, safety and diversity. Dadao Lu Economic geographer at the Institute of Geography and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Jean-Robert Pitte Historical and cultural geographer at the University of Paris-Sorbonne in Paris, France Mark Rosenberg Health geographer at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada Mark Stafford Smith Ecologist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Canberra, Australia Bojie Fu (Chair) Physical geographer at the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; President of Geographical Society of China

Mineral Mapping for Exploration: An Australian Journey of Evolving Spectral Sensing Technologies and Industry Collaboration

This paper describes selected results from over a dozen collaborative projects led by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia spanning a 30-year history of developments in satellite, airborne, field and drill core sensing technologies and how these can assist explorers to measure and map valuable mineral information. The exploration case histories are largely from Australian test sites and describe how spectral sensing technologies have progressed from early “niche creation” systems, such as the field PIMA-II (Portable Field Mineral Analyzer) and airborne Geoscan, HyMap™ and OARS-TIPS (Operational Airborne Remote Sensing – Thermal Infrared Profiling Spectrometer) systems and drill-core HyLogger™ systems, to the current expanding array of pubic and commercial mineral mapping sensors, including the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer) satellite system which has acquired imagery spanning the entire Earth’s land surface (&lt;83° latitude). These sensors are delivering voluminous spectral data from different parts of the visible to the thermal infrared (400 to 14,000 nm) spectrum at different spectral, radiometric and spatial resolutions. Two critical exploration challenges are central to the case histories, namely: (i) can surface cover, such as vegetation, regolith or transported materials, be characterized and accounted for so that the target geology is accurately revealed; and (ii) does this revealed geology show evidence of alteration footprints to potential economic mineralization. Spectrally measurable minerals important to solving these challenges include white micas, kaolinite and garnets, with measurement of their respective physicochemistries being key. For example, kaolin disorder is useful for mapping transported versus weathered in situ materials, while the chemical substitution in white micas and garnets provide vectors to potential economic mineralization. Importantly, appropriate selection of the optimum sensor/data type for a given geological application depends primarily on the level of detail/accuracy of the mineral information required by the user. A major opportunity is to now harness the many sensor/data types and deliver to users consistent, accurate mineral information products, that is, creation of a number of valuable global mineral product standards. As part of this vision, CSIRO has been developing improved sensor/data calibration processes and information extraction methods that for example, unmix the target mineralogy from green and dry vegetation cover in remote sensing data sets. Emphasis to date has been on generating public spectral-mineral product standards, especially at ASTER’s limited but geologically-valuable spectral resolution. The results are showing that scalable, global, three-dimensional (3D) mineral maps are achievable which will only improve our ability to more accurately characterize regolith and geological architecture, increase our understanding of formative processes and assist the discovery of new economic mineral systems.

Integrated water resource assessment for the Adelaide region, South Australia

Abstract. South Australia is the driest state in the driest inhabited country in the world, Australia. Consequently, water is one of South Australia's highest priorities. Focus on water research and sources of water in the state became more critical during the Millenium drought that occurred between 1997 and 2011. In response to increased concern about water sources the South Australian government established The Goyder Institute for Water Research – a partnership between the South Australian State Government, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Flinders University, University of Adelaide and University of South Australia. The Goyder Institute undertakes cutting-edge science to inform the development of innovative integrated water management strategies to ensure South Australia's ongoing water security and enhance the South Australian Government's capacity to develop and deliver science-based policy solutions in water management. This paper focuses on the integrated water resource assessment of the northern Adelaide region, including the key research investments in water and climate, and how this information is being utilised by decision makers in the region.

Art and Science as Creative Catalysts

Science, Art and Science Art collaborations are generally presented and understood in terms of their products. The authors argue that the process of Science Art can be a significant—perhaps the principal—benefit of these collaborations even though the process may be largely invisible to anyone other than the collaborators. Hosting the Centenary of Canberra Science Art Commission at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has shown the authors that while Science and Art pursue orthogonal dimensions of creativity and innovation, collaborators can combine these directions to access new areas of imagination and ideas.

Assessing the impact of global warming on worldwide open field tomato cultivation through CSIRO-Mk3·0 global climate model

SUMMARYTomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops globally and an important agricultural sector for generating employment. Open field cultivation of tomatoes exposes the crop to climatic conditions, whereas greenhouse production is protected. Hence, global warming will have a greater impact on open field cultivation of tomatoes rather than the controlled greenhouse environment. Although the scale of potential impacts is uncertain, there are techniques that can be implemented to predict these impacts. Global climate models (GCMs) are useful tools for the analysis of possible impacts on a species. The current study aims to determine the impacts of climate change and the major factors of abiotic stress that limit the open field cultivation of tomatoes in both the present and future, based on predicted global climate change using CLIMatic indEX and the A2 emissions scenario, together with the GCM Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)-Mk3·0 (CS), for the years 2050 and 2100. The results indicate that large areas that currently have an optimum climate will become climatically marginal or unsuitable for open field cultivation of tomatoes due to progressively increasing heat and dry stress in the future. Conversely, large areas now marginal and unsuitable for open field cultivation of tomatoes will become suitable or optimal due to a decrease in cold stress. The current model may be useful for plant geneticists and horticulturalists who could develop new regional stress-resilient tomato cultivars based on needs related to these modelling projections.