Smart Sensing for Natural Hazards.
Bushfires, floods, storms and heat are impacting Australians like never before.
The frequency and intensity of these events are increasing and we find ourselves dealing with multiple, compounding disasters that stretch our resources and leave little time for recovery.
The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements describes the impacts and how the nature of natural hazards are changing and compounding. The Royal Commission presents a number of recommendations relating to the use of data to improve preparation and response. Much of this data will be provided by sensors.
Traditional approaches to preparation, detection, response and recovery are no longer sufficient. Smart sensing provides the data and intelligence to support the capabilities required for each stage of natural hazards:
Investment in smart sensing technologies is already providing benefits. Remote sensing provides valuable data that informs fire and flood risk modelling. New sensing technologies are providing information about catchments, soil moisture and water resources. Low cost heat sensors, combined with advanced modelling are providing evidence to support investment in urban heat mitigations.
We are now seeing the beginning of what will be a huge growth in the development and use of smart sensing technologies.
NSSN Grand Challenge: Natural Hazards
The NSSN Grand Challenges aim to tackle Australia’s most intractable problems by bringing together the smart sensing expertise of nine research powerhouses across NSW & the ACT with industry and government.
NSSN’s Natural Hazards Grand Challenge supports the development of a wide range of sensors, sensing platforms and analytical approaches to address specific hazards and build multi-hazard capabilities.
There are many natural hazards related smart sensing research and development opportunities. A few examples are shown here:
The NSSN Natural Hazards Grand Challenge responds to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
Detecting Bushfires from the Sky
Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) are leading the development of the first Australian satellite designed to predict where bushfires are likely to start and those that will be difficult to contain.
The new satellite will accurately measure forest fuel load and vegetation moisture levels across Australia and will be specifically tuned to detect changes in highly flammable plants and trees such as eucalyptus.
Air Quality Sensing for All Citizens
The NSW bushfires of 2019/20 led to significant drops in air quality and led to widespread community concern on the affects to public health.
The recent availability of low-cost environmental sensors makes it feasible to collect localised air quality data at urban precincts, busy road intersections and areas where local topography concentrates pollution that can be used to provide additional localised air quality information to the public.
Led by the NSW Smart Sensing Network in collaboration with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE), OPENAIR positions NSW as a forerunner in the use of low-cost air quality sensing in the world.
The project arms local governments with the latest know-how in the use of low-cost air quality sensors and, for the first time in Australia, establishes a best-practice methodology for all aspects of council-led air quality monitoring.
With the support of the NSW Government, the NSSN is your one-stop shop for multi-disciplinary expertise and technology.
To find out more about the NSSN Natural Hazards Grand Challenge, please contact Peter Runcie at peter.runcie@nssn.org.au
