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| Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric |
| Alt | AHGF |
| Jurisdiction | Australia |
| Agency | Geoscience Australia |
| Established | 2010s |
Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric The Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric is a national geospatial dataset and framework that models surface water features and catchment hierarchies across Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and other Australian population centres. It supports water resources planning, environmental management and emergency response for authorities such as the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and state agencies including New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Queensland water authorities. The Fabric interoperates with international standards used by organisations like the United Nations, the European Commission, and the United States Geological Survey.
The Fabric is intended as a nationally consistent hydrological framework integrating stream networks, catchments and related attributes to inform decision-making by entities such as the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia agencies and metropolitan councils like the City of Adelaide and City of Perth. It aligns with spatial data infrastructures promoted by bodies including the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia). The dataset synthesises inputs from projects undertaken by CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, regional catchment authorities like the New South Wales Catchment Management Authorities, and research institutions such as the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney.
Development involved collaboration between federal agencies including Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meteorology, state departments such as Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Victoria), and research partners like CSIRO. Governance frameworks reference national policies exemplified by the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing and spatial data standards from organisations like the Australian Spatial Information Business Association and the Spatial Industries Business Association. Funding and program management have featured contributions from the National Water Commission and regional programs managed by entities like the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
The Fabric’s data model includes vector features representing streams, rivers and drainage lines, catchment polygons, node and reach tables, and attribute tables that record hydrological properties used by practitioners at institutions such as the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales. Components reference hydrometric networks maintained by agencies like the Bureau of Meteorology’s river height stations and water quality monitoring stations run by state bodies such as WaterNSW and Seqwater. The schema maps to standards published by the Open Geospatial Consortium and the International Organization for Standardization to facilitate interoperability with datasets from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
Coverage spans continental Australia including major basins like the Murray Basin, Lake Eyre Basin, Pilbara, and the Darling River catchments, with detailed local mapping for metropolitan catchments in Brisbane River and Hunter River regions. The Fabric is produced at scales compatible with national mapping products such as the Geoscience Australia NationalMap and state cadastral datasets maintained by agencies like the Land Titles Office of New South Wales and Land Victoria. Resolution and topology support modeling from regional studies by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority to urban floodplain analyses commissioned by councils including the City of Gold Coast.
Users include policy makers at the Commonwealth of Australia, water managers at agencies such as WaterNSW, research teams at CSIRO and universities like the University of Queensland, emergency services including State Emergency Service (Australia), and environmental organisations like the Australian Conservation Foundation. Applications encompass flood modelling used by insurers linked to firms based in Sydney and Melbourne, catchment planning for programs run by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, water allocation and licensing administered by state regulators such as Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, and conservation planning for areas overseen by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Data distribution channels include national portals operated by Geoscience Australia and data services from the Bureau of Meteorology as well as state spatial data warehouses run by entities like NSW Spatial Services and Vicmap. Integration pathways support use with modelling software from vendors used by municipal utilities in Adelaide and research platforms at the Australian National University, and linkages to remote sensing products from satellites by agencies such as the Australian Space Agency partner networks and international missions like Landsat and Sentinel-2.
Quality control processes are overseen by consortium members including Geoscience Australia, Bureau of Meteorology and academic partners at institutions such as the University of Tasmania, with validation against stream gauging networks maintained by organisations like WaterNSW and Melbourne Water. Maintenance cycles coordinate updates following standards promulgated by bodies like the Open Geospatial Consortium and in collaboration with regional custodians such as the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and state agencies to reflect hydrological changes documented by researchers at CSIRO and field programs run by state departments.
Category:Hydrology of Australia