Join us to learn more about the research happening at the Fenner School. This week, in a series of 10 minute talks, we'll delve into four different topics by four of our wonderful researchers.

Bob Wasson - Estimating land-based sediment pollution in the Coral Triangle
Context. Sedimentation in the rivers and on the coasts of Timor-Leste have increased since deforestation, affecting floods and probably living resources. 
Aims.To provide scientifically-based estimates of long-term and short-term erosion rates to assess the apparent role of deforestation, a topic that has not received sufficient quantitative attention in the Coral Triangle.
Methods. Short-term eosin rates have been estimated from regional relationships between river sediment yield and catchment areas and cosmogenic nuclides for long-term rates. An attempt has also been made to estimate changes in rates of delta progradation to determine if recent increases have occurred following deforestation. 
Key Results.The major scientific finding, not unexpectedly, is that vegetation cover reduction, mainly for agriculture and timber harvesting, particularly in the mountains, increased sediment yield by factors up to 120, mainly by landsliding. 
Implications. Impacts on living resources are likely both in rivers and on the coast but require assessment. Revegetation is likely to reduce these impacts and improve the livelihoods of local people.

Ana Gracanin - Live from the Canopy: The Secret Life of Greater Gliders

Sombol Mokhles - Core dynamics of cities’ transition to a climate-safe future
As climate change reshapes urban landscapes, cities have emerged as key actors in driving emissions reductions and climate adaptation. Yet most comparative studies focus on static outcomes, overlooking the dynamic processes and feedbacks that shape urban climate transitions over time. This talk introduces the concept of ‘core dynamics’: the finest component of cities’ transition trajectory in the form of causal dynamics and interactions between actors, policies and instruments, and endogenous and exogenous factors. Using Copenhagen as a frontrunner city, I map and synthesise its core dynamics into a set of generalisable archetypes. These archetypes are then tested across three contrasting cities to examine their recurrence and variation under different governance systems, urban forms, and socio-technical conditions. The analysis reveals how common reinforcing and balancing feedbacks can both drive and constrain urban transitions across different contexts, with some variations informed by their unique contexts. In addition to understanding common processes of transition in cities, archetypal core dynamics of transition enable more targeted policy transfers between similar cities and accelerate diffusion of climate initiatives.

Mike Hutchinson - Near real time ANUClimate grids for agricultural monitoring and decision making
The Australia wide ANUClimate alpha grids have been developed at the Fenner School to support the Enhanced Drought Information System of the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The alpha grids are the near real time counterpart to the ongoing ANUClimate stable grids that were initially developed for the former Australian Greenhouse Office and with initial support from the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (TERN). The stable climate grids are now being taken up by a wide range of users, with an average of 263 unique users per month from 92 countries over the last year. The grid generation process includes reliable automated data quality assurance built around the ANUSPLIN spatial interpolation package. Some brief insights into the methodology and comparisons with AWAP and SILO grids are provided. Future directions are also discussed.