APPLYING GEOSCIENCE TO AUSTRALIA'S MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES

On 7 February 2009, wildfires swept through the southern state of Victoria, resulting in Australia's most damaging natural disaster. The scale and intensity of the Victorian fires tragically resulted in the loss of 173 lives and the destruction of around 3,500 buildings, of which 2,000 were houses. During what is referred to as the “Black Saturday bushfires, 100,000 acres (450,000 hectares) burned, resulting in severe damage to the natural environment.

Tasked with the unique role of geological survey for a continent, Geoscience Australia provides first class geoscientific information and knowledge. This knowledge assists government and the community in making informed public policy decisions about resources and the environment, affecting the overall wellbeing of all Australians. Recent events in Australia have led to increased spatial input from Geoscience Australia into hazards, change detection, natural risk assessment and emergency management.

Geoscience Australia's National Earth Observation (NEO) Group provided satellite derived information in support of emergency service organisations response to the fires. Fire location data was provided online to the public throughout the crisis, via the Geoscience Australia Website. Challenges associated with extracting useful information from existing Earth Observation data clarified the importance of emergency response protocols for disaster management.

Forest fire detections were derived through Geoscience Australia’s Sentinel Monitoring System. Sentinel provides information on fire locations with an accuracy of 1-2 kilometres, and the system is particularly good at detecting large, intense, forest fires. Public usage of the Sentinel system peaked at over 5.2 million internet hits on 7 February (a typical fire season day receives 135,000 hits). Ongoing research to prevent future disasters is being supported by Geoscience Australia, particularly with regard to fire behaviour, community safety and land use planning.

The application of Earth Observation data to current issues will be part of the International Geological Congress (IGC) to be held in Brisbane, Australia in August 2012. The application of geoscience in Australia will be showcased at the IGC through a number of thematic sessions.