Northern Australia

From tracking cattle to tourists

Understanding Australia’s goods and people movement to save costs and target infrastructure investment.

Science underpins future decisions on development in northern Australia

CSIRO has delivered the most extensive, integrated assessment of northern Australia’s water resources and the potential for further irrigated agricultural development. Big idea, big landscape, big data. Here is why the work was necessary and how the results can be used.

Mosaic development potential in WA’s Fitzroy River region

An extensive assessment of water resources in the Fitzroy River catchment points to the region’s largely untapped aquifer systems as key to the potential for irrigated agricultural development.

Picking the market for irrigation development in the NT

There’s talk of a ‘food bowl’ in northern Australia. Around Darwin in the Northern Territory it’s more likely to be a fruit bowl, according to a new study of the potential for irrigated agricultural development in the region’s river catchments.

Agriculture in the Mitchell catchment – crunching the numbers

Water alone won’t make irrigated agriculture financially viable in northern Australia’s Mitchell River catchment. Local processing facilities will be needed to get a return on investment for any large-scale investment.

Understanding Indigenous water values, rights and development objectives in Australia’s north

An important part of the Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment was engagement with the Indigenous Traditional Owners of the catchments.

How researchers are mapping an invasive species advancing across an entire region

In Northern Australia, researchers have Gamba grass in their sights. They're applying cutting-edge advances in satellite, airborne and terrestrial remote sensing along with emerging tools in computer vision and machine learning to address environmental challenges such as invasive species.

Hard yakka field work underpins decisions for Northern Australia

Much of the hard work behind future decisions on development in Northern Australia has been done over the winter – getting hot and dirty in the field collecting the data and the detail that describe the country.

Going underground to beat dam evaporation

Holding wet-season water underground for use in the dry season is a technique that holds promise for parts of northern Australia.