ABC 7:30 Report features Monash Arts-IT Project

Monash University was featured recently on the ABC’s 7:30 Report which investigated climate-change impacts and flood risks that affect the Gippsland communities, and the implications it has for policy makers.

The report can be found at the ABC website.

The "cutting edge" software mentioned for presenting climate-change impact in the story has been developed as a result of a year-long collaboration between Matthew Coller, of the Berwick School of IT, and colleagues Peter Wheeler, Jasper Kunapo, and Jim Peterson from the School of Geography.

The collaboration has discovered novel ways to bridge the gap between the sophisticated analysis-focused systems used by geographers, and the accessible communication-focused systems necessary for stakeholder consultation on spatial phenomena. The flood-scenario model takes the traditional flood-meter - a familiar sight to residents in any flood-prone region - and turns it into an interactive metaphor upon which the user can lift the flood level to any desired height.

You can try out the flood-model yourself at: http://sahultime.monash.edu.au/LakesEntrance/.

The "investment dollars" suggested in the story are also beginning to flow from this research. Matthew and his colleagues have now been commissioned by the Department of Sustainability and Environment to produce similar visualisations for a series of flood-susceptible communities across Victoria.

The flood-model project is an offshoot of Matthew's main research focus on developing a unified spatio-temporal visualisation platform for the ancient Earth, toward the goal of fully realising Al Gore's original 'Digital Earth' vision. A Granada UK film crew recently filmed Matthew at the Caulfield School of IT, using his platform, SahulTime, to explore the implications of ancient sea level on Australia's archaeological record.  The resulting documentary, First Across The Ocean, is now screening on the National Geographic Channel in the USA, and will arrive in Australia later this year.

Monash congratulates the team members for outstanding work!

For more details, visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/news/monashmemo/stories/20080430/flood.html.

To email Matthew: