Ian White - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ian White
Journal of Hydrology, 2014
ABSTRACT Innovations are being proposed in many countries in order to support change towards more... more ABSTRACT Innovations are being proposed in many countries in order to support change towards more sustainable and water secure futures. However, the extent to which they can be implemented is subject to complex politics and powerful coalitions across multi-level governance systems and scales of interest. Exactly how innovation uptake can be best facilitated or blocked in these complex systems is thus a matter of important practical and research interest in water cycle management. From intervention research studies in Australia, China and Bulgaria, this paper seeks to describe and analyse the behind-the-scenes struggles and coalition-building that occurs between water utility providers, private companies, experts, communities and all levels of government in an effort to support or block specific innovations. The research findings suggest that in order to ensure successful passage of the proposed innovations, champions for it are required from at least two administrative levels, including one with innovation implementation capacity, as part of a larger supportive coalition. Higher governance levels can play an important enabling role in facilitating the passage of certain types of innovations that may be in competition with currently entrenched systems of water management. Due to a range of natural biases, experts on certain innovations and disciplines may form part of supporting or blocking coalitions but their evaluations of worth for water system sustainability and security are likely to be subject to competing claims based on different values and expertise, so may not necessarily be of use in resolving questions of “best courses of action”. This remains a political values-based decision to be negotiated through the receiving multi-level water governance system.
Simulation & Gaming, 2007
Low coral islands are heavily dependent on groundwater for freshwater supplies. The declaration b... more Low coral islands are heavily dependent on groundwater for freshwater supplies. The declaration by the government of Kiribati of water reserves over privately owned land has led to conflicts, illegal settlements, and vandalism. Also, the water consumption tends to increase toward Western-like standards, and human pollution has already contaminated most freshwater lenses. This project aims to provide relevant information to local stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and devise sustainable water management practices. A computer-assisted role-playing game is implemented to fulfill this aim. The following three-stage methodology is applied: collecting local and expert knowledge, blending the di ferent viewpoints into a game-based model, and playing the game with the di ferent stakeholders to explore di ferent scenarios. Although game sessions delivered successful outcomes, the final stage of the project is characterized by the upheaval of contradictory government stands that undermine th...
Water Resources Research, 1989
ABSTRACT
Water Resources Research, 1987
ABSTRACT
Water Resources Research, 1997
The downward convection of salt fingers or plumes developed from the unstable boundary layer of a... more The downward convection of salt fingers or plumes developed from the unstable boundary layer of an evaporating "dry" salt lake is examined using a numerical model and Hele-Shaw cell experiments. In the convecting layer the early small waves evolve into fingerlike or plumelike formations, the number of fingers or plumes decreasing with time owing to differential growth and/or coalescence. Comparison of intermediate formational stages of this pattern with the pattern generated by a two-dimensional numerical simulation shows good qualitative agreement. However, there is a significant mismatch of the growth rates at long times. In the computer simulation the plume length develops approximately twice as rapidly as it does in the experimental case. A simple numerical experiment independent of the salt-lake boundary conditions is compared to previously published laboratory-scale measures of plume development in Hele-Shaw cells which confirms the retardation of Hele-Shaw plumes by a factor of approximately 50%. This departure is attributed to the differences in dimensionality between the Hele-Shaw flow domain and the model domain. The data indicated that leading plumes develop isolated behavior at long times and may not be adequately represented in Hele-Shaw analog models, and numerical simulation provides a more accurate simulation of fieldscale behavior.
Water Resources Research, 1987
Estimates of characteristic times to approach steady state flow in multidimensional infiltration ... more Estimates of characteristic times to approach steady state flow in multidimensional infiltration in the landscape depend on the magnitude and character of the capillary length scale λc and the associated capillary time scale tc. Here we derive relationships between λc and tc ...
Water Resources Research, 2003
Journal of Shellfish Research, 2009
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 1982
ABSTRACT
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2005
The Mackay Whitsunday region covers 9000 km(2) in northeastern Australia. A study of diffuse poll... more The Mackay Whitsunday region covers 9000 km(2) in northeastern Australia. A study of diffuse pollutants during high flow events was conducted in coastal streams in this region. Sampling was conducted in the Pioneer River catchment during a high flow event in February 2002 and in Gooseponds Creek, Sandy Creek and Carmila Creek in March 2003. Concentrations of five herbicides; atrazine (1.3 microg l(-1)), diuron (8.5 microg l(-1)), 2,4-D (0.4 microg l(-1)), hexazinone (0.3 microg l(-1)) and ametryn (0.3 microg l(-1)) and high concentrations of nutrients (total nitrogen 1.14 mg l(-1), total phosphorus 0.20 mg l(-1)) and suspended sediments (620 mg l(-1)) were measured at Dumbleton Weir on the lower reaches of the Pioneer River. Drinking water guidelines for atrazine and 2,4-D were exceeded at Dumbleton Weir, low reliability trigger values for ecosystem protection for diuron were exceeded at three sites and primary industry guidelines for irrigation levels of diuron were also exceeded at Dumbleton Weir. Similar concentrations were found in the three smaller streams measured in 2003. Herbicides and fertilisers used in sugarcane cultivation were identified as the most likely major source of the herbicide residues and nutrients found.
Marine and Freshwater Research, 1996
Episodic acidification (pH <5) of estuarine tributaries caused by the oxidation of sulfidic fl... more Episodic acidification (pH <5) of estuarine tributaries caused by the oxidation of sulfidic floodplain sediments is widespread in eastern Australia. Drainage and flood mitigation works promote oxidation and the export of sulfuric acid and dissolved aluminium and iron into streams. This paper examines the acidification of a tidal reach on the Richmond River, New South Wales. Acid discharge is controlled by the floodplain water balance, drainage of shallow acid groundwater, and tidal floodgate operation. Floodgates store acid waters for more than six months. Acid discharges ranged from short pulses during light rains to ~950 t of sulfuric acid in a major flood that acidified the reach for over seven weeks. Extensive iron flocs accompanied acidification and coated the benthos. The chemistry of the reach reflected mixing of acid groundwater with upland waters and showed pH-dependent enhancement or depletion of species relative to chloride. Concentrations of monomeric aluminium were o...
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2010
A sodium-washed montmorillonite was exposed to calcium and silica under alkaline conditions in or... more A sodium-washed montmorillonite was exposed to calcium and silica under alkaline conditions in order to gain insight into possible interactions of engineered clay barriers and cementitious leachates found in many waste storage facilities. The changes in physico-chemical properties of the material were investigated using a combination of dead-end filtration, electrophoresis and scanning electron microscopy. The results show minimal differentiation between unaltered Na-montmorillonite samples at the two pH values tested (9 and 12), with the structure of the resulting assemblages arising from repulsive tactoid interactions. The addition of calcium (50 mM) greatly decreases the size of the structural network, and in doing so, increases the hydraulic conductivity approximately 65-fold, with the effect being greatest at pH 12. Whilst the addition of silica alone (10 mM) produced little change in the hydraulic properties of montmorillonite, its combined effect with calcium produced alterations to the structural assemblages that could not be accounted for by the presence of calcium alone. The likely binding of calcium with multiple silanol groups appears to enhance the retention of water within the Na-montmorillonite assemblage, whilst still allowing the fluent passage of water. The results confirm that polyvalent cations such as Ca(2+) may have a dramatic effect on the structural and hydraulic properties of montmorillonite assemblages while the effects of solutions containing both silicate and calcium are complex and influenced by silica-cation interactions.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007
Appropriate information, participatory processes and wise practice agreements are key elements in... more Appropriate information, participatory processes and wise practice agreements are key elements in reducing conflicts over the use and management of coastal resources. In this work we describe the evolution of a cooperative learning approach to coastal floodplain management, ...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007
Population centres in low atoll islands have water supply problems that are amongst the most crit... more Population centres in low atoll islands have water supply problems that are amongst the most critical in the world. Fresh groundwater, the major source of water in many atolls, is extremely vulnerable to natural processes and human activities. Storm surges and over-extractions cause seawater intrusion, while human settlements and agriculture can pollute shallow groundwaters. Limited land areas restrict freshwater quantities,
Australian Geographical Studies, 1995
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2006
Research at Widden Brook is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of: the Australian Nation... more Research at Widden Brook is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of: the Australian National University, Southern Cross University, the University of Newcastle, the NSW Department of Natural Resources of New South Wales (DNR) and CSIRO. The project seeks to test the hypothesis that 'lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity is important for floodplain sustainability and can be improved by reinstating secondary floodplain channels and wetlands, and creating artificial pools on the main stream'.
GEOCHEMICAL JOURNAL, 1998
Coastal Management, 2007
Oysters have been harvested on the east coast of Australia for many thousands of years. Coastal A... more Oysters have been harvested on the east coast of Australia for many thousands of years. Coastal Aboriginal communities used the extensive estuarine oyster resource and may have farmed oysters by establishing shell cultch beds in shallow areas of estuaries. The British colonization of Australia commenced in 1788 and oysters were initially used for food and production of lime. Concerns about unsustainable exploitation led to introduction of legislation that directed the oyster industry to aquaculture in 1884. Translocation of oyster stock for fattening, from New Zealand to Australian east coast estuaries, was encouraged. Here evidence is presented that this activity resulted in "mudworm disease" appearing in oyster farming estuaries on the Australian east coast between 1880 and 1900. The pandemic permanently destroyed natural sub-tidal oyster reefs and forced the oyster industry to adopt avoidance farming techniques including intertidal farming to cope with mudworm.
UNESCO-IHP Humid Tropics Programme Public Works Department, Republic of Kiribati ... Ian White1, ... more UNESCO-IHP Humid Tropics Programme Public Works Department, Republic of Kiribati ... Ian White1, Tony Falkland2 and David Scott3 ... 1 Water Research Foundation of Australia, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian ...
Journal of Hydrology, 2014
ABSTRACT Innovations are being proposed in many countries in order to support change towards more... more ABSTRACT Innovations are being proposed in many countries in order to support change towards more sustainable and water secure futures. However, the extent to which they can be implemented is subject to complex politics and powerful coalitions across multi-level governance systems and scales of interest. Exactly how innovation uptake can be best facilitated or blocked in these complex systems is thus a matter of important practical and research interest in water cycle management. From intervention research studies in Australia, China and Bulgaria, this paper seeks to describe and analyse the behind-the-scenes struggles and coalition-building that occurs between water utility providers, private companies, experts, communities and all levels of government in an effort to support or block specific innovations. The research findings suggest that in order to ensure successful passage of the proposed innovations, champions for it are required from at least two administrative levels, including one with innovation implementation capacity, as part of a larger supportive coalition. Higher governance levels can play an important enabling role in facilitating the passage of certain types of innovations that may be in competition with currently entrenched systems of water management. Due to a range of natural biases, experts on certain innovations and disciplines may form part of supporting or blocking coalitions but their evaluations of worth for water system sustainability and security are likely to be subject to competing claims based on different values and expertise, so may not necessarily be of use in resolving questions of “best courses of action”. This remains a political values-based decision to be negotiated through the receiving multi-level water governance system.
Simulation & Gaming, 2007
Low coral islands are heavily dependent on groundwater for freshwater supplies. The declaration b... more Low coral islands are heavily dependent on groundwater for freshwater supplies. The declaration by the government of Kiribati of water reserves over privately owned land has led to conflicts, illegal settlements, and vandalism. Also, the water consumption tends to increase toward Western-like standards, and human pollution has already contaminated most freshwater lenses. This project aims to provide relevant information to local stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and devise sustainable water management practices. A computer-assisted role-playing game is implemented to fulfill this aim. The following three-stage methodology is applied: collecting local and expert knowledge, blending the di ferent viewpoints into a game-based model, and playing the game with the di ferent stakeholders to explore di ferent scenarios. Although game sessions delivered successful outcomes, the final stage of the project is characterized by the upheaval of contradictory government stands that undermine th...
Water Resources Research, 1989
ABSTRACT
Water Resources Research, 1987
ABSTRACT
Water Resources Research, 1997
The downward convection of salt fingers or plumes developed from the unstable boundary layer of a... more The downward convection of salt fingers or plumes developed from the unstable boundary layer of an evaporating "dry" salt lake is examined using a numerical model and Hele-Shaw cell experiments. In the convecting layer the early small waves evolve into fingerlike or plumelike formations, the number of fingers or plumes decreasing with time owing to differential growth and/or coalescence. Comparison of intermediate formational stages of this pattern with the pattern generated by a two-dimensional numerical simulation shows good qualitative agreement. However, there is a significant mismatch of the growth rates at long times. In the computer simulation the plume length develops approximately twice as rapidly as it does in the experimental case. A simple numerical experiment independent of the salt-lake boundary conditions is compared to previously published laboratory-scale measures of plume development in Hele-Shaw cells which confirms the retardation of Hele-Shaw plumes by a factor of approximately 50%. This departure is attributed to the differences in dimensionality between the Hele-Shaw flow domain and the model domain. The data indicated that leading plumes develop isolated behavior at long times and may not be adequately represented in Hele-Shaw analog models, and numerical simulation provides a more accurate simulation of fieldscale behavior.
Water Resources Research, 1987
Estimates of characteristic times to approach steady state flow in multidimensional infiltration ... more Estimates of characteristic times to approach steady state flow in multidimensional infiltration in the landscape depend on the magnitude and character of the capillary length scale λc and the associated capillary time scale tc. Here we derive relationships between λc and tc ...
Water Resources Research, 2003
Journal of Shellfish Research, 2009
Soil Science Society of America Journal, 1982
ABSTRACT
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2005
The Mackay Whitsunday region covers 9000 km(2) in northeastern Australia. A study of diffuse poll... more The Mackay Whitsunday region covers 9000 km(2) in northeastern Australia. A study of diffuse pollutants during high flow events was conducted in coastal streams in this region. Sampling was conducted in the Pioneer River catchment during a high flow event in February 2002 and in Gooseponds Creek, Sandy Creek and Carmila Creek in March 2003. Concentrations of five herbicides; atrazine (1.3 microg l(-1)), diuron (8.5 microg l(-1)), 2,4-D (0.4 microg l(-1)), hexazinone (0.3 microg l(-1)) and ametryn (0.3 microg l(-1)) and high concentrations of nutrients (total nitrogen 1.14 mg l(-1), total phosphorus 0.20 mg l(-1)) and suspended sediments (620 mg l(-1)) were measured at Dumbleton Weir on the lower reaches of the Pioneer River. Drinking water guidelines for atrazine and 2,4-D were exceeded at Dumbleton Weir, low reliability trigger values for ecosystem protection for diuron were exceeded at three sites and primary industry guidelines for irrigation levels of diuron were also exceeded at Dumbleton Weir. Similar concentrations were found in the three smaller streams measured in 2003. Herbicides and fertilisers used in sugarcane cultivation were identified as the most likely major source of the herbicide residues and nutrients found.
Marine and Freshwater Research, 1996
Episodic acidification (pH <5) of estuarine tributaries caused by the oxidation of sulfidic fl... more Episodic acidification (pH <5) of estuarine tributaries caused by the oxidation of sulfidic floodplain sediments is widespread in eastern Australia. Drainage and flood mitigation works promote oxidation and the export of sulfuric acid and dissolved aluminium and iron into streams. This paper examines the acidification of a tidal reach on the Richmond River, New South Wales. Acid discharge is controlled by the floodplain water balance, drainage of shallow acid groundwater, and tidal floodgate operation. Floodgates store acid waters for more than six months. Acid discharges ranged from short pulses during light rains to ~950 t of sulfuric acid in a major flood that acidified the reach for over seven weeks. Extensive iron flocs accompanied acidification and coated the benthos. The chemistry of the reach reflected mixing of acid groundwater with upland waters and showed pH-dependent enhancement or depletion of species relative to chloride. Concentrations of monomeric aluminium were o...
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2010
A sodium-washed montmorillonite was exposed to calcium and silica under alkaline conditions in or... more A sodium-washed montmorillonite was exposed to calcium and silica under alkaline conditions in order to gain insight into possible interactions of engineered clay barriers and cementitious leachates found in many waste storage facilities. The changes in physico-chemical properties of the material were investigated using a combination of dead-end filtration, electrophoresis and scanning electron microscopy. The results show minimal differentiation between unaltered Na-montmorillonite samples at the two pH values tested (9 and 12), with the structure of the resulting assemblages arising from repulsive tactoid interactions. The addition of calcium (50 mM) greatly decreases the size of the structural network, and in doing so, increases the hydraulic conductivity approximately 65-fold, with the effect being greatest at pH 12. Whilst the addition of silica alone (10 mM) produced little change in the hydraulic properties of montmorillonite, its combined effect with calcium produced alterations to the structural assemblages that could not be accounted for by the presence of calcium alone. The likely binding of calcium with multiple silanol groups appears to enhance the retention of water within the Na-montmorillonite assemblage, whilst still allowing the fluent passage of water. The results confirm that polyvalent cations such as Ca(2+) may have a dramatic effect on the structural and hydraulic properties of montmorillonite assemblages while the effects of solutions containing both silicate and calcium are complex and influenced by silica-cation interactions.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007
Appropriate information, participatory processes and wise practice agreements are key elements in... more Appropriate information, participatory processes and wise practice agreements are key elements in reducing conflicts over the use and management of coastal resources. In this work we describe the evolution of a cooperative learning approach to coastal floodplain management, ...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2007
Population centres in low atoll islands have water supply problems that are amongst the most crit... more Population centres in low atoll islands have water supply problems that are amongst the most critical in the world. Fresh groundwater, the major source of water in many atolls, is extremely vulnerable to natural processes and human activities. Storm surges and over-extractions cause seawater intrusion, while human settlements and agriculture can pollute shallow groundwaters. Limited land areas restrict freshwater quantities,
Australian Geographical Studies, 1995
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2006
Research at Widden Brook is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of: the Australian Nation... more Research at Widden Brook is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of: the Australian National University, Southern Cross University, the University of Newcastle, the NSW Department of Natural Resources of New South Wales (DNR) and CSIRO. The project seeks to test the hypothesis that 'lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity is important for floodplain sustainability and can be improved by reinstating secondary floodplain channels and wetlands, and creating artificial pools on the main stream'.
GEOCHEMICAL JOURNAL, 1998
Coastal Management, 2007
Oysters have been harvested on the east coast of Australia for many thousands of years. Coastal A... more Oysters have been harvested on the east coast of Australia for many thousands of years. Coastal Aboriginal communities used the extensive estuarine oyster resource and may have farmed oysters by establishing shell cultch beds in shallow areas of estuaries. The British colonization of Australia commenced in 1788 and oysters were initially used for food and production of lime. Concerns about unsustainable exploitation led to introduction of legislation that directed the oyster industry to aquaculture in 1884. Translocation of oyster stock for fattening, from New Zealand to Australian east coast estuaries, was encouraged. Here evidence is presented that this activity resulted in "mudworm disease" appearing in oyster farming estuaries on the Australian east coast between 1880 and 1900. The pandemic permanently destroyed natural sub-tidal oyster reefs and forced the oyster industry to adopt avoidance farming techniques including intertidal farming to cope with mudworm.
UNESCO-IHP Humid Tropics Programme Public Works Department, Republic of Kiribati ... Ian White1, ... more UNESCO-IHP Humid Tropics Programme Public Works Department, Republic of Kiribati ... Ian White1, Tony Falkland2 and David Scott3 ... 1 Water Research Foundation of Australia, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian ...