Catchment Digital Twins

Mulloon Creek Digital Twin

Capertee Valley Digital Twin

This project was initiated to support catchment communities in Australia build a ‘whole-of-system' understanding of their landscape. In 2021, the Mulloon Institute was awarded a Citizen Science grant by the Federal Government titled ‘Modelling Landscape Rehydration for Catchments, Communities and Curriculum’. Between 2021-2024 the Institute developed a range of models and learning tools to foster scientific literacy of water’s patterns and processes, and to support cooperative action to create more functional, resilient catchment landscapes. 

This website is one of the outcomes of that project. The team worked closely with Dr Joseph Guillaume, a researcher at the Institute for Water Futures, ANU, to explore the potential of digital twinning to support catchment-scale understanding, dialogue and problem-solving around the management of water.  

Why a ‘digital twin’?

In the ANU’s work, a digital twin has been defined as a ‘time-varying representation of a system that relies on both observed/available information and predictive modelling.’ While the structure of a digital twin ‘allows for the accumulation of knowledge’, it can also accommodate uncertainties and help users to assess the usefulness of new information about the system (see citation below).  

Digital twins are being developed around the world, with some being highly complex, integrating multiple spatial and temporal data sets and live data streams. This website aims to start more simply in a way that is accessible and useful with the potential to progressively improve over time. It presents 3 catchment landscapes in NSW, located in regions where the Mulloon Institute has worked with local communities: Mulloon Creek, Swan Brook and Capertee Valley.  

In each case the website features a custom interactive map with data layers most relevant to restoration projects that take a ‘catchment-scale’ approach to hydrology, biodiversity and land management. Additional maps and documentation about each catchment are also provided, as well as information about landscape function principles that can be applied in any catchment. The interactive map of Mulloon Creek also includes the monitored sites within the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative. The website can be expanded to incorporate more information about these catchments over time, and community-led projects. 

The Institute would like to thank Dr Joseph Guillaume for his ongoing support for this project as both guide and collaborator. We also wish to thank former staff members Bill McAlister and Angus Dunne for their contributions, and the many ANU students who were part of the project’s conceptual phases during their studies at the Institute for Water Futures.  

Peter Hazell, Laura Fisher & Chris Inskeep and The Mulloon Institute Team, May 2024.

Citation:

Guillaume, J.H.A., Harvey, N., Merritt, W.S., Gobius, N., Kazmeier, L. and Williams, Z. (2023). Landscape-focused digital twin for local engagement in water governance in monsoonal river systems: Final report. Prepared for the Queensland Water Modelling Network (QWMN) by the Australian National University and Gulf Savannah NRM [link to PDF].

Swan Brook Digital Twin

The Mulloon Institute is a not-for-profit, research, education and advocacy organisation that was established in 2011 by Founders Tony Coote AM and his wife Toni Coote. It is recognised globally as a demonstrator of sustainable agriculture and environmental regeneration through landscape rehydration and restoration. The Institute believes that the long-term sustainability of both agriculture and the environment requires balance and working together in unison.

The Institute demonstrates innovative land management approaches that create healthier landscapes with more resilience to climatic extremes. By supporting transformational change in the way landscapes are managed, the Institute’s work benefits Australia’s farmers and communities and ultimately our planet.

The Institute delivers and achieves real change through strategic collaborative partnerships and strong educational resources that build capacity.

To learn more about the Mullon Institute, click here