Hydrological studies in soil salinity

Investigations involved examination of near-surface indurated layers to investigate their role in saltland formation. It was found that groundwater could move readily through this layer due to the presence of macro-pores. Close examination of apparently impermeable pallid zone clays, shows that decayed tree roots and large diameter voids provide a continuous pathway for the veritical transport of saline water from deeper aquifers

Catchment salinity : Report on a study of the east Perenjori catchment

Dryland secondary salinisation has debilitated large areas of land in Western Australia due to clearing of native vegetation for agricultural development. The initial aim of the project (which is the subject of Part I of this report) was to establish a landscape framework for hydrogeological examination of the salinity problem. A catchment of 139 km2, located 30 km east of Perenjori townsite was selected for detailed study. It was mapped for soils, vegetation, topography, landform and salinity using both old and recent aerial photography. A field survey of soil hydraulic conductivity was undertaken to help define recharge areas. Soil-vegetation associations were related to geomorphology to develop five land units. The constant head permeameter gave some indication of relative rates of recharge between the land units and deep acid sandplain soils were seen to have a relatively high groundwater recharge potential. Soil salinity has shown significant spread in recent years and 2.4 per cent of the area of the catchment was severely affected in 1986

Preliminary groundwater investigations in relation to soil salinity at Fitzgerald, Western Australia

This study investigated soil salinity problems in relation to new land releases at Fitzgerald near the south coast of Western Australia. Fairly widely spaced set of bores was established to compare the groundwater hydrology regimes beneath cleared and virgin land. A large storage of soluble salts (over 100 kgm-2 in some profiles) was measured in the pallid zone clays under both cleared and virgin land conditions. Seasonal fresh to brackish perched watertables were found to overlie highly saline deep waterbles at a number of valley sites on land which has been cleared for agriculture during the past 15 years. Salinity is encroaching where the potentiometric heads are at the ground surface. This occurs in headwaters of the Susetta and Hamersley Rivers

An assessment of Wisalts banks at Dangin

This report compares two alternative approaches for the treatment and management of salt affected land at Dangin, Western Australia by determining whether there are benefits from a WISALTS bank system which would not accrue from standard soil conservation recommendations; comparing the costs and benefits of the two systems; and determining the nature of the effects of the two systems, particularly with respect to soil salinity

Throughflow troughs for the measurement of shallow seepage on hillslopes

Throughflow troughs were installed to assess their effectiveness in quantifying shallow sub-surface flows on hillslopes. The majority of flow was found to occur from decayed root channels in clay sub-soils below the lowest gutter. The conclusion at this site is that shallow throughflow troughs installed on a small scale are not capable of quantifying all of the seepage occurring on hillslopes

Cybersecurity: mapping the ethical terrain

This edited collection examines the ethical trade-offs involved in cybersecurity: between security and privacy; individual rights and the good of a society; and between the types of burdens placed on particular groups in order to protect others. Foreword Governments and society are increasingly reliant on cyber systems. Yet the more reliant we are upon cyber systems, the more vulnerable we are to serious harm should these systems be attacked or used in an attack. This problem of reliance and vulnerability is driving a concern with securing cyberspace. For example, a ‘cybersecurity’ team now forms part of the US Secret Service. Its job is to respond to cyber-attacks in specific environments such as elevators in a building that hosts politically vulnerable individuals, for example, state representatives. Cybersecurity aims to protect cyberinfrastructure from cyber-attacks; the concerning aspect of the threat from cyber-attack is the potential for serious harm that damage to cyber-infrastructure presents to resources and people. These types of threats to cybersecurity might simply target information and communication systems: a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on a government website does not harm a website in any direct way, but prevents its normal use by stifling the ability of users to connect to the site. Alternatively, cyber-attacks might disrupt physical devices or resources, such as the Stuxnet virus, which caused the malfunction and destruction of Iranian nuclear centrifuges. Cyber-attacks might also enhance activities that are enabled through cyberspace, such as the use of online media by extremists to recruit members and promote radicalisation. Cyber-attacks are diverse: as a result, cybersecurity requires a comparable diversity of approaches. Cyber-attacks can have powerful impacts on people’s lives, and so—in liberal democratic societies at least—governments have a duty to ensure cybersecurity in order to protect the inhabitants within their own jurisdiction and, arguably, the people of other nations. But, as recent events following the revelations of Edward Snowden have demonstrated, there is a risk that the governmental pursuit of cybersecurity might overstep the mark and subvert fundamental privacy rights. Popular comment on these episodes advocates transparency of government processes, yet given that cybersecurity risks represent major challenges to national security, it is unlikely that simple transparency will suffice. Managing the risks of cybersecurity involves trade-offs: between security and privacy; individual rights and the good of a society; and types of burdens placed on particular groups in order to protect others. These trade-offs are often ethical trade-offs, involving questions of how we act, what values we should aim to promote, and what means of anticipating and responding to the risks are reasonably—and publicly—justifiable. This Occasional Paper (prepared for the National Security College) provides a brief conceptual analysis of cybersecurity, demonstrates the relevance of ethics to cybersecurity and outlines various ways in which to approach ethical decision-making when responding to cyber-attacks