Feature Length Pre-Recorded Presentation 10th Australian Stream Management Conference 2021

Do we still need a human? Geomorphic analysis and interpretation of river systems in an age of emerging technology and big data (#95)

Kirstie Fryirs 1
  1. Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

  • Emerging technologies and big data open up opportunities for landscape and river analysis like never before. With the emergence of new technologies that can generate big data, and the use of that data to make environmental management decisions, it is timely to reflect on whether a human is still need to undertake such analyses? The answer is yes! 

    • We still need humans to:

    • have the conceptual grounding and training to ask questions of scientific and management significance,
    • select the right tool for the job,
    • collect the right data using the technology available (or decide to use traditional methods where needed),
    • interrogate and interpret the output,
    • verify the output in the field (make sure it’s real), and
    • make well-informed river management decisions that are place-based.

    • I will use the case study of the River Styles Framework as a coherent, scaffolded geomorphic approach to analysis of river types, condition and recovery potential, and discuss where opportunities lie for emerging technology and tools to be ‘plugged in’ to the process. I will also discuss where the technology is not yet good enough to replace the human!

    • I will use examples from the roll-out and application of the Framework in NSW, parts of the US, India and the Philippines to demonstrate where technology could be used, and where it is not yet good enough for geomorphologically-informed river management.
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