Biography
Dr Tim McVicar leads the Time Series Remote Sensing team within the Environmental Earth Observation group of the Environmental Sensing, Prediction and Reporting theme of CSIRO Land and Water. Tim is a spatial eco-hydrologist with over 19 years research experience in the use of time series remote sensing (in particular AVHRR, Landsat and EO-1 data) linked with spatio-temporal interpolation methods and analysis technologies to model and monitor regional eco-hydrological processes. Tim leads both national and international projects aimed at better monitoring and modelling moisture availability, actual evapotranspiration and vegetation dynamics. By assessing the patterns of these variables (in space and time) the catchment water balance (including catchment water yield) can be better simulated.
His primary areas of research interest include:
1. modelling rates of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) and moisture availability – the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration (i.e., ma = ETa/ETp);
2. monitoring vegetation dynamics and trends including Leaf Area Index (LAI) and fraction Absorbed Photosynthecially Available Radiation (fAPAR) for both over-story and under-story vegetation;
3. developing monitoring systems to rapidly assess climate variability (primarily drought conditions) and climate change;
4. developing methods to assess atmospheric water demand, including spatially distributing crop reference evapotranspiration and pan evaporation;
5. developing approaches that enable water resource / forestry / land-use managers to simulate the impact of re-vegetation activities on catchment water yield; and
6. develop novel methods to assess error and propagate uncertainty in spatially distributed eco-hydrological analysis and models.
