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Community DustWatch monitoring reports are produced monthly and recent report are available on the OEH web site at: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/dustwatch/dwreports.htm and archive reports for 2009 and 2010 at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/dustwatch/dwreportarchive.htm

 View reports archive .

Subscribe

Subscribe to the reports by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 Contact

 For more information, contact the project manager, Dr John Leys.

This Community DustWatch web page is hosted by NSW OEH and can be found on OEH web site  http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/dustwatch . There you will find general information about the Community DustWatch program and an archive of monthly monitoring reports.
We hope you will enjoy the web page and encourage you to give us feed back on the content and the layout so we can continue to develop the page and improve the service to you.

Wind erosion in NRM regions

Use the map to identify the months which were most, or least, affected by wind erosion in recent years (2000-2012). Data is available for most NRM regions of Australia. Use the knowledge to strengthen your wind erosion and ground cover management planning. 

View our map:  Modelled Wind Erosion

Hover over a point to see data.
Click the point to read more.
Zoom in & out to explore Australia.

Recommended computer requirements:
1. Supported internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari .   Internet Explorer is mostly compatible, although IE7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches.
2. Update your internet browser. MapBox maps are best viewed on the latest version of your browser. Update my browser

Information

About

The wind erosion data is a record of which months suffered wind erosion most, and which didn't. The graph shows the percentage of the NRM region affected by varying degrees of erosion (from Very Low to Very High wind erosion). When viewed together as a time period (2000-2012), you can see which months/years were 'good' years, and which years suffered more erosion than usual.

Modelled Wind Erosion uses a numerical model called CEMSYS (Computational Environmental Management System) to create modelled monthly and annual wind erosion maps of Australia at 50 km resolution. For each pixel (50 km x 50km), a wind erosion severity level was calculated and classified as either very low, low, moderate, high or very high erosion. Then for each Natural Resource Management (NRM) region the percentage of land area affected by each wind erosion severity class was calculated. Read more about the project...

Geographic markers

The geographic markers in the map are 'NRM regions'. These are natural resource management regions as defined by the Australian Government, and further refined as per the report by Leys et al. 2009 "Improving the capacity to monitor wind erosion in Australia"

Data source

The data is sourced from the numerical model CEMSYS ((Computational Environmental Management System). Time period: 2000-2012. Read more about the CEMSYS model...

How to print this data

To print the map with accompanying graph, follow these simple steps:

1. Position the map at the correct zoom-level you require
2. Click a geographic marker to display the data tooltip
3. Use the Print options in your internet browser

Help

This web-map is supported by the following internet browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari
For maximum functionality, make sure you are using the latest version.  Update my browser

Internet Explorer 7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches when viewing the map.

If you still have trouble viewing the data, or think the data displayed looks incorrect, please contact us.

Contact

For more information, contact the project manager, Dr Harry Butler.

Understand long-term trends

Use the map to identify the dustiest, or least dusty, years on record, from 1960 to 2011. Compare the dust levels to the annual rainfall timeline. Use the knowledge to strengthen your wind erosion and ground cover management planning.

View our map:  My Dust History

Hover over a point to see data.
Click the point to read more.
Zoom in & out to explore Australia.

Recommended computer requirements:
1. Supported internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari .   Internet Explorer is mostly compatible, although IE7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches.
2. Update your internet browser. MapBox maps are best viewed on the latest version of your browser. Update my browser

Information

About

The dust history is a record of how dusty it's been in the last 50 years. The graph shows the total annual number of dust event days recorded for each year (1960-2011). A Dust Event Day (DED) is a day where at least 1 dust event was recorded. For each year, the total number of DEDs possible is 365 days, although nowhere in Australia is dust that much of a problem! When viewed together as a timeline, you can see which years recorded a lot of dust, and which years were least dusty.

More long term patterns in wind erosion: Regional and Continental modelled wind erosion; My Dust Season, and Dust Event Types.

Geographic markers

The geographic markers in the map are 'Stations'. These are meteorological (weather) stations operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The NRM boundaries represent natural resource management regions as defined by the Australian Government, and further refined as per the report by Leys et al. 2009 "Improving the capacity to monitor wind erosion in Australia"

Data source

The data is sourced from Bureau of Meteorology records. Dust Event Days (DED) were calculated from the Bureau's visibility measurements and weather codes. Time period: 1960-2011.

How to print this data

To print the map with accompanying graph, follow these simple steps:

1. Position the map at the correct zoom-level you require
2. Click a geographic marker to display the data tooltip
3. Use the Print options in your internet browser

Help

This web-map is supported by the following internet browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari
For maximum functionality, make sure you are using the latest version.  Update my browser

Internet Explorer 7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches when viewing the map.

If you still have trouble viewing the data, or think the data displayed looks incorrect, please contact us.

Contact

For more information, contact the project manager, Dr Craig Strong.

The main types of dust events seen each year

Use the map to identify the dominant dust event types seen each year, and use the knowledge to strengthen your wind erosion and ground cover management planning.

View our map: Dust Event Types

Hover over a point to see data.
Click the point to read more.
Zoom in & out to explore Australia.

Recommended computer requirements:
1. Supported internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari .   Internet Explorer is mostly compatible, although IE7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches.
2. Update your internet browser. MapBox maps are best viewed on the latest version of your browser. Update my browser

Information

About

We've categorised dust events into 4 classes in order of severity: Moderate Haze; Severe Haze; Moderate Dust Storm; Severe Dust Storm. The graph shows the proportion of dust events (No. events %) observed per year, in each category. You can see, each year, what the main type of dust event was (e.g. 60% of events were moderate hazes). When viewed together as a timeline, you can see how the main type of dust event may have changed over the years. We show data for the time period 1960 to 2011.

For more annual wind erosion data, see My Dust History.
For more data on the severity of wind erosion, see Regional Erosion (Modelled Wind Erosion).

Location markers

The location markers in the map are 'Stations'. These are meteorological (weather) stations operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The NRM boundaries represent natural resource management regions as defined by the Australian Government, and further refined as per the report by Leys et al. 2009 "Improving the capacity to monitor wind erosion in Australia"

Data source

The data is sourced from Bureau of Meteorology records. Time period: (1960-2011)

How to print this data

To print the map with accompanying graph, follow these simple steps:

1. Position the map at the correct zoom-level you require
2. Click a geographic marker to display the data tooltip
3. Use the Print options in your internet browser

Help

This web-map is supported by the following internet browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari
For maximum functionality, make sure you are using the latest version.  Update my browser

Internet Explorer 7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches when viewing the map.

If you still have trouble viewing the data, or think the data displayed looks incorrect, please contact us.

Contact

For more information, contact the project manager, Dr Craig Strong.

When to expect dust and wind erosion

Use the map to identify the peak time of year that dust is blowing, and use the knowledge to strengthen your wind erosion and ground cover management planning.

View our map:  My Dust Season.

Hover over a point to see data.
Click the point to read more.
Zoom in & out to explore Australia.

Recommended computer requirements:
1. Supported internet browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari .   Internet Explorer is mostly compatible, although IE7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches.
2. Update your internet browser. MapBox maps are best viewed on the latest version of your browser. Update my browser

Information

About

The dust season is the time of year when dust activity is generally highest and most likely to occur. The graph shows the average number of dust events recorded for each calendar month. When viewed together as a whole year, you can see which months usually have a lot of dust activity. The dustiest months represent your dust season. We display the months of the year from July to June because most of the dust seasons in Australia occur between September and April.

Interested in more seasonal patterns? See the Regional data produced by the Modelled Wind Erosion project. There are monthly records for over a decade, which may reveal seasonal patterns in wind erosion extent and severity.

Location markers

The location markers in the map are 'Stations'. These are meteorological (weather) stations operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The NRM boundaries represent natural resource management regions as defined by the Australian Government, and further refined as per the report by Leys et al. 2009 "Improving the capacity to monitor wind erosion in Australia"

Data source

The data is sourced from Bureau of Meteorology records. Time period: overall average (1960-2010)

How to print this data

To print the map with accompanying graph, follow these simple steps:

1. Position the map at the correct zoom-level you require
2. Click a geographic marker to display the data tooltip
3. Use the Print options in your internet browser

Help

This web-map is supported by the following internet browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari
For maximum functionality, make sure you are using the latest version.  Update my browser

Internet Explorer 7 is no longer supported by MapBox and may experience minor glitches when viewing the map.

If you still have trouble viewing the data, or think the data displayed looks incorrect, please contact us.

 Contact

For more information, contact the project manager, Dr Craig Strong.

What is available

The following maps display Wind Erosion Rates for Australia which have been modeled for every month from Feb 2000 to Jun 2012. The wind erosion rate is the rate that soil is blown away by the wind. It is expressed here as mg/m/s

Each coloured pixel on the map is an area of land 50km x 50 km. You'll notice that wind erosion rates vary across Australia, and also from month to month.

Source: Modelled Wind Erosion, funded by the Caring for our Country initiative. The project uses a computer model (CEMSYS) to produce wind erosion data...read more

Downloads

Download zip folders at the end of the page "Download attachments". Maps are available as JPEG images of monthly wind erosion rates. Each zip folder is about 2MB in size.

Browse maps online

Click on the thumbnail below to browse the map gallery. Use the controls (play, next, etc) to scroll through the gallery.  

High Resolution Maps (10 km x 10 km)

Example showing the sand drift (mg/m/s) for Australia at 10 km on 23rd September 2009

High resolution data for is available National on a daily basis for 2002, 2008 and 2009 and NSW/Victoria for 2000,2002, 2008 and 2009 by contacting the project leader This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Other periods can be done on demand. 

The methodology used in generating the 10 km x 10 km maps is detailed in the following report:

Butler, H., Leys, J., Strong, C. and McTainsh, G (2013). Wind erosion extent and severity maps for Australia, Final Report for Project No: A0000007341, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, 68pp.