Cloud Cover Observation Measurements

Submitted by ashley.sommer on Thu, 18/04/2024 - 10:16

Cloud cover observations are measured in oktas (eighths). The sky is visually inspected to produce an estimate of the number of eighths of the dome of the sky covered by cloud. The presence of any trace of cloud in an otherwise blue sky is recorded as 1 okta, and similarly any trace of blue on an otherwise cloudy sky is recorded as 7.

Australian Landscape Water Balance

Submitted by ashley.sommer on Thu, 18/04/2024 - 10:04

The information presented on the Australian Landscape Water Balance website is produced by the Bureau's operational Australian Water Resources Assessment Landscape model (AWRA-L). AWRA-L is a daily 0.05° grid-based, distributed water balance model, conceptualised as a small unimpaired catchment. It simulates the flow of water through the landscape from the rainfall entering the grid cell through the vegetation and soil moisture stores and then out of the grid cell through evapotranspiration, runoff or deep drainage to the groundwater.