Professor Michael Hutchinson

Contacts

Contact email:michael.hutchinson@anu.edu.au
Contact phone:+61 2 6125 4783
Link:ANU Researchers profile
Emeritus Professor of Spatial and Temporal Analysis
Fenner School of Environment & Society

Michael Hutchinson is recognised internationally for his contributions to the theory and practice of spatial and temporal analysis of environmental data. His methods for modelling of climate and terrain, as implemented in the ANUDEM, ANUSPLIN and ANUCLIM computer packages, are widely used to support hydrological and ecological modelling and the assessment of the impacts of climate change. His terrain modelling program ANUDEM has been incorporated into Arc/Info, the World's leading geographic information software system. His Australia-wide terrain and climate models have underpinned much of the natural resource and environmental analysis carried out by Australian Universities and Natural Resource Agencies over the last 25 years.

Research interests

Major Research Interest:

Development and application of reliable and efficient techniques for the spatial and temporal analysis of environmental data, particularly meteorological and terrain data, for hydrological and ecological applications.

Particular Research Interests:

1. Thin plate smoothing analysis of scattered point data.

2. Topographic dependent spatial interpolation and analysis of monthly, weekly and daily climate.

3. Development and application of computer terrain and drainage models.

4. Development and application of spatially extended, stochastic daily weather models.

5. Stochastic calibration of climate change.

6. Spatial and temporal scale in hydro-ecological modelling.

7. Environmental modelling and geographic information systems.

Groups

  • Bauman, D, Fortunel, C, Cernusak, L et al. 2022, 'Tropical tree growth sensitivity to climate is driven by species intrinsic growth rate and leaf traits', Global Change Biology, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 1414-1432.
  • Kawaye, F & Hutchinson, M 2021, 'Maize, Cassava, and Sweet Potato Yield on Monthly Climate in Malawi', in Nicholas Oguge, Desalegn Ayal, Lydia Adeleke, Izael da Silva (ed.), African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 617-637.
  • MacDonald, H, McKenney, D, Wang, X et al. 2021, 'Spatial models of adjusted precipitation for canada at varying time scales', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 291-304.
  • MacDonald, H, McKenney, D, Papadopol, P et al. 2020, 'North American historical monthly spatial climate dataset, 1901-2016', Scientific Data, vol. 7, no. 411, pp. 1-11.
  • Bloomfield, K, Prentice , I, Cernusak, L et al. 2019, 'The validity of optimal leaf traits modelled on environmental conditions', New Phytologist, vol. 221, no. 3, pp. 1409-1423.
  • Bloomfield, K, Cernusak, L, Eamus, D et al. 2018, 'A continental-scale assessment of variability in leaf traits: Within species, across sites and between seasons', Functional Ecology, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 1492-1506.
  • Gibson, R, Broome, L & Hutchinson, M 2018, 'Susceptibility to climate change via effects on food resources: the feeding ecology of the endangered mountain pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus)', Wildlife Research, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 539-550pp.
  • Stalenberg, E, Hutchinson, M & Foley, W 2018, 'Using historical normals to improve modern monthly climate normal surfaces for Madagascar', International Journal of Climatology, vol. 38, no. 15, pp. 5746-5765.
  • Johnson, F, Hutchinson, M, The, C et al 2016, 'Topographic relationships for design rainfalls over Australia', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 533, pp. 439-451.
  • The, C, Beesley, C, Podger, S et al 2015, 'Very frequent design rainfalls - An enhancement to the new IFDs', 36th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium: The Art and Science of Water, HWRS 2015, Engineers Australia, Canberra, Australia, pp. 48-55.
  • Goldin, S & Hutchinson, M 2015, 'Thermal refugia in cleared temperate Australian woodlands: Coarse woody debris moderate extreme surface soil temperatures', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 214, pp. 39-47.
  • Pedlar, J, McKenney, D, Lawrence, K et al 2015, 'A comparison of two approaches for generating spatial models of growing-season variables for Canada', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 506-518.
  • Phillips, R, Peakall, R, Hutchinson, M et al. 2014, 'Specialized ecological interactions and plant species rarity: The role of pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi across multiple spatial scales', Biological Conservation, vol. 169, pp. 285-295.
  • Stein, J, Hutchinson, M & Stein, J 2014, 'A new stream and nested catchment framework for Australia', Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 1917-1933.
  • Booth, T, Nix, H, Busby, J et al. 2014, 'Bioclim: The first species distribution modelling package, its early applications and relevance to most current MaxEnt studies', Diversity and Distributions, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 1-9.
  • Goldin, S & Hutchinson, M 2014, 'Coarse woody debris reduces the rate of moisture loss from surface soils of cleared temperate Australian woodlands', Soil Research, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 637-644.
  • McKenney, D, Pedlar, J, Lawrence, K et al 2014, 'Change and evolution in the plant hardiness zones of Canada', BioScience, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 341-350.
  • Gould, S, Beeton, N, Harris, R et al 2014, 'A tool for simulating and communicating uncertainty when modelling species distributions under future climates', Ecology and Evolution, vol. 4, no. 24, pp. 4798-4811.
  • The, C, Hutchinson, M, Johnson, F et al 2014, 'Application of ANUSPLIN to produce new intensity-frequency-duration (IFD) index rainfalls across Australia', 35th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, HWRS 2014, Conference Organising Committee, TBC, pp. 557-564.
  • Hutchinson, M, Stein, J, Gallant, J et al 2013, 'New methods for incorporating and analysing drainage structure in digital elevation models', Geomorphometry 2013, International Society for Geomorphometry, China, pp. 1-4.
  • Xu, T & Hutchinson, M 2013, 'New developments and applications in the ANUCLIM spatial climatic and bioclimatic modelling package', Environmental Modelling and Software, vol. 40, pp. 267-279.
  • Goldin, S & Hutchinson, M 2013, 'Coarse woody debris modifies surface soils of degraded temperate eucalypt woodlands', Plant and Soil, vol. 370, no. 1-2, pp. 461-469.
  • McKenney, D, Pedlar, J, Hutchinson, M et al 2013, 'Spatial climate models for Canada's forestry community', Forestry Chronicle, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 659-663.
  • Phillips, R, Xu, T, Hutchinson, M et al 2013, 'Convergent specialization - the sharing of pollinators
    by sympatric genera of sexually deceptive orchids', Journal of Ecology, vol. 101, pp. 826-835.
  • Hopkinson, R, Hutchinson, M, McKenney, D et al 2012, 'Optimizing Input Data for Gridding Climate Normals for Canada', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, vol. 51, no. 8, pp. 1508-1518.
  • Xu, T & Hutchinson, M 2012, 'New developments in the ANUCLIM bioclimatic modelling package', International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2012), ed. R. Seppelt, A.A. Voinov, S. Lange, D. Bankamp, International Environmental Modelling & Software Society, Leipzig Germany, pp. 374-381.
  • The, C, Johnson, F, Hutchinson, M et al 2012, 'Gridding of design rainfall parameters for the IFD revision project for Australia', 34th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, HWRS 2012, ed. Dr Seth Westra, Engineers Australia, Barton, ACT, pp. 1425-1432.
  • Hanigan, I.C., Butler, C.D., Kokic, P., Hutchinson, M. 2012, 'Suicide and drought in New South Wales, Australia, 1970-2007', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109, no. 35, pp. 13950-13955.
  • McKenney, D, Hutchinson, M, Papadopol, P et al 2011, 'Customized spatial climate models for North America', American Meteorological Society, Bulletin, vol. 92, no. 12, pp. 1611-1622.
  • Hutchinson, M, Xu, T & Stein, J 2011, 'Recent Progress in the ANUDEM Elevation Gridding Procedure', Geomorphology 2011, geomorphometry.org
    , Redlands USA, pp. 19-22.
  • Gallant, J C and Hutchinson, M F 2011, 'A differential equation for specific catchment area', Water Resources Research, vol. 47, no. 5.
  • Hopkinson, R, McKenney, D, Milewska, E, Hutchinson, M F et al 2011, 'Impact of Aligning Climatological Day on Gridding Daily Maximum-Minimum Temperature and Precipitation over Canada', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, vol. 50, pp. 1654-1665.
  • Craddock, R, Hutchinson, M & Stein, J 2010, 'Topographic data reveal a buried fluvial landscape in the Simpson Desert, Australia', Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 141-149.
  • Hutchinson, M, Stein, J, Stein, J et al. 2009, 'Locally adaptive gridding of noisy high resolution topographic data', 18th World IMACS Congress and International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Interfacing Modelling and Simulation with Mathematical and Computational Sciences, MODSIM 2009, ed. R S Anderssen, R D Braddock & L T H Newham , Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc., Australia, pp. 2493-2499.
  • Hutchinson, M F, McKenney, D, Lawrence, K et al 2009, 'Development and Testing of Canada-Wide Interpolated Spatial Models of Daily Minimum-Maximum Temperature and Precipitation for 1961-2003', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, vol. 48, pp. 725-741.
  • Santika, T & Hutchinson, M F 2009, 'The effect of species response form on species distribution model prediction and inference', Ecological Modelling, vol. 220, pp. 2365-2379.
  • Dovers, S, Hutchinson, M, Lindenmayer, D et al. 2008, 'Uncertainty, Complexity and the Environment', in Gabriele Bammer and Michael Smithson (ed.), Uncertainty and Risk: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Earthscan Publications Ltd, London, pp. 245-260.
  • Hutchinson, M & Tickle, P 2008, 'GEODATA 9 second DEM and D8: Digital Elevation Model Version 3 and Flow Direction Grid 2008'.
  • Hutchinson, M, Stein, J, Stein, J et al. 2008, 'GEODATA 9 Second DEM and D8 - Digital Elevation Model Version 3 and Flow Direction Grid. User Guide', in M.Hutchinson, J.Stein, J.Stein, H.Anderson, P.Tickle (ed.), GEODATA 9 Second DEM and D8 - Digital Elevation Model Version 3 and Flow Direction Grid. User Guide (3rd ed), Geoscience Australia, Canberra, p. 99.
  • McKenney, D, Pelland, S, Poissant, Y et al 2008, 'Spatial insolation models for photovoltaic energy in Canada', Solar Energy, vol. 82, pp. 1049-1061.
  • Hutchinson, M 2008, 'Adding the Z Dimension', in John P. Wilson and A Stewart Fotheringham (ed.), The Handbook of Geographic Information Science, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Singapore, pp. 144-168.
  • Hennessy, K, Whetton, P, Walsh, K, Smith, I, Bathols, J, Hutchinson, M & Sharples, J. 2008, 'Climate change effects on snow conditions in mainland Australia and adaptation at ski resorts through snowmaking', Climate Research, vol. 35, pp. 255-270.
  • McKenney, D, Pedlar, J, Lawrence, K et al 2007, 'Beyond Traditional Hardiness Zones: Using Climate Envelopes to Map Plant Range Limits', BioScience, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 929-937.
  • McKenney, D, Pedlar, J, Lawrence, K et al 2007, 'Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Distribution of North American Trees', BioScience, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 939-948.
  • McVicar, T, Van Niel, T, Li, L et al 2007, 'Spatially distributing monthly reference evapotranspiration and pan evaporation considering topographic influences', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 338, pp. 196-220.
  • Laughlin, G, Ranatunga, K, Brinkley, T et al 2007, 'GROWEST PLUS: A tool for rapid assessment of seasonal growth for environmental planning and assessment', Environmental Modelling and Software, vol. 22, pp. 1196-1207.
  • Yang, Q, McVicar, T, Van Niel, T et al 2007, 'Improving a digital elevation model by reducing source data errors and optimising interpolation algorithm parameters: An example in the Loess Plateau, China', International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, vol. 9, pp. 235-246.
  • Hutchinson, M 2007, 'ANUSPLIN Version 4.3'.
  • Hutchinson, M & Hancock, P 2006, 'Spatial interpolation of large climate data sets using bivariate thin plate smoothing splines', Environmental Modelling and Software, vol. 21, pp. 1684-1694.
  • Hancock, P & Hutchinson, M 2006, 'Automatic computation of hierarchical biquadratic smoothing slines with minimum GCV', Computers and Geosciences, vol. 32, pp. 834-845.
  • McKenney, D, Pedlar, J, Papadopol, P et al 2006, 'The development of 1901-2000 historical monthly climate models for Canada and the United States', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 138, pp. 69-81.
  • Hutchinson, M 2006, 'ANUDEM Version 5.2'.
  • Sharples, J & Hutchinson, M 2005, 'Spatio-Temporal Analysis of climatic data using additive regression splines', 2005 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Advances and Applications for Management and Decision Making, MODSIM 2005, ed. Andre Zerger & Robert M Argent, Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc., Canberra, pp. 1695-1701.
  • Hong, Y, Nix, H, Hutchinson, M et al. 2005, 'Spatial interpolation of monthly mean climate data for China', International Journal of Climatology, vol. 25, pp. 1369-79.
  • Hutchinson, M 2005, 'Mathematical and statistical sciences', in R.Q.Grafton, L.Robin & RJ Wasson (ed.), Understanding the environment: bridging the disciplinary divides, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 151-168.
  • Sharples, J, Hutchinson, M & Jellett, D 2005, 'On the Horizontal Scale of Elevation Dependence of Australian Monthly Precipitation', Journal of Applied Meteorology, vol. 44, no. 12, pp. 1850-1866.
  • Hutchinson, M, McIntyre, S, Hobbs, R et al 2005, 'Integrating a global agro-climatic classification with bioregional boundaries in Australia', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 14, pp. 197-212.
  • Houser, P, Hutchinson, M, Viterbo, P et al 2004, 'Terrestrial data assimilation', in Kabat et al. (ed.), Vegetation, water, humans and the climate, Springer, Berlin, pp. 273-287.
  • Pielke, R, Petschel-Held, G, Kabat, P et al 2004, 'Predictability and uncertainty', in Kabat et al. (ed.), Vegetation, water, humans and the climate, Springer, Berlin, pp. 485-490.
  • Sharples, J & Hutchinson, M 2004, 'Multivariate spatial smoothing using additive regression splines', ANZIAM Journal, vol. 45, no. E, pp. C676-C692.
  • Bravo de Guenni, L, Schulze, R, Pielke, R et al 2004, 'The vulnerability approach', in Kabat et al. (ed.), Vegetation, water, humans and the climate, Springer, Berlin, pp. 499-514.
  • Sharples, J & Hutchinson, M 2003, 'On the horizontal scale of topographic dependence of monthly Australian precipitation.', International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (MODSIM 2003), ed. David A. Post, Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc., UWA UniPrint, pp. 130-135.
  • Hancock, P & Hutchinson, M 2003, 'An iterative procedure for calculating minimum generalised cross validation smoothing splines', ANZIAM Journal, vol. 44, no. E, pp. C290-C312.
  • Faith, D, Nix, H, Margules, C et al. 2001, 'The BioRap Biodiversity Assessment and Planning Study for Papua New Guinea', Pacific Conservation Biology, vol. 6, pp. 279-288.
  • McKenney, D, Hutchinson, M, Kesteven, J et al 2001, 'Canadas plant hardiness zones revisited using modern climate interpolation techniques', Canadian Journal of Plant Science, vol. 81, pp. 129-143.
  • Hancock, P, Hutchinson, M, Turton, S et al 2001, 'Thin plate smoothing spline interpolation of long term monthly mean rainfall for the wet tropics region of north-eastern Australia', International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (MODSIM 2001), ed. Ghassemi, F. et. al, Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc., Canberra, pp. 2:943-948.
  • Hutchinson, M 2000, 'Optimising the degree of data smoothing for locally adaptive finite element bivariate smoothing splines', ANZIAM Journal, vol. 42, pp. C774-C796.
  • Hutchinson, M & Gallant, J 2000, 'Digital elevation models and representation of terrain shape', in Wilson, J; Gallant, J (ed.), Terrain Analysis: Principles and Applications, John Wiley & Sons Inc, USA, pp. 29-50.
  • Gallant, J, Hutchinson, M & Wilson, J 2000, 'Future Directions for Terrain Analysis', in Wilson, J; Gallant, J (ed.), Terrain Analysis: Principles and Applications, John Wiley & Sons Inc, USA, pp. 423-428.
  • Price, D, McKenney, D, Nalder, I, Hutchinson, M, Kesteven, J. 2000, 'A comparison of two statistical methods for spatial interpolation of Canadian monthly mean climate data', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 101, pp. 81-94.