Integrated Farm Modelling to Improve Resilience and Sustainable Prosperity. This project aims to improve farm resilience, farm management, and economic decision-making in Australia and internationally. It expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge to integrate our understanding of agro-ecosystems and innovative tools to assess their status and manage their operations more effectively. Expected outcomes include the ability to inform farmers, bankers, and land managers about the trade-off ....Integrated Farm Modelling to Improve Resilience and Sustainable Prosperity. This project aims to improve farm resilience, farm management, and economic decision-making in Australia and internationally. It expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge to integrate our understanding of agro-ecosystems and innovative tools to assess their status and manage their operations more effectively. Expected outcomes include the ability to inform farmers, bankers, and land managers about the trade-offs between resilience and efficiency on farms. This should provide significant benefits, including the ability to minimize financial risks to farmers and banks, allow better investment decisions, and achieve sustainable long-term outcomes for both private and public well-being.Read moreRead less
The effect of catchment revegetation on waterways. The effect of catchment revegetation on waterways. This project will examine the forms, transformations and fate of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems and the link to human health with water treatment. Catchment revegetation is a management tool used to reduce excessive nutrient loads to waterways, which in turn causes poor water quality. However, catchment revegetation also produces DOM. DOM is typically poorly characterised a ....The effect of catchment revegetation on waterways. The effect of catchment revegetation on waterways. This project will examine the forms, transformations and fate of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems and the link to human health with water treatment. Catchment revegetation is a management tool used to reduce excessive nutrient loads to waterways, which in turn causes poor water quality. However, catchment revegetation also produces DOM. DOM is typically poorly characterised and its effect on ecosystem health unclear. DOM also reacts with chlorine in water treatment plants to form disinfection by-products that affect human health. This research is expected to provide important new information to guide future catchment restoration efforts.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$36,000,000.00
Summary
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management ....Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management, unparalleled strategic decision-support for an effective Antarctic Treaty, and new minds to address Antarctica’s new challenges.
Anticipated benefits are the means to transform environmental forecasting and management in the Antarctic, for Australia, and to the advantage of global security.Read moreRead less
Innovative tools needed for market-based nutrient offsetting . This project will apply innovative approaches to develop a functional equivalency of nutrients from catchment versus point sources. This is fundamental knowledge needed for the successful application of nutrient offsetting. This market-based mechanism involves point source polluters choosing to pay for catchment restoration, which is offset against their nutrient discharge. Currently, despite its potential, there is a lack of confide ....Innovative tools needed for market-based nutrient offsetting . This project will apply innovative approaches to develop a functional equivalency of nutrients from catchment versus point sources. This is fundamental knowledge needed for the successful application of nutrient offsetting. This market-based mechanism involves point source polluters choosing to pay for catchment restoration, which is offset against their nutrient discharge. Currently, despite its potential, there is a lack of confidence in the scientific robustness of nutrient offsetting. The proposed new indicators in nutrient equivalency would provide the foundation needed to ensure that governments and industry can have the confidence to engage in nutrient trading schemes, ultimately ensuring environmental and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologi ....Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologies for efficient reduction of antibiotic resistance genes to have future applications for environmental, human health and economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Tackling pests using game theory to support cooperative management. This project aims to improve management of invasive species by assisting pest mitigation agencies to work together. This is expected to result in more efficient and effective strategies, with the potential to dramatically improve local and global agricultural and environmental outcomes. An interdisciplinary approach using game theory, spatial modelling, and ecology is expected to create a novel framework to identify how and when ....Tackling pests using game theory to support cooperative management. This project aims to improve management of invasive species by assisting pest mitigation agencies to work together. This is expected to result in more efficient and effective strategies, with the potential to dramatically improve local and global agricultural and environmental outcomes. An interdisciplinary approach using game theory, spatial modelling, and ecology is expected to create a novel framework to identify how and when agencies might collaborate, and how collaboration might impact on costs and benefits of pest control strategies. The project will provide significant benefits by improving management of invasive species across Queensland, one of Australia's largest agricultural producing states and home to a vast number of Australia's threatened species. Read moreRead less
Clothes, fibres and filters that reduce pollution by micro and nano debris. This project aims to provide scientifically verified methods to avoid, intercept and redesign products that cause the most abundant type of marine plastic pollution – clothing fibres - which has increased by over 450% in 60 years. It will determine how natural and plastic fibres, clothing brands and washing machine filters, alter fibre emissions and ecological impacts. This will enable protocols to improve products and t ....Clothes, fibres and filters that reduce pollution by micro and nano debris. This project aims to provide scientifically verified methods to avoid, intercept and redesign products that cause the most abundant type of marine plastic pollution – clothing fibres - which has increased by over 450% in 60 years. It will determine how natural and plastic fibres, clothing brands and washing machine filters, alter fibre emissions and ecological impacts. This will enable protocols to improve products and the environment, and reduce health risks that will benefit the public, government regulation and companies in designing "eco-friendly" products.Read moreRead less
Diffusion of manufactured high performance green houses: a mixed-methods management study of innovation obstacles. This project will improve the affordability and environmental impact of Australian housing, by increasing the rate of innovation activity within the industry. The project addresses this challenge by investigating the beliefs of builders that underpin their reticence to change. The findings are used to design educational responses to improve innovation rates.
Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme ope ....Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme operation, the largest in the country. Expected outcomes include ground-breaking management plans for the aquifer-replenishment scheme. Anticipated benefits involve balancing the needs of agriculture and the protection of pristine environments, including groundwater discharge to the Great Barrier Reef.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101890
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Purification of contaminated wastewaters by modified Bayer layered double hydroxides. This project intends to develop enhanced adsorbent materials, prepared from industrial wastewater and seawater, for the decontamination of environments affected by Australian industries. This inexpensive novel material will be applicable to a wide range of purification applications and will reduce the environmental impact of Australian industries.