Surface-ground water interactions and increasing salinity in the upper Hunter River. Australia's first salinity trading scheme, to limit impacts of industrial saline wastewater discharges, operates in the Hunter Region, NSW. Despite it, a recent audit suggests stream salinity levels will continue to rise over the next century. No assessment tools are available to identify causes of salinity increases in sub-catchments of the Hunter. This severely limits rehabilitation strategies aimed at address ....Surface-ground water interactions and increasing salinity in the upper Hunter River. Australia's first salinity trading scheme, to limit impacts of industrial saline wastewater discharges, operates in the Hunter Region, NSW. Despite it, a recent audit suggests stream salinity levels will continue to rise over the next century. No assessment tools are available to identify causes of salinity increases in sub-catchments of the Hunter. This severely limits rehabilitation strategies aimed at addressing river salinity. Current rehabilitation focuses on revegetation of recharge and discharge areas, with limited understanding of the primary local drivers for salinity, and without assessment of whether rehabilitation is addressing or exacerbating problems. This project aims to supply that understanding.Read moreRead less
Geochemical, physical and microbiological controls on zinc mobility and implications for bioremediation strategies in Western Tasmanian acid mine drainage. We propose to study heavy metal pollution (e.g., zinc, arsenic, iron, tin) and biogeochemical processes operating in acid mine drainage at the abandoned Mt Bischoff tin mine in Western Tasmania. The drainage waters at this site have pH values as low as 2, but contain an extensive and thriving natural biological community. We will evaluate w ....Geochemical, physical and microbiological controls on zinc mobility and implications for bioremediation strategies in Western Tasmanian acid mine drainage. We propose to study heavy metal pollution (e.g., zinc, arsenic, iron, tin) and biogeochemical processes operating in acid mine drainage at the abandoned Mt Bischoff tin mine in Western Tasmania. The drainage waters at this site have pH values as low as 2, but contain an extensive and thriving natural biological community. We will evaluate whether the natural biogeochemical processes operating at Mt Bischoff have the potential to remediate mine waters under the full gamut of climatic conditions, so as to evaluate whether the biota could be exported to other mine sites to help in ameliorating acid drainage problems.Read moreRead less