Holding coral reefs together with soluble cement. This project aims to characterise and understand cement formation in coral reefs. Coral reefs are constructed by cementing together aragonite building blocks made by corals. The main cementing agent is high-magnesium calcite, the most soluble carbonate mineral and susceptible to ocean acidification. High-magnesium calcite cements are best developed on the high energy margins of coral reefs. This project will quantify how crustose coralline algae ....Holding coral reefs together with soluble cement. This project aims to characterise and understand cement formation in coral reefs. Coral reefs are constructed by cementing together aragonite building blocks made by corals. The main cementing agent is high-magnesium calcite, the most soluble carbonate mineral and susceptible to ocean acidification. High-magnesium calcite cements are best developed on the high energy margins of coral reefs. This project will quantify how crustose coralline algae produces high-magnesium calcite and controls the dissolution and reprecipitation of high-magnesium cements. This project intends to quantify rates of reef cementation, susceptibility to ocean acidification and warming, and possible mitigating effects of alkalinity addition.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100443
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,434.00
Summary
Resolving nutrient groundwater exports versus soil burial in mangroves. This project aims to examine the role of mangroves in the sequestration and burial of nutrients. Coastal areas increasingly receive enriched nutrient loads, driving anthropogenic eutrophication. Mangrove wetlands naturally filter and bury large quantities of nutrients through soil accretion. This project aims to quantify nutrient groundwater export as related to mangrove soil nutrient retention and determine if these wetland ....Resolving nutrient groundwater exports versus soil burial in mangroves. This project aims to examine the role of mangroves in the sequestration and burial of nutrients. Coastal areas increasingly receive enriched nutrient loads, driving anthropogenic eutrophication. Mangrove wetlands naturally filter and bury large quantities of nutrients through soil accretion. This project aims to quantify nutrient groundwater export as related to mangrove soil nutrient retention and determine if these wetlands have the potential to provide negative feedback to coastal eutrophication. The project plans to use state-of-the-art radionuclide tracer technology to quantify the relationship between groundwater discharge and historical soil nutrient retention.Read moreRead less
Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that ar ....Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that are locked into these sediments. We will concentrate on the Southern Ocean which plays a crucial role in the world's climate. This proposal will also contribute to Australia's international obligation to conduct research in this critical area.Read moreRead less