Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354580
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sustainable Futures through Understanding Past Human Responses to Environmental Change. This Network brings together researchers within archaeology and environmental sciences to develop cross-disciplinary and internationally comparative approaches to understanding past human responses to rapid environmental change. Integration of skills and perspectives from the Humanities and Sciences will create a generation of scholars able to work across different theoretical frameworks to formulate credible ....Sustainable Futures through Understanding Past Human Responses to Environmental Change. This Network brings together researchers within archaeology and environmental sciences to develop cross-disciplinary and internationally comparative approaches to understanding past human responses to rapid environmental change. Integration of skills and perspectives from the Humanities and Sciences will create a generation of scholars able to work across different theoretical frameworks to formulate credible responses to the challenge of creating sustainable societies in a changing world. Through a greater understanding of past societies' reactions to rapid environmental change, the Network will build on existing leading edge research and create a more informed guide to a sustainable future.Read moreRead less
Fire Scar Impacts on Surface Heat and Moisture Fluxes in Australia's Tropical Savanna and Feedbacks to Local and Regional Climate. Fire burns as much as 250,000 km2 of northern Australia every year, mostly tropical savanna land. The atmospheric impacts of burning extend beyond the direct emissions of aerosol and trace gases to include the effects of land surface alteration on atmospheric circulation. Using observation and modelling, this study examines the modification of surface heat and mois ....Fire Scar Impacts on Surface Heat and Moisture Fluxes in Australia's Tropical Savanna and Feedbacks to Local and Regional Climate. Fire burns as much as 250,000 km2 of northern Australia every year, mostly tropical savanna land. The atmospheric impacts of burning extend beyond the direct emissions of aerosol and trace gases to include the effects of land surface alteration on atmospheric circulation. Using observation and modelling, this study examines the modification of surface heat and moisture fluxes to the atmosphere caused by fire scars, along with the impact of such changes on atmospheric motion and precipitation at a range of scales. This unique work is of fundamental scientific interest and significance for current and future management of this important national resource.Read moreRead less
Patterns and processes of carbon and water budgets across northern Australian landscapes: From point to region. Quantifying carbon sources and sinks and understanding the underlying processes are pre-requisites to informed policy decisions, especially as nations seek to develop strategies to manage carbon emissions and sequestration. Australia is unique because of its poor soils and high climate variability and is likely to have patterns and process of carbon that are globally different. We fo ....Patterns and processes of carbon and water budgets across northern Australian landscapes: From point to region. Quantifying carbon sources and sinks and understanding the underlying processes are pre-requisites to informed policy decisions, especially as nations seek to develop strategies to manage carbon emissions and sequestration. Australia is unique because of its poor soils and high climate variability and is likely to have patterns and process of carbon that are globally different. We focus on Australia's Top-End region, but will develop tools/methods that can be applied to other important Australian hot-spots. This project will support the existing National Carbon Accounting System by providing new information on processes and spatial variability and regional budgets of carbon and water budgets that underpin our international commitments.Read moreRead less
Understanding the effect of climate change on runoff variability and water resource systems performance. This project aims to assess the impacts of climate changes on annual runoff variability. Understanding variability of annual runoff is important in managing water resources, in catchment and stream management, and to researchers in hydrology, stream ecology and fluvial geomorphology. Expected outcomes from this research are an estimate of impact on the variability of annual runoff from futu ....Understanding the effect of climate change on runoff variability and water resource systems performance. This project aims to assess the impacts of climate changes on annual runoff variability. Understanding variability of annual runoff is important in managing water resources, in catchment and stream management, and to researchers in hydrology, stream ecology and fluvial geomorphology. Expected outcomes from this research are an estimate of impact on the variability of annual runoff from future climate change, improvement in understanding the processes that operate on the variability of annual runoff, and an assessment of the performance of water resource systems under a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Erosion Morphodynamics and Evolution of Shore Platforms. Rocky coasts consist of a cliff and often a platform at the base which protects the cliff from wave energy. Such coasts undergo continuous erosion that may threaten property. Climate change may worsen this situation. Despite the importance of platforms in coastal management they remain poorly studied. This project seeks to improve scientific knowledge and understanding of the development and erosion of shore platforms, the relationships ....Erosion Morphodynamics and Evolution of Shore Platforms. Rocky coasts consist of a cliff and often a platform at the base which protects the cliff from wave energy. Such coasts undergo continuous erosion that may threaten property. Climate change may worsen this situation. Despite the importance of platforms in coastal management they remain poorly studied. This project seeks to improve scientific knowledge and understanding of the development and erosion of shore platforms, the relationships between shore platform and cliff retreat and the processes that drive erosion. As a result we will understand how rock coasts with platforms develop and change, especially as sea levels change and be better able to manage the coast in response to climate change. Read moreRead less