Response of estuaries to climate change: investigating their role as sediment sinks. This project will investigate the effect of climate change on estuaries and nearby ecosystems, settlements and infrastructure. Outcomes include a framework for assessing vulnerability, estimates of sedimentation and carbon sequestration, and models to explore the impact of climate change and adaptation options on estuaries and carbon sequestration.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120103033
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The wet and dry of tropical Australia: past, present and future. This project investigates rivers in the tropical 'Top End' of Australia and how flooding and long-term flow have changed over the recent geologic past. Such knowledge adds important components to our understanding of past climate in Australia, and is crucial in assessing the impacts of future global change on the continent's water resources.
The application of clumped isotope thermometry to the terrestrial environment. Clumped-isotope geochemistry, a novel method for measuring the temperature of formation of carbonate minerals, will be applied to terrestrial materials (soil carbonates, lake deposits and speleothems) from Australia and New Zealand. The method relates the abundance or 'clumping' of rare isotopes (for example, carbon dioxide of mass 47 as carbon-13, oxygen-18, oxygen-16) extracted from carbonates to their formation tem ....The application of clumped isotope thermometry to the terrestrial environment. Clumped-isotope geochemistry, a novel method for measuring the temperature of formation of carbonate minerals, will be applied to terrestrial materials (soil carbonates, lake deposits and speleothems) from Australia and New Zealand. The method relates the abundance or 'clumping' of rare isotopes (for example, carbon dioxide of mass 47 as carbon-13, oxygen-18, oxygen-16) extracted from carbonates to their formation temperature and is independent of the oxygen-18:oxygen-16 value of the host water from which the mineral precipitated. The materials to be investigated span the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition and will provide robust past temperature estimates and the delta-oxygen-18 values of waters, thereby permitting hydrological balances (for example, precipitation/evaporation) to be constructed. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100094
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Single-grain optically-stimulated luminescence and dosimetry instruments to service the Sydney metropolitan and greater New South Wales region. This equipment will support projects that address significant environmental challenges in Australia, such as climate change and variability, coastal management and sustainable river and water management, and that assess the impacts and consequences of these challenges for populations living in environmentally sensitive areas. These projects will build on ....Single-grain optically-stimulated luminescence and dosimetry instruments to service the Sydney metropolitan and greater New South Wales region. This equipment will support projects that address significant environmental challenges in Australia, such as climate change and variability, coastal management and sustainable river and water management, and that assess the impacts and consequences of these challenges for populations living in environmentally sensitive areas. These projects will build on established collaborations in Australia, Antarctica and the south-west Pacific and encourage new collaborations with south-east Asian, Egyptian and Argentinean researchers, which will promote Australian research on a world stage. The use of this equipment will also pioneer new dating methodologies to further enhance Australia's place at the forefront of geochronology.Read moreRead less
Coastal wetlands: are our valuable carbon sinks vulnerable? Saline coastal wetlands store large amounts of carbon and are potentially the most efficient sinks of carbon amongst natural ecosystems. This project will use isotopic tracers to quantify carbon retention within saline coastal wetlands in southeastern Australia, establish the vulnerability of these wetlands to sea-level rise using estimates of sediment accretion and surface elevation change, and use this information to predict the distr ....Coastal wetlands: are our valuable carbon sinks vulnerable? Saline coastal wetlands store large amounts of carbon and are potentially the most efficient sinks of carbon amongst natural ecosystems. This project will use isotopic tracers to quantify carbon retention within saline coastal wetlands in southeastern Australia, establish the vulnerability of these wetlands to sea-level rise using estimates of sediment accretion and surface elevation change, and use this information to predict the distribution of saline coastal wetlands and estimate the carbon sequestration potential of coastal wetlands within a ‘low-carbon economy’. This project will remove impediments to the proper economic evaluation of saline coastal wetlands and enable restoration coastal wetlands to be used to offset carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Hydrologic effects of human and climatic stresses in water-limited areas: role of coevolving runoff, vegetation and landforms for adaptive management. Semiarid rangelands cover over 70 per cent of the Australian continent. These areas already face serious degradation problems. Observed trends in rainfall variability indicate that high rainfall pulses and dry periods will intensify, with serious implications for hydrology and erosion. The impact of these trends in addition to increasing human pre ....Hydrologic effects of human and climatic stresses in water-limited areas: role of coevolving runoff, vegetation and landforms for adaptive management. Semiarid rangelands cover over 70 per cent of the Australian continent. These areas already face serious degradation problems. Observed trends in rainfall variability indicate that high rainfall pulses and dry periods will intensify, with serious implications for hydrology and erosion. The impact of these trends in addition to increasing human pressures could have devastating socioeconomic consequences for these areas. This project, by examining in detail the hydrologic and soil transport processes in semiarid rangelands, will lead to: better understanding of the dryland response to anthropogenic and climatic stresses; and, improvement of strategies and methods for the management and restoration of these areas.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100136
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Mobile weather radar system for advanced environmental monitoring and modelling. High spatial and temporal resolution weather radar data on wind and precipitation will translate to significant environmental model advances. Australian researchers will undertake model validation studies on precipitation, dust storm, and flood prediction under a wider range of environmental conditions and in greater detail than currently possible.
Dating the Aboriginal rock art of the Kimberley region, Western Australia - landscape geochemistry, surface processes and complementary dating techniques. The age of much of the spectacular rock art of the Kimberley region of Western Australia remains unknown, especially in its earliest stages. This project aims to use the most advanced dating techniques now available to determine a sequence of ages for this ancient cultural record, increasing its recognition as a heritage site of international ....Dating the Aboriginal rock art of the Kimberley region, Western Australia - landscape geochemistry, surface processes and complementary dating techniques. The age of much of the spectacular rock art of the Kimberley region of Western Australia remains unknown, especially in its earliest stages. This project aims to use the most advanced dating techniques now available to determine a sequence of ages for this ancient cultural record, increasing its recognition as a heritage site of international significance.Read moreRead less
Working with recovery: Future proofing our rivers against floods & droughts. It's happening! Rivers in coastal NSW are showing signs of recovery. 25 years of improved management has increased the structural and vegetative roughness of river channels. Getting the ‘fibre’ back into rivers has impacted most positively on flood hydrology, but less so on riparian vegetation quality. This project aims to understand how river recovery occurs, its impact on flood flows and test new techniques to improve ....Working with recovery: Future proofing our rivers against floods & droughts. It's happening! Rivers in coastal NSW are showing signs of recovery. 25 years of improved management has increased the structural and vegetative roughness of river channels. Getting the ‘fibre’ back into rivers has impacted most positively on flood hydrology, but less so on riparian vegetation quality. This project aims to understand how river recovery occurs, its impact on flood flows and test new techniques to improve vegetation quality. It will investigate where corridors of recovery are, where to prioritise rehabilitation and the cost:benefit of working with recovery. This will benefit public policy, improve flood and drought risk analysis, and change decision-making and rehabilitation practice - essentially future proofing our rivers.Read moreRead less
Dating the aboriginal rock art sequence of the Kimberley in north west Australia. This project aims to develop a robust time scale for the known aboriginal rock art sequence in the Kimberley, Western Australia (WA). The project will use new knowledge of complex processes on sandstone surfaces across the north Kimberley, and an innovative combination of four scientific dating methods developed through our earlier work. The project expects to provide a well-dated sequence for Kimberley rock art ba ....Dating the aboriginal rock art sequence of the Kimberley in north west Australia. This project aims to develop a robust time scale for the known aboriginal rock art sequence in the Kimberley, Western Australia (WA). The project will use new knowledge of complex processes on sandstone surfaces across the north Kimberley, and an innovative combination of four scientific dating methods developed through our earlier work. The project expects to provide a well-dated sequence for Kimberley rock art based on replication of results, confirmation across different methods, and a large interdisciplinary data set. The project will allow rigorous analysis of the relationship between dating results and rock art styles that has not previously been possible, and give new insights into Australia’s deep indigenous heritage. This will have a significant impact for future efforts in rock art conservation, and lay a foundation for cultural tourism, with important benefits for the local economy and health of regional indigenous communities.Read moreRead less