Gas phase studies of reactive organic radicals: a novel approach using mass spectrometry. Radical reactions play a crucial role in a range of important chemistries, ranging from the formation of photochemical smog to the accumulation of pathogens in the ageing body. Despite their importance, the reactions of many radicals are poorly understood because of current experimental limitations. In this project we propose to develop two new and broadly applicable techniques for probing radical chemistry ....Gas phase studies of reactive organic radicals: a novel approach using mass spectrometry. Radical reactions play a crucial role in a range of important chemistries, ranging from the formation of photochemical smog to the accumulation of pathogens in the ageing body. Despite their importance, the reactions of many radicals are poorly understood because of current experimental limitations. In this project we propose to develop two new and broadly applicable techniques for probing radical chemistry in the gas phase via novel applications of mass spectrometry. Combined with quantum chemical calculations and state-of-the-art thermodynamic measurements these methods will provide a comprehensive understanding of the reactivity of key organic radicals.Read moreRead less
Nanoparticle from urban transport: Quantification of formation and dynamics for application for health and environmental risk reduction. Socio-economic benefits of the project outcomes to Australia: (i) advancing the fundamental understanding of the processes contributing to the adverse environmental impacts of nanoparticles; (ii) provision of vital information on the reduction of the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles, thus contributing to the goal of 'cleaner, safer combustion'; ( ....Nanoparticle from urban transport: Quantification of formation and dynamics for application for health and environmental risk reduction. Socio-economic benefits of the project outcomes to Australia: (i) advancing the fundamental understanding of the processes contributing to the adverse environmental impacts of nanoparticles; (ii) provision of vital information on the reduction of the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles, thus contributing to the goal of 'cleaner, safer combustion'; (iii) placing Australian researchers in the frontline of nanoparticle science and technology and international progress towards sustainable development; and (iv) lowering of human exposure to nanoparticles in the cities of tomorrow, thus reducing health care costs and lost productivity. Read moreRead less
The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will signific ....New Bayesian methodology for understanding complex systems using hidden Markov models and expert opinion, environmental, robotics and genomics applications. This project aims to merge four areas of intense international interest in describing complex systems: hidden Markov models and mixtures, semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches, true combination of expert opinion with data, and new Bayesian computational methods based on perfect sampling and particle sampling. The project will significantly contribute to statistical methodology and its ability to inform about real-world problems. A strong focus on applications to genomics, robotics and environmental modelling will bring immediate research and monetary benefit for industry. Expected outcomes include enhanced cross-disciplinary and international linkages, publications, industry-funded projects and highly trained graduates.Read moreRead less
Development and validation of a model predicting charged aerosol characteristics in the proximity to high voltage powerlines. With over 780,000 km length of High Voltage Power Lines running through different parts of the country, the scientific and socio-economic benefits to Australia and worldwide include: (i) The developed novel semi-empirical model would become an important tool for research on human exposure and health effects in the vicinity of powerlines and vehicle transport routs, and fo ....Development and validation of a model predicting charged aerosol characteristics in the proximity to high voltage powerlines. With over 780,000 km length of High Voltage Power Lines running through different parts of the country, the scientific and socio-economic benefits to Australia and worldwide include: (i) The developed novel semi-empirical model would become an important tool for research on human exposure and health effects in the vicinity of powerlines and vehicle transport routs, and for developing future directions for management and control strategies for transport and land development plans; (ii) The ultimate benefit of this research will be reduction of risks and thus increase in health and well-being of Australians and reduction in health care costs. Read moreRead less
Physical, Chemical and Radiative Characteristics of Australian Continental Aerosols. Australian desert dust, and the biomass burning aerosol particles produced in the top-end burning season, have the potential to impose an environmental burden not only on Australia, but also on the surrounding region. While most of the world's major aerosol types have been well studied in recent years, these two remain largely unknown. There are good reasons to believe that Australian aerosols are different from ....Physical, Chemical and Radiative Characteristics of Australian Continental Aerosols. Australian desert dust, and the biomass burning aerosol particles produced in the top-end burning season, have the potential to impose an environmental burden not only on Australia, but also on the surrounding region. While most of the world's major aerosol types have been well studied in recent years, these two remain largely unknown. There are good reasons to believe that Australian aerosols are different from many others. We therefore intend to fully characterize their relevant properties, so we may monitor them from space, and evaluate their environmental impacts.Read moreRead less
Dynamic spatio-temporal approach to environmental health modelling. Maintenance and enhancement of environmental health (EH) is an important aspect of sustainable development (SD). There has been an increasing realisation that an appropriate modelling approach needs to be developed to measure and promote EH. However, a framework for the development of EH models to facilitate environmental management decision-making has not been attempted to date. This research aims to increase fundamental knowle ....Dynamic spatio-temporal approach to environmental health modelling. Maintenance and enhancement of environmental health (EH) is an important aspect of sustainable development (SD). There has been an increasing realisation that an appropriate modelling approach needs to be developed to measure and promote EH. However, a framework for the development of EH models to facilitate environmental management decision-making has not been attempted to date. This research aims to increase fundamental knowledge on the relationship between environmental exposures and community well-being, to develop a dynamic and systematic approach to EH modelling, and to assess implications of EH models in the planning of SD and environmental management.Read moreRead less
The Australian Dust Transport System: characterisation and downwind impacts. Most Australians are aware that dust storms occur in dry inland areas and recently many experienced first hand, the dust storms that engulfed our cities. Few, however, are aware of the diverse impacts of desert dust downwind from source. Recent technological advances in remote sensing have made dust storms much easier to study, and Australian researchers will use these, and other innovative techniques, to reconstruct th ....The Australian Dust Transport System: characterisation and downwind impacts. Most Australians are aware that dust storms occur in dry inland areas and recently many experienced first hand, the dust storms that engulfed our cities. Few, however, are aware of the diverse impacts of desert dust downwind from source. Recent technological advances in remote sensing have made dust storms much easier to study, and Australian researchers will use these, and other innovative techniques, to reconstruct the major dust storms back to 1960. They will reconstruct the sources, dust loads and trajectories of these storms, and examine how dust affects urban air pollution. Their data will also be provided to an allied research team in New Zealand, who are examining how iron-rich Australia dust affects phytoplankton in the oceans.Read moreRead less
Investigating the coupled dependencies of soot in turbulent flames by advanced laser diagnostics and modelling. The community will benefit from the project by reduced air pollution and improved health and safety. Soot is a major air pollutant, adversely effecting public health, while also contributing directly to global warming. It also dominates heat transfer and influences the emissions of NOx and CO2. The project will significantly advance detailed understanding and modelling capability of fl ....Investigating the coupled dependencies of soot in turbulent flames by advanced laser diagnostics and modelling. The community will benefit from the project by reduced air pollution and improved health and safety. Soot is a major air pollutant, adversely effecting public health, while also contributing directly to global warming. It also dominates heat transfer and influences the emissions of NOx and CO2. The project will significantly advance detailed understanding and modelling capability of flames containing soot. Hence it will provide significantly improved capability to optimise these flames in applications spanning gas turbines, power generation, minerals processing and fires.Read moreRead less
Olfactory Characterisation of Odours for Optimising Impact Assessment. The repeated release of obnoxious odours from intensive livestock, waste management and wastewater treatment facilities can constitute a major air quality problem for a local population. Odour management has traditionally been maintained by the use of buffer distances that have significantly decreased with urban encroachment. Odour assessment is conventionally measured in terms of odour concentration; however this standardise ....Olfactory Characterisation of Odours for Optimising Impact Assessment. The repeated release of obnoxious odours from intensive livestock, waste management and wastewater treatment facilities can constitute a major air quality problem for a local population. Odour management has traditionally been maintained by the use of buffer distances that have significantly decreased with urban encroachment. Odour assessment is conventionally measured in terms of odour concentration; however this standardised method does not take into account odour quality characters or their intensity. The project will characterise by sensory means the odour nuisance types and intensity of different odorous emissions to better define and understand the relationship between process operations and olfactory annoyance.Read moreRead less