Reconstruction of anoxic and toxic conditions in Australian lakes and ancient oceans. Sustainable water quality is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of Australia's lakes and estuaries, it is crucial to understand their ecological past and to determine their state prior to and post-European settlement. This project develops and applies novel methodologies to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial blooms, eutr ....Reconstruction of anoxic and toxic conditions in Australian lakes and ancient oceans. Sustainable water quality is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of Australia's lakes and estuaries, it is crucial to understand their ecological past and to determine their state prior to and post-European settlement. This project develops and applies novel methodologies to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial blooms, eutrophication and anoxia in Australian waterways. It will help to identify human impact on water quality. The new methodologies, applied to ancient sedimentary rocks, will also yield information about the effect of environmental changes on early life on Earth, enforcing Australia's position in the study of global geochemical cycles.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
A new approach to the U-series dating of fossil molluscs - a major advance for the earth and archaeological sciences. The development of a reliable method for accurately determining the age of fossil shells represents a breakthrough in the ability to date marine shoreline, lake, and other shell-bearing deposits (e.g. middens). This will present new opportunities for research of significant national benefit, particularly into the effects of climate change, including linked sea-level change and me ....A new approach to the U-series dating of fossil molluscs - a major advance for the earth and archaeological sciences. The development of a reliable method for accurately determining the age of fossil shells represents a breakthrough in the ability to date marine shoreline, lake, and other shell-bearing deposits (e.g. middens). This will present new opportunities for research of significant national benefit, particularly into the effects of climate change, including linked sea-level change and melting of ice sheets, the impact of sea-level change on coastal zones, and shifts in the amount and variability of rainfall in different regions. The method may also be used to estimate the frequency and size of large storm and tsunami events, earthquake risk, and the timing of prehistoric human migration and associated environmental impacts. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality c ....High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality changes, pollution histories, recent geomorphological change, land-use change, introduction of invasive species and the occurrence of bushfires. A better understanding of the occurrence and timing of these major environmental issues is of national and regional importance.Read moreRead less
Three-dimensional flow, temperature and melting distributions in mantle subduction zones. We will predict spatial distributions and time evolution of temperature and magma production in subduction zones, where cold oceanic plates sink into the Earth's mantle, recycle crust and sediments, and generate volcanic arcs. Three-dimensional laboratory experiments, including 3-D flow visualization and high-resolution temperature measurements, will model slab segments, different rates and modes of subduct ....Three-dimensional flow, temperature and melting distributions in mantle subduction zones. We will predict spatial distributions and time evolution of temperature and magma production in subduction zones, where cold oceanic plates sink into the Earth's mantle, recycle crust and sediments, and generate volcanic arcs. Three-dimensional laboratory experiments, including 3-D flow visualization and high-resolution temperature measurements, will model slab segments, different rates and modes of subduction and upward transport of melt. Ocean trench migration (?rollback? subduction) is of special interest because it gives patterns of temperature and vertical motion most conducive to melting. Results will be used to interpret geochemical and seismic data from the Tonga subduction zone in the South Pacific.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668345
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,700.00
Summary
A highly sensitive mass spectrometer for trace analysis of biomarker molecules to study changes in recent and ancient environments. Maintaining the quality of water and soil is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of our natural assets, it is critical to understand their ecological past and their state before and after European settlement. We will utilize the new instrument to develop and apply innovative technolo ....A highly sensitive mass spectrometer for trace analysis of biomarker molecules to study changes in recent and ancient environments. Maintaining the quality of water and soil is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of our natural assets, it is critical to understand their ecological past and their state before and after European settlement. We will utilize the new instrument to develop and apply innovative technologies providing Australia with new knowledge about the causes and effects of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, eutrophication, and contamination of reservoirs by bush-fires. The new facility will also supply advanced oil fingerprinting techniques to the petroleum industry minimizing exploration risk and increasing the chance of the discovery of new oil deposits.Read moreRead less