Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC190100031
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,973,202.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE). Understanding the cumulative impact of actions regarding the use of our resources has important long-term consequences for Australia’s economic, societal and environmental health. Yet despite the importance of these cumulative impacts, and the availability of data, many decisions and policies are based on limited amounts of data and rudimentary data analysis, with little appreciation of the critical role that understand ....ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE). Understanding the cumulative impact of actions regarding the use of our resources has important long-term consequences for Australia’s economic, societal and environmental health. Yet despite the importance of these cumulative impacts, and the availability of data, many decisions and policies are based on limited amounts of data and rudimentary data analysis, with little appreciation of the critical role that understanding and quantifying uncertainty plays in the process. The aim of Data Analytics in Resources and Environment (DARE) is to develop and deliver the data science skills and tools for Australia’s resource industries to make the best possible evidence-based decisions in exploiting and stewarding the nation’s natural resources.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101890
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Purification of contaminated wastewaters by modified Bayer layered double hydroxides. This project intends to develop enhanced adsorbent materials, prepared from industrial wastewater and seawater, for the decontamination of environments affected by Australian industries. This inexpensive novel material will be applicable to a wide range of purification applications and will reduce the environmental impact of Australian industries.
Ecologically responsible mining to fuel a green energy transition. An energy transition is key to tackling climate change. However, renewable energy is mineral intensive and boosting its supply may create new mining threats to biodiversity. This project aims to facilitate strategic development of ecologically responsible mining. It expects to reveal where new mines will be needed to meet future energy demand, and create innovative tools to predict and mitigate threats to plants and animals. Expe ....Ecologically responsible mining to fuel a green energy transition. An energy transition is key to tackling climate change. However, renewable energy is mineral intensive and boosting its supply may create new mining threats to biodiversity. This project aims to facilitate strategic development of ecologically responsible mining. It expects to reveal where new mines will be needed to meet future energy demand, and create innovative tools to predict and mitigate threats to plants and animals. Expected outcomes include an improved ability to inform sustainable climate and energy policies, leading to strategic investment decisions, cleaner mineral supply chains and conservation outcomes that capture valuable environmental and social benefits and create a competitive advantage for Australia’s mining sector.Read moreRead less
Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure ....Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure direct responses to flood events using loggers and compare them to indirect measurements inferred from hydrochemical and isotope tracer models to better understand recharge patterns, evaporative losses, and interactions between surface runoff, floodplains, and aquifers at different positions in the landscape.Read moreRead less
Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater f ....Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater flow through and along faults and dykes by combining geological, hydraulic and geochemical approaches with detailed 3D numerical models. The expected outcome will be an improved understanding of the role of faults and barriers in subsurface hydrology, and an improved ability to model complex groundwater systems.Read moreRead less
Multi-scale, two-phase flow in complex coal seam systems. Australia is the world’s leading coal exporter and a large consumer of coal. This project aims to fill key knowledge gaps that underpin the challenge facing the coal industry and environmental agencies in assessing the impact of coal mining on the surrounding environment, in particular, adjacent river and groundwater systems.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100027
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Australian National Facility for Noble-Gas Radio-Isotope Measurements. Australian national facility for noble-gas radio-isotope measurements:
This facility is designed to provide researchers with the ability to accurately date water and ice cores using the natural radio-isotopes in the sample. Radiocarbon dating has been a revolutionary tool in providing answers to a range of questions in anthropology, archaeology and the earth sciences. However, radiocarbon dating has a strong limitation in th ....Australian National Facility for Noble-Gas Radio-Isotope Measurements. Australian national facility for noble-gas radio-isotope measurements:
This facility is designed to provide researchers with the ability to accurately date water and ice cores using the natural radio-isotopes in the sample. Radiocarbon dating has been a revolutionary tool in providing answers to a range of questions in anthropology, archaeology and the earth sciences. However, radiocarbon dating has a strong limitation in that it can only date periods from 1000–50 000 years: the use of radioactive noble-gas isotopes can extend this range out to 1 year to 1 million years. This capability in the new facility is expected to support new understanding of processes in artesian reservoirs, ocean currents and geology that may affect questions of water availability, climate and environmental change.Read moreRead less
High Dimensional Computation and Uncertainty. This project aims to establish powerful computational methods for high-dimensional problems - methods that are rigorous, and carefully tailored to specific applications, from physics, environment, manufacturing and finance, and often driven by uncertainty. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of high-dimensional computation, and develop technological innovations in key areas of science and industry. Expected outcomes include improved c ....High Dimensional Computation and Uncertainty. This project aims to establish powerful computational methods for high-dimensional problems - methods that are rigorous, and carefully tailored to specific applications, from physics, environment, manufacturing and finance, and often driven by uncertainty. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of high-dimensional computation, and develop technological innovations in key areas of science and industry. Expected outcomes include improved control of uncertainty in industry, enhanced international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and significant publications and presentations in international forums. The technological advancements will help boost Australia's position as a world leader in innovation.Read moreRead less
Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean a ....Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean ages for the sample. This project aims to determine whether it is possible to determine moments of the groundwater age distributions from measurements made with different environmental tracers. The project also aims to examine whether the degree of heterogeneity within the aquifer can be determined from the disparity between ages obtained with different tracers. This project aims to tackle the largest problem with using groundwater chemistry to estimate water age – that mixing processes in the subsurface are never known. Solving this problem will allow much more accurate estimates of groundwater velocity and aquifer recharge rates. The groundwater industry contributes an estimated $6.8 billion per annum to the Australian economy, and this project will contribute to the sustainable management of the groundwater resource.Read moreRead less
Gaining insights into mine waste dumps to avoid environmental legacies. The project aims to develop new methods for identifying pollution source hotspots and pathways inside mine waste rock dumps. This addresses the national need for effective management of Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD), which is now a critical consideration in the viability of new mines and in confronting pollution legacies of old mines. The research will develop and test innovative methods of geophysical and geochemica ....Gaining insights into mine waste dumps to avoid environmental legacies. The project aims to develop new methods for identifying pollution source hotspots and pathways inside mine waste rock dumps. This addresses the national need for effective management of Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD), which is now a critical consideration in the viability of new mines and in confronting pollution legacies of old mines. The research will develop and test innovative methods of geophysical and geochemical analysis and their integration that provide 3-dimensional mapping of key physical and chemical features of the dump. Expected outcomes include greater confidence in the ability of the mining industry to manage its AMD liability. Read moreRead less