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Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less
Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on tota ....Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on total metal concentrations that do not take into consideration of bioavailability and wide ranging Australian soil types. Serious concerns have been raised on the applicability of these guidelines and their protective limits in ecological risk assessment. This project aims at developing phytotoxicity guidelines applicable to a wide range of soil types common to Australia.Read moreRead less
Formation, degradation and migration of a yet unidentified POP source. Australia has recently ratified the Stockholm Convention, targeting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for global reduction and elimination. A significant gap exists, however, in understanding sources and pathways of POPs in Australia, and subtropical/tropical environments. Previous research has shown an extensive POP contamination in coastal Australia, and exposure of biota to elevated levels. The present study will evalua ....Formation, degradation and migration of a yet unidentified POP source. Australia has recently ratified the Stockholm Convention, targeting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for global reduction and elimination. A significant gap exists, however, in understanding sources and pathways of POPs in Australia, and subtropical/tropical environments. Previous research has shown an extensive POP contamination in coastal Australia, and exposure of biota to elevated levels. The present study will evaluate the formation, degradation and migration of POPs, and their significance to Australia's past, present and future emissions. The outcomes will allow identification of sources, their prioritization for elimination and exposure prevention, and ultimately serve to protect the environment and human health in Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel Molecular Markers for the Historical Source Tracing of Faecal Contamination in Urban Water Catchments. Protection of the microbiological quality of raw water systems is imperative to maintaining the safety of drinking water. Monitoring of water samples for the presence of microbes that indicate the presence of faecal pollution can be used to assess the possible threats to human health. The objective of this research is to apply molecular genetic methods to determine their effectiveness as ....Novel Molecular Markers for the Historical Source Tracing of Faecal Contamination in Urban Water Catchments. Protection of the microbiological quality of raw water systems is imperative to maintaining the safety of drinking water. Monitoring of water samples for the presence of microbes that indicate the presence of faecal pollution can be used to assess the possible threats to human health. The objective of this research is to apply molecular genetic methods to determine their effectiveness as tools for the tracking and tracing of faecal bacteria within drinking water catchments. We have chosen the spore-former Clostridium perfringens as an indicator of both long and short-term sewage contamination. It will enable us to predict the origin of contamination and thus identify potential sources of faecal pollution that require remediation.Read moreRead less
Development of a risk assessment tool to minimise mixed metals toxicities from mine tailings. Research based on animal uptake from mine tailings is required to quantify comparative bioavailability of mixtures of metals to provide data for mine rehabilitation design during the planning stage. Such data also provides risk assessment in humans. The optimum balance is minimum environmental effects from the rehabilitated mine structure versus minimised cost through planning prior to project commencem ....Development of a risk assessment tool to minimise mixed metals toxicities from mine tailings. Research based on animal uptake from mine tailings is required to quantify comparative bioavailability of mixtures of metals to provide data for mine rehabilitation design during the planning stage. Such data also provides risk assessment in humans. The optimum balance is minimum environmental effects from the rehabilitated mine structure versus minimised cost through planning prior to project commencement. The significant cost of mining ore bodies, particularly by modern open cut methods, is the removal of rock and soil. The research on animal toxicity testings will provide a tool to more accurately detail mine rehabilitation and give quantitative indicators for closure.Read moreRead less
Seagrass tolerance of oil spills - scaling of pollution impacts. Seagrasses provide vital ecosystem services (such as sediment stabilisation and habitat provision) in Australian coastal waters. The contribution of pollutants to current seagrass decline is poorly understood. The Australian shipping industry is the 5th largest in the world but there is very little data on the impacts of petroleum hydrocarbons on intertidal seagrasses and hence no information for coastal resource managers to use in ....Seagrass tolerance of oil spills - scaling of pollution impacts. Seagrasses provide vital ecosystem services (such as sediment stabilisation and habitat provision) in Australian coastal waters. The contribution of pollutants to current seagrass decline is poorly understood. The Australian shipping industry is the 5th largest in the world but there is very little data on the impacts of petroleum hydrocarbons on intertidal seagrasses and hence no information for coastal resource managers to use in decision-making in the event of an oil spill. This project will assess the relative toxicities of a number of petroleum hydrocarbons on Australian seagrass species to provide necessary data for the development of effective management practice.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354632
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sustainable Water Reuse Network. Declining water quality and supply is of national concern, threatening Australia's economic, social and environmental sustainability. Water reuse is a smart option to reduce primary water consumption, but if it is to be sustainable, fundamental and applied knowledge gaps must be addressed. The proposed sustainable water reuse network enables Australian researchers to engage with end users under an integrated, multi-disciplinary framework. This will allow future ....Sustainable Water Reuse Network. Declining water quality and supply is of national concern, threatening Australia's economic, social and environmental sustainability. Water reuse is a smart option to reduce primary water consumption, but if it is to be sustainable, fundamental and applied knowledge gaps must be addressed. The proposed sustainable water reuse network enables Australian researchers to engage with end users under an integrated, multi-disciplinary framework. This will allow future research activities to address knowledge gaps and priorities, thereby contributing to a paradigm shift in how Australians use all sources of water and a reframing of our understanding of sustainable water cycles.Read moreRead less
Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a ....Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a link between smoke pollution levels and asthma. The findings of the proposed research will contribute to improved fire management practices to reduce injurious smoke pollution events and contribute to setting appropriate national air quality standards.Read moreRead less
Investigation of Australian crop species for the rhizoremediation of residual sulfonyl urea herbicide contaminations in agricultural soils. This research aims to identify an environmentally sustainable and economically viable solution to the problem of residual herbicide contaminations in agricultural soils. The strategy is focused on stimulation of microbial degradation of pesticides in the root zone of crop species (Lupins). Such a strategy will improve crop yields and reduce soil contaminatio ....Investigation of Australian crop species for the rhizoremediation of residual sulfonyl urea herbicide contaminations in agricultural soils. This research aims to identify an environmentally sustainable and economically viable solution to the problem of residual herbicide contaminations in agricultural soils. The strategy is focused on stimulation of microbial degradation of pesticides in the root zone of crop species (Lupins). Such a strategy will improve crop yields and reduce soil contaminations and environmental impacts at minimal cost. 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