Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
Quantification of current and future traffic emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter for application in transport and urban planning. The socio-economic benefits from the project include (i) novel transport emissions model, enabling assessment of the impact of transport proposals, applied in one of the most rapidly developing urban regions of Australia, SEQ; (ii) a matrix of particles, CO2, N2O and CH4 emission factors for vehicles operating in Australia, an essential input paramete ....Quantification of current and future traffic emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter for application in transport and urban planning. The socio-economic benefits from the project include (i) novel transport emissions model, enabling assessment of the impact of transport proposals, applied in one of the most rapidly developing urban regions of Australia, SEQ; (ii) a matrix of particles, CO2, N2O and CH4 emission factors for vehicles operating in Australia, an essential input parameter in vehicle emission inventories. The ultimate economic benefit of this research will be a reduction in transport related air pollution and greenhouse emissions, thus increasing the health and well-being of Australians, reducing health care costs and placing Australia in the forefront of international progress in the race toward better methods for achieving environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Immobilized biocatalysts on selected filter media to control odour emissions from wastewater treatment and composting facilities. Odour is one of the common problems faced by wastewater and solid waste industries as a result of public complaints about poor local air quality. Although odour removal technologies exist, they encounter a number of problems. The lack of harsh chemicals required for the proposed technology means there is no wastewater stream to treat. This will have an impact on the r ....Immobilized biocatalysts on selected filter media to control odour emissions from wastewater treatment and composting facilities. Odour is one of the common problems faced by wastewater and solid waste industries as a result of public complaints about poor local air quality. Although odour removal technologies exist, they encounter a number of problems. The lack of harsh chemicals required for the proposed technology means there is no wastewater stream to treat. This will have an impact on the reduction of chemicals disposed to the environment, preventing unnecessary contamination of land and water resources. The lower space requirement of the technology will free up land, formerly required for large biofilters, for other uses including civic amenities.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354605
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Earth System Dynamics Network for a Sustainable Australia. Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of mineral, energy and water resources. Thus understanding these dynamic systems provides the key to sustainable resource usage. The aim of The Earth System Dynamics Network is to facilitate scientific interactions through establishment of an earth and environmental sciences grid that links national and regional data assets with high per ....The Earth System Dynamics Network for a Sustainable Australia. Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of mineral, energy and water resources. Thus understanding these dynamic systems provides the key to sustainable resource usage. The aim of The Earth System Dynamics Network is to facilitate scientific interactions through establishment of an earth and environmental sciences grid that links national and regional data assets with high performance computing through open sourced middleware. The result will be an unparalleled predictive capacity for complex Earth systems. The outcome will be confidence in the knowledge that underpins our decisions as stakeholders to keep Australia sustainable.Read moreRead less
The peopling of East Asia and Australasia. This project aims to recover DNA sequences from ancient human remains from Australia and Asia some dating back 45,000 years. The project will use this information to identify the geographic origin of these people and to determine their genetic histories.
Atmospheric fate and processes of semi-volatile organic compounds in tropical climates. The outcomes from this study will contribute fundamental and quantitative information for evaluation of the fate of semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs) in tropical systems, including Australia's World Heritage ecosystems such as rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The study addresses key international knowledge gaps with respect to the influence of climate on SOC atmospheric fate. Australia's geographic ....Atmospheric fate and processes of semi-volatile organic compounds in tropical climates. The outcomes from this study will contribute fundamental and quantitative information for evaluation of the fate of semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs) in tropical systems, including Australia's World Heritage ecosystems such as rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The study addresses key international knowledge gaps with respect to the influence of climate on SOC atmospheric fate. Australia's geographical location within the tropical belt provides an ideal opportunity for leading this field of research and contributes relevant data for its commitment under the Stockholm Convention.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
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
QUANTIFICATION OF INTERACTIONS DURING THE DISPERSION OF CORONA IONS AND AIRBORNE PARTICLES NEAR POWER LINES. Currently there is no method for quantification of concentration and dispersion of charged aerosols near high voltage power lines (HVPLs). However, hypothesis have been presented, but not yet proven scientifically, that residents of houses close to combustion sources such as highways or industrial plants and HVPLs may be subjected to health risk due to inhalation of charged aerosols. The ....QUANTIFICATION OF INTERACTIONS DURING THE DISPERSION OF CORONA IONS AND AIRBORNE PARTICLES NEAR POWER LINES. Currently there is no method for quantification of concentration and dispersion of charged aerosols near high voltage power lines (HVPLs). However, hypothesis have been presented, but not yet proven scientifically, that residents of houses close to combustion sources such as highways or industrial plants and HVPLs may be subjected to health risk due to inhalation of charged aerosols. The outcome of this project will be a model for quantitative assessment of the processes occurring during the transport and dispersion of corona ions and combustion aerosol, which will be a tool for predictive risk assessment and informed management of public resources in relation to power line design and maintenance.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