Global climate change and coastal landscape evolution in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct environmental changes that occurred in southern Australia during a geologically recent time interval termed the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.2 million to 700 thousand years ago) and an interglacial period some 400,000 years ago. Using innovative geochronological, geochemical and modelling techniques, the environmental changes that shaped modern Australian coastal landscapes, in ....Global climate change and coastal landscape evolution in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct environmental changes that occurred in southern Australia during a geologically recent time interval termed the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.2 million to 700 thousand years ago) and an interglacial period some 400,000 years ago. Using innovative geochronological, geochemical and modelling techniques, the environmental changes that shaped modern Australian coastal landscapes, including the intensification of aridity and their timing will be examined. The project will yield new knowledge about the sensitivity of landscapes to current and ongoing environmental changes and derive explanatory models of the rates and characteristics of landscape response to assist future coastal environmental management.Read moreRead less
Sedimentary processes on sandy coasts in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct sedimentary processes and evolution of key coastal plains in southern Australia. These low-lying coasts, and the settlements and infrastructure on them, are vulnerable to inundation and shoreline erosion. Past behaviour of different types of coasts will be determined by combining innovative geospatial techniques to map morphology and past changes, geophysical imaging of stratigraphy and geochronology. T ....Sedimentary processes on sandy coasts in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct sedimentary processes and evolution of key coastal plains in southern Australia. These low-lying coasts, and the settlements and infrastructure on them, are vulnerable to inundation and shoreline erosion. Past behaviour of different types of coasts will be determined by combining innovative geospatial techniques to map morphology and past changes, geophysical imaging of stratigraphy and geochronology. The outcome will be models that explain responses to sediment availability, past storm history and sea-level changes. This will benefit sustainable coastal planning and management, providing geomorphological evidence to support erosion hazard assessments of these and adjacent coasts.Read moreRead less
Water and soil resource response to past global environmental changes. The abundance and distribution of Earth's water and soil resources are strongly influenced by the spatial and temporal variability of climatic parameters. Thus, there is a need to understand how climate change, whether of natural causes or induced by human activity, impacts fluvial and soil systems. This project will use novel isotopic techniques to study the links between climate variability, chemical weathering, which produ ....Water and soil resource response to past global environmental changes. The abundance and distribution of Earth's water and soil resources are strongly influenced by the spatial and temporal variability of climatic parameters. Thus, there is a need to understand how climate change, whether of natural causes or induced by human activity, impacts fluvial and soil systems. This project will use novel isotopic techniques to study the links between climate variability, chemical weathering, which produces soil, and sediment transport, which affects fluvial systems and water resources. The composition of stable lithium, boron and calcium isotopes, and of radioactive uranium-series isotopes in sedimentary records will shed new light on our understanding of these processes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Innovative isotopic techniques to study the response of soil and water resources to modern and past climate change. Innovative isotopic techniques to study the response of soil and water resources to modern and past climate change: The emergence of innovative isotopic tools has provided unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of the processes that shape the earth's resources and environment. The plasma-source mass spectrometer will be dedicated to applying these techniques to ea ....Innovative isotopic techniques to study the response of soil and water resources to modern and past climate change. Innovative isotopic techniques to study the response of soil and water resources to modern and past climate change: The emergence of innovative isotopic tools has provided unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of the processes that shape the earth's resources and environment. The plasma-source mass spectrometer will be dedicated to applying these techniques to earth surface processes, and establishing unique capabilities to decipher how soil and water resources respond to modern and past climate change in Australia.Read moreRead less
To what extent does fire affect karst processes? Burning questions for fire management. Fire management is of crucial importance for both asset protection and ecosystem management. However, the effects of fire in karst systems is poorly understood. This project will undertake experiments to determine the effects of fire on surface and subsurface processes, including stalagmite formation, that can be used to improve fire management policy.
Will rivers be smaller when the climate is hotter? This project aims to investigate how large rivers are affected by changing atmospheric temperature. Large inland rivers are the main source of water supporting ecological functions, economies and societies. This project will quantify the size and age of abandoned river channels in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of southeast Australia and the Atuel/Diamante basin of Argentina. We will use this to reconstruct a history of changes in river discharg ....Will rivers be smaller when the climate is hotter? This project aims to investigate how large rivers are affected by changing atmospheric temperature. Large inland rivers are the main source of water supporting ecological functions, economies and societies. This project will quantify the size and age of abandoned river channels in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of southeast Australia and the Atuel/Diamante basin of Argentina. We will use this to reconstruct a history of changes in river discharge and relate this to climate. Novel climate and hydrological modelling will then be used to simulate the impact of temperature changes on catchment runoff and river discharge. Such information is vital for decision-making, planning and water resource allocation in the MDB and elsewhere. Read moreRead less
Landscape evolution, environmental change and human occupation history of Lake George - an outstanding natural archive. This project will study the environmental and human history of Lake George, where sand and gravel are mined to supply the Canberra region's construction industry. The project will investigate past vegetation and climate changes, lake level fluctuations, groundwater flow, sediment deposition, archaeology and sustainable resource management outcomes.
From ancient to modern environments in southeastern Australia: evidence from the unique natural archives of Lake George. Lake George is an outstanding natural archive - it contains the longest continuous sedimentary record of any Australian lake and has a long, unresolved human occupation history. It also supplies 80 per cent of sand used in the Canberra region construction industry. This multidisciplinary study aims to determine the sedimentary, vegetation, climatic, hydrological, tectonic and ....From ancient to modern environments in southeastern Australia: evidence from the unique natural archives of Lake George. Lake George is an outstanding natural archive - it contains the longest continuous sedimentary record of any Australian lake and has a long, unresolved human occupation history. It also supplies 80 per cent of sand used in the Canberra region construction industry. This multidisciplinary study aims to determine the sedimentary, vegetation, climatic, hydrological, tectonic and archaeological history of the area, including application of cutting-edge dating methods. Project outcomes aim to increase knowledge of landscape evolution and human history in eastern Australia from an improved understanding of the responses of Lake George to past and future climate change and human impact, as well as optimising sustainable extraction of sand and gravel.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
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