Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453555
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$109,595.00
Summary
Luminescence stimulation and detection facility for dating of Quaternary geological and archaeological sediments. Reliable ages are required in the Earth and archaeological sciences. Luminescence dating is a flexible geochronological technique for diverse deposits. It exploits the radiation-induced thermally (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) emissions from minerals exposed to sunlight before burial. Recent technical developments have made feasible OSL dating of small samples (e.g. ....Luminescence stimulation and detection facility for dating of Quaternary geological and archaeological sediments. Reliable ages are required in the Earth and archaeological sciences. Luminescence dating is a flexible geochronological technique for diverse deposits. It exploits the radiation-induced thermally (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) emissions from minerals exposed to sunlight before burial. Recent technical developments have made feasible OSL dating of small samples (e.g., individual sand grains) and sediments deposited during the past 0.5-1 million years. We request funds for a Risø TL/OSL system with single-grain attachment to resolve the timing of sea-level, climate and landscape changes, and the chronology of human evolution and dispersal, in Australia and Southeast Asia.Read moreRead less
Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and ....Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and with the human occupation of Australia. The results will provide valuable information with which to better understand the the main global drivers of episodes of profound wetness and dryness in Australian climate. Read moreRead less
How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilome ....How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilometres of fresh water adjacent to the now-barren Flinders Ranges. It will show if this water had a tropical or temperate source, fundamental information for understanding Australia's past climate, and allow predictions of future climate to be based on firm evidence.Read moreRead less
Landscape evolution and palaeoclimates in Indonesia: environmental, faunal and archaeological implications. The influence of environmental and climatic changes on faunal (including human) populations is a pressing issue for Australian communities in environmentally sensitive areas. This project will address this issue by documenting how certain flora and fauna in Indonesia, our nearest northern neighbour, responded to environmental challenges. Revealing when humans first dispersed through the re ....Landscape evolution and palaeoclimates in Indonesia: environmental, faunal and archaeological implications. The influence of environmental and climatic changes on faunal (including human) populations is a pressing issue for Australian communities in environmentally sensitive areas. This project will address this issue by documenting how certain flora and fauna in Indonesia, our nearest northern neighbour, responded to environmental challenges. Revealing when humans first dispersed through the region and how they adapted to changing environmental conditions will also contribute to our understanding of the cultural heritage of Australia's indigenous settlers. This project will build on established collaborations with Indonesian researchers and pioneer new dating methodologies to further enhance Australia's place at the forefront of geochronology.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