The Antarctic ice sheet through the Last Glacial Cycle - numerical modelling constrained by field evidence. The response of the world's largest ice mass to climate change is important because melting leads to a rise in sea level. Our ability to predict changes in ice volume and sea level under a warming climate, will be enhanced by better understanding of past ice sheet responses to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Improved numerical models now exist that allow realistic simulations of Ant ....The Antarctic ice sheet through the Last Glacial Cycle - numerical modelling constrained by field evidence. The response of the world's largest ice mass to climate change is important because melting leads to a rise in sea level. Our ability to predict changes in ice volume and sea level under a warming climate, will be enhanced by better understanding of past ice sheet responses to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Improved numerical models now exist that allow realistic simulations of Antarctic ice. These models will be developed further and constrained against existing and new field evidence for the Last Glacial Cycle (last 125,000 years), the period for which we can best define past ice sheet behaviour.Read moreRead less
Exposure dating with manganese-53, neon-21 and beryllium-10: a new toolkit for studying long-term landscape evolution. Australia today is the driest inhabited continent but this was not always the case. Tens of millions of years ago the climate of Australia was considerably wetter. Then, several million years ago, aridity in Australia developed producing most of the desert features of the red Centre that we see today. The age of our deserts and other arid features are not, however, well known. T ....Exposure dating with manganese-53, neon-21 and beryllium-10: a new toolkit for studying long-term landscape evolution. Australia today is the driest inhabited continent but this was not always the case. Tens of millions of years ago the climate of Australia was considerably wetter. Then, several million years ago, aridity in Australia developed producing most of the desert features of the red Centre that we see today. The age of our deserts and other arid features are not, however, well known. This project will determine the age of desertification in Australia, thereby enhancing our understanding of such processes and the response of our landscape to changing climate.
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Sediment stock-piling and the fate of Australian floodplains. Historic landuse practices have profoundly altered Australia's river systems in less than 200 years. Up to 80% of the sediment and associated pollutants eroded from Australia's catchments are stored in floodplains. The assumption that floodplains can continue to absorb the impacts of upland erosion and land degradation is extremely risky, yet it underpins current catchment management policies in Australia. This project delivers essent ....Sediment stock-piling and the fate of Australian floodplains. Historic landuse practices have profoundly altered Australia's river systems in less than 200 years. Up to 80% of the sediment and associated pollutants eroded from Australia's catchments are stored in floodplains. The assumption that floodplains can continue to absorb the impacts of upland erosion and land degradation is extremely risky, yet it underpins current catchment management policies in Australia. This project delivers essential data on floodplain storage and remobilisation rates using innovative sediment dating and tracing technologies. The significance of this research lies in its immediate relevance to rural industries and the management of Australian riverine and offshore ecosystems.
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Testing the Australian Megatsunami Hypothesis. More than 300000 lives and property worth more than $150bn on the NSW coast are vulnerable to large tsunamis but at present we do not have a clear idea about how often such tsunamis occur and how big they might be. This project will identify and date evidence for past tsunamis on the coasts of NSW and west New Zealand which will help us understand regional tsunami risk. This will provide knowledge that will guide tsunami risk management practice in ....Testing the Australian Megatsunami Hypothesis. More than 300000 lives and property worth more than $150bn on the NSW coast are vulnerable to large tsunamis but at present we do not have a clear idea about how often such tsunamis occur and how big they might be. This project will identify and date evidence for past tsunamis on the coasts of NSW and west New Zealand which will help us understand regional tsunami risk. This will provide knowledge that will guide tsunami risk management practice in vulnerable areas of NSW and help underpin the developing Australian Tsunami Warning System. Read moreRead less
Palaeoclimate reconstruction in northwestern China. Records of climatic change between semi-arid regions of the two large continents, China and Australia, provide invaluable data on the manner in which the globe has responded to past environmental changes. Such reconstructions impose constraints on possible patterns of future change.
The visit by an established researcher in Prof. Sun Jiamin will provide new data (including new dates) on the evolution of lakes and dunefields in China, and on ....Palaeoclimate reconstruction in northwestern China. Records of climatic change between semi-arid regions of the two large continents, China and Australia, provide invaluable data on the manner in which the globe has responded to past environmental changes. Such reconstructions impose constraints on possible patterns of future change.
The visit by an established researcher in Prof. Sun Jiamin will provide new data (including new dates) on the evolution of lakes and dunefields in China, and on the climatic conditions which controlled them. The visit builds on and extends the established links between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and staff in the Melbourne University, School of Earth Sciences.
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Sea-level change in the Australasian region during the past 6000 years: Understanding the past to predict the future. Interactions of climate, ice, oceans, and solid earth result in complex variations sea level in time and space. This proposal develops a predictive understanding of this change through an interdisciplinary integration of geophysical theory and geologic observations. Focus is on the Australian area and on the present interglacial but the outcomes will be placed in a global frame. ....Sea-level change in the Australasian region during the past 6000 years: Understanding the past to predict the future. Interactions of climate, ice, oceans, and solid earth result in complex variations sea level in time and space. This proposal develops a predictive understanding of this change through an interdisciplinary integration of geophysical theory and geologic observations. Focus is on the Australian area and on the present interglacial but the outcomes will be placed in a global frame. Outcomes will include estimates of rates and amplitudes of sea-level change, of changes in ice volume, of land movements from isostatic and tectonic causes. It also provides the framework necessary for separating natural change from anthropogenic change during the recent past and for predicting future regional and global sea-level change on a century time scale.Read moreRead less
Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between val ....Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between valley incision and lateral expansion processes along river courses. Understanding controls on these rivers is critical in determining how they modify their form in response to various disturbance events (whether 'natural' of human-induced). Results will provide a rigorous basis with which to explain cross-catchment variability in river forms and processes, aiding our capacity to predict future adjustments to disturbance and develop river management strategies that 'work with nature'.Read moreRead less
Predicting the Past: Time, Landscape and Indigenous Australian History. Three major benefits accrue from our study of the distribution of Australian Aboriginal archaeology. Because we emphasise changes in the nature of this record through time and across space, we allow for the development of a richer Aboriginal history. Our concern with studying not only why the record is preserved in some places but also why it is absent from others allows for an improved assessment of archaeological significa ....Predicting the Past: Time, Landscape and Indigenous Australian History. Three major benefits accrue from our study of the distribution of Australian Aboriginal archaeology. Because we emphasise changes in the nature of this record through time and across space, we allow for the development of a richer Aboriginal history. Our concern with studying not only why the record is preserved in some places but also why it is absent from others allows for an improved assessment of archaeological significance and hence better management of Aboriginal material culture. Finally, we emphasise the dynamic nature of human-environment interactions demonstrating that in the past as in the present neither culture nor nature can be seen as predominant.Read moreRead less
Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. ....Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. Restoring hydrological connectivity is vital for replenishing groundwater storage and increasing base flows that affect fundamental riverine processes. Using an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, our project unites multidisciplinary scientific and industry expertise to investigate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of secondary floodplain channels and in-stream structures on riverine groundwater processes.Read moreRead less