Establishing the reference frame using astronomical and space-geodetic observations. Australia is increasingly dependent on spatial positioning and spatial data, yet mostly relies upon international agencies and research organisations to provide regular updates of coordinates and reference frame definition used on Earth. Improving the accuracy of the reference frame definition and our understanding of errors in the space-based measurements will provide new insights for studies of the Earth. The ....Establishing the reference frame using astronomical and space-geodetic observations. Australia is increasingly dependent on spatial positioning and spatial data, yet mostly relies upon international agencies and research organisations to provide regular updates of coordinates and reference frame definition used on Earth. Improving the accuracy of the reference frame definition and our understanding of errors in the space-based measurements will provide new insights for studies of the Earth. The research will yield results in studies of national significance, such as sea level rise, the effects of melting polar regions, and crustal deformation, as well as developing Australia's expertise in exploiting observations of the Earth from space.Read moreRead less
Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that ar ....Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that are locked into these sediments. We will concentrate on the Southern Ocean which plays a crucial role in the world's climate. This proposal will also contribute to Australia's international obligation to conduct research in this critical area.Read moreRead less
A fundamental study of electronic transport in advanced semiconductor nanostructures. The principal aim of this project is to attract and retain very high calibre early career researchers by providing them with the best-available infrastructure and research environment, combined with world-class supervision and mentoring. The project brings together an outstanding team of international collaborators, who will work with the early career researchers to ensure that they are trained and mentored at ....A fundamental study of electronic transport in advanced semiconductor nanostructures. The principal aim of this project is to attract and retain very high calibre early career researchers by providing them with the best-available infrastructure and research environment, combined with world-class supervision and mentoring. The project brings together an outstanding team of international collaborators, who will work with the early career researchers to ensure that they are trained and mentored at an international level. The new science, novel characterisation methods, and theoretical models that are outcomes of this project will provide new opportunities and expertise to advance the strategic defence and national security interests of Australia, and the emerging Australian semiconductor device and solar cell industry. Read moreRead less
Geophysical, Galactic, and Extra-Galactic Science with the AuScope and Australian Pathfinder Arrays. Two new radio telescope arrays are under construction in Australia. One is the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, near Geraldton. The other is a very long baseline array with antennae near Hobart, Katherine, and Yarragadee. These three antennae work together to observe radio sources far away across the universe. Their observations are used to establish a very accurate coordinate syste ....Geophysical, Galactic, and Extra-Galactic Science with the AuScope and Australian Pathfinder Arrays. Two new radio telescope arrays are under construction in Australia. One is the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, near Geraldton. The other is a very long baseline array with antennae near Hobart, Katherine, and Yarragadee. These three antennae work together to observe radio sources far away across the universe. Their observations are used to establish a very accurate coordinate system or reference frame on the earth, to which the global positioning system is aligned. This program will use these new radio telescope arrays to study the Milky Way and other galaxies, and to study continental drift and sea-level rise on the Earth.Read moreRead less
Accretion and Feedback in Galaxies with Cosmic Time. Australia is a world leader in both astronomy and photonics. This proposal seeks to exploit a revolutionary device that is the first developed from the new cross-over field of astrophotonics. The Gemini Near-infrared OH Suppression IFU System (GNOSIS) instrument will showcase Australian industry development in optical fibres and will keep Australian astronomers at the forefront of international research. This will lead to major advantages wh ....Accretion and Feedback in Galaxies with Cosmic Time. Australia is a world leader in both astronomy and photonics. This proposal seeks to exploit a revolutionary device that is the first developed from the new cross-over field of astrophotonics. The Gemini Near-infrared OH Suppression IFU System (GNOSIS) instrument will showcase Australian industry development in optical fibres and will keep Australian astronomers at the forefront of international research. This will lead to major advantages when developing future instrumentation for next generation telescopes such at the Giant Magellan Telescope, enabling Australia to continue to lead astronomy and astronomical instrumentation into the next decade and beyond.Read moreRead less
Australia Surveys the Galaxies: The Central Role of Environment. The success of Australia's premier astronomical facilities is critical to the development of Australian astronomy in the 21st century. Understanding how galaxies grow and evolve (including our Milky Way) is one of the principal goals of these facilities. This program aims to understand galaxy evolution, by exploring the connection between galaxies and their environments. The Super Science Fellows will gain new insights into the lon ....Australia Surveys the Galaxies: The Central Role of Environment. The success of Australia's premier astronomical facilities is critical to the development of Australian astronomy in the 21st century. Understanding how galaxies grow and evolve (including our Milky Way) is one of the principal goals of these facilities. This program aims to understand galaxy evolution, by exploring the connection between galaxies and their environments. The Super Science Fellows will gain new insights into the longstanding problem of galaxy evolution, and build upon Australia's investment in 21st century astrophysics.Read moreRead less
Neutral Hydrogen in the Universe. This proposal will improve our understanding of the origin and continuing evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way. It will do so by using powerful new telescopes such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), being constructed by CSIRO in Western Australia, and new supercomputers to be provided by the new Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Science in Perth. Combined with expertise in areas of astroph ....Neutral Hydrogen in the Universe. This proposal will improve our understanding of the origin and continuing evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way. It will do so by using powerful new telescopes such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), being constructed by CSIRO in Western Australia, and new supercomputers to be provided by the new Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Science in Perth. Combined with expertise in areas of astrophysics and information technology, the research outlined in this proposal will further advance the case for Australia's bid to host the SKA by establishing a strong community of scientists capable of developing the science and Information and Communication Technologies components for one of the SKA's most important goals.Read moreRead less
Exploiting the discovery of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies in the southern hemisphere sky. The scientific exploitation of newly discovered southern hemisphere ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxies will make Australia a leader in this rapidly developing research field. It will be enabled by access to national and international telescope facilities such as the Anglo- Australian Telescope (AAT), Gemini and Magellan, and by access to national computing resources for theoretical simulations. National ....Exploiting the discovery of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies in the southern hemisphere sky. The scientific exploitation of newly discovered southern hemisphere ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxies will make Australia a leader in this rapidly developing research field. It will be enabled by access to national and international telescope facilities such as the Anglo- Australian Telescope (AAT), Gemini and Magellan, and by access to national computing resources for theoretical simulations. National benefit will also flow from collaborations between the team and its Super Science Fellows and researchers at overseas institutions. Results from the project will motivate research programs for the coming era of extremely large telescopes and will position the Fellows as potential future leaders in the exploiting the scientific potential of those facilities.Read moreRead less
The Galaxy Genome Project 2. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage ac ....The Galaxy Genome Project 2. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage access for Australian researchers in other leading international astronomical surveys and facilities. The project will also increase the international profile of Australian astronomy and enhance the prospects of Australian scientific and technical involvement in next-generation astronomical facilities such as Square Kilometre Array and Giant Magellan Telescope.Read moreRead less
The Galaxy Genome Project 1. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments an ....The Galaxy Genome Project 1. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage access for Australian researchers in other leading international astronomical surveys and facilities. The project will also increase the international profile of Australian astronomy and enhance the prospects of Australian scientific and technical involvement in next-generation astronomical facilities such as Square Kilometre Array and Giant Magellan Telescope.Read moreRead less