A Cost-Effective System for Monitoring Lightning Strikes Across Australasia. Lightning causes many major fires in Australia, and rural fire managers would benefit from access to lighting data. Lightning data have been prohibitively expensive because acquiring them requires a dense monitoring network. Low Frequency Electromagnetic Research Ltd (LF*EM) has developed an alternative, cost-effective technology for monitoring lightning based on a sparse network of stations monitoring VLF radiation. We ....A Cost-Effective System for Monitoring Lightning Strikes Across Australasia. Lightning causes many major fires in Australia, and rural fire managers would benefit from access to lighting data. Lightning data have been prohibitively expensive because acquiring them requires a dense monitoring network. Low Frequency Electromagnetic Research Ltd (LF*EM) has developed an alternative, cost-effective technology for monitoring lightning based on a sparse network of stations monitoring VLF radiation. We propose to translate LF*EM's basic science results into a product that can deliver lightning data to fire managers and other users across Oceania.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354620
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Nature, culture and the challenges of environmental sustainability: bridging the science/humanities divide. Australian science currently receives considerable funding for excellent research on environmental issues. There is also significant investment in Humanities and Social Science research on Australian environmental attitudes and practices, and how these change. This proposal seeks to link the largely separate research conversations of the two traditions. We will coordinate interactions betw ....Nature, culture and the challenges of environmental sustainability: bridging the science/humanities divide. Australian science currently receives considerable funding for excellent research on environmental issues. There is also significant investment in Humanities and Social Science research on Australian environmental attitudes and practices, and how these change. This proposal seeks to link the largely separate research conversations of the two traditions. We will coordinate interactions between HSS scholars, often working as individuals, and establish links that bridge the Science/Humanities divide to produce better environmental research outcomes for Australia. The network will add value to existing investments, enhance the international significance of Australian research and foster the next generation of interdisciplinary scholars.Read moreRead less
Remediation of Underground Contaminant Source Areas using Nano-scale, Zero Valent Iron and Potassium Permanganate. Land in parts of Australia valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars is currently contaminated by organic compounds to levels unsuitable for human health and safety . At many of these contaminated sites, the contamination is present as pure, separate phase oil that is trapped due to geology or other physical reasons. This remaining oil is a long term source of contamination, a ....Remediation of Underground Contaminant Source Areas using Nano-scale, Zero Valent Iron and Potassium Permanganate. Land in parts of Australia valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars is currently contaminated by organic compounds to levels unsuitable for human health and safety . At many of these contaminated sites, the contamination is present as pure, separate phase oil that is trapped due to geology or other physical reasons. This remaining oil is a long term source of contamination, and is exceptionally difficult to remediate. The proposed research will investigate a novel and highly effective approach to destroying this contamination in the ground, helping to restore the value and utility of the land.Read moreRead less
Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental que ....Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental questions in conservation, including what are the factors that make species geographically rare, which species are most at risk for climate change, and what are the factors that have led habitats like the Kwongan Heath and Fynbos to be so exceptionally biodiverse.Read moreRead less
Production, Fate and Transport of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Waterways. Australian waterways are under severe pressure from both large variation in precipitation patterns and various sources of contamination. In particular, the management of algal blooms costs Australians hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Through the use of a unique approach this project will provide the necessary information for a science based decision making strategies to eradicate, as much as possible, algal blooms and ....Production, Fate and Transport of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Waterways. Australian waterways are under severe pressure from both large variation in precipitation patterns and various sources of contamination. In particular, the management of algal blooms costs Australians hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Through the use of a unique approach this project will provide the necessary information for a science based decision making strategies to eradicate, as much as possible, algal blooms and to reduce the risk of severe injuries to the public, livestock and the environment, resulting from contamination waterways by algal toxins. Read moreRead less
A HYBRID INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE TREATMENT AND POWER GENERATION. The management of solid wastes is a major global environmental issue and the current practice of landfilling is not a sustainable solution. Biogasification of the organic fraction provides not only a means of waste treatment but also generates a source of energy in the form methane but current technologies are expensive due to the long degradation times. In this project we investigate an innovative waste tr ....A HYBRID INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE TREATMENT AND POWER GENERATION. The management of solid wastes is a major global environmental issue and the current practice of landfilling is not a sustainable solution. Biogasification of the organic fraction provides not only a means of waste treatment but also generates a source of energy in the form methane but current technologies are expensive due to the long degradation times. In this project we investigate an innovative waste treatment system that will cut down the time required for processing wastes by a factor of 10 with considerable economic benefit. We will optimise the integration of this treatment system with a hybrid power generation system that utilises other renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy to deliver quality power at minimal cost.Read moreRead less
Mitigation of Impacts on Groundwater Dependent Vegetation Through Adaptive Abstraction Regimes. Apart from loss of habitat, biodiversity, ecological function and aesthetics, tree decline and death is a financial burden to land managers. Lost groundwater production from existing borefield infrastructure due to environmental risk also represents a significant economic loss to industry. By adapting borefield operation strategies to be more sympathetic to environmental demands for groundwater, susta ....Mitigation of Impacts on Groundwater Dependent Vegetation Through Adaptive Abstraction Regimes. Apart from loss of habitat, biodiversity, ecological function and aesthetics, tree decline and death is a financial burden to land managers. Lost groundwater production from existing borefield infrastructure due to environmental risk also represents a significant economic loss to industry. By adapting borefield operation strategies to be more sympathetic to environmental demands for groundwater, sustainable use of the resource can be maximized under otherwise 'high-risk' scenarios. This project will result in environmental benefits such as reduced impacts of borefields and economic benefits such as recovery of lost production from 'high-risk' borefields, increased viability of planned schemes and reduced customer cost of water services.Read moreRead less