Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme ope ....Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme operation, the largest in the country. Expected outcomes include ground-breaking management plans for the aquifer-replenishment scheme. Anticipated benefits involve balancing the needs of agriculture and the protection of pristine environments, including groundwater discharge to the Great Barrier Reef.
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Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will appl ....Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will apply novel hydrogeophysical and hydrochemical methods, and computer modelling, to investigate the source aquifer of, and fate of discharge from the Doongmabulla Springs Complex (DSC), located in an area of future development. Project results will inform spring vulnerability to development pressures and climate effects.Read moreRead less
ARC Molecular and Materials Structure Research Network. The Network will build powerful e-Science resources for the structural sciences. Collaborative remote access will be developed for sophisticated instrumentation, including instruments planned for the Replacement Research Reactor and Australian Synchrotron. A structure database service with cross disciplinary content and versatile visualisation and analysis capabilities will further exemplify smart information use. The internet services will ....ARC Molecular and Materials Structure Research Network. The Network will build powerful e-Science resources for the structural sciences. Collaborative remote access will be developed for sophisticated instrumentation, including instruments planned for the Replacement Research Reactor and Australian Synchrotron. A structure database service with cross disciplinary content and versatile visualisation and analysis capabilities will further exemplify smart information use. The internet services will ultimately harness the Grid, enabling linkage into other national and international Grid systems. Encompassing physics, computer science, applied mathematics, chemistry and biochemistry, and catalysing interaction across these disciplines, the MMSN will impact all five National Research Priority 3 goals.Read moreRead less