Archaeology and natural history. This project aims to provide critical new information on the archaeology and natural history of one of the world’s largest unregulated desert river systems. Mithaka country incorporates the highly significant Channel Country on the eastern edge of Australia's arid centre. Preliminary research has identified more than 70 large site complexes that provide critical insights on how the Mithaka people adapted to this unique environment and took part in Australia's mos ....Archaeology and natural history. This project aims to provide critical new information on the archaeology and natural history of one of the world’s largest unregulated desert river systems. Mithaka country incorporates the highly significant Channel Country on the eastern edge of Australia's arid centre. Preliminary research has identified more than 70 large site complexes that provide critical insights on how the Mithaka people adapted to this unique environment and took part in Australia's most extensive long distance trade systems. The project will study the archaeological landscape, artefacts and an extensive in-situ skeletal record in the context of a detailed palaeoenvironmental study. It will provide a new cultural-environmental history of this landscape and provide the Mithaka with multiple strands of connection to their ancestral land and culture and support their aspirations to create employment through rangers programs, education and cultural tourism.Read moreRead less
To what extent does fire affect karst processes? Burning questions for fire management. Fire management is of crucial importance for both asset protection and ecosystem management. However, the effects of fire in karst systems is poorly understood. This project will undertake experiments to determine the effects of fire on surface and subsurface processes, including stalagmite formation, that can be used to improve fire management policy.
Enhancing cultural heritage management for mining operations: a multi-disciplinary approach. This project will apply a multi-disciplinary, research-based focus to cultural heritage management on mining leases in the Cape York region. It will improve relations between the mine operators and Indigenous Traditional Owners and allow them to strengthen connections with the past, while at the same time providing an enduring legacy for future generations.
Landscape evolution, environmental change and human occupation history of Lake George - an outstanding natural archive. This project will study the environmental and human history of Lake George, where sand and gravel are mined to supply the Canberra region's construction industry. The project will investigate past vegetation and climate changes, lake level fluctuations, groundwater flow, sediment deposition, archaeology and sustainable resource management outcomes.
From ancient to modern environments in southeastern Australia: evidence from the unique natural archives of Lake George. Lake George is an outstanding natural archive - it contains the longest continuous sedimentary record of any Australian lake and has a long, unresolved human occupation history. It also supplies 80 per cent of sand used in the Canberra region construction industry. This multidisciplinary study aims to determine the sedimentary, vegetation, climatic, hydrological, tectonic and ....From ancient to modern environments in southeastern Australia: evidence from the unique natural archives of Lake George. Lake George is an outstanding natural archive - it contains the longest continuous sedimentary record of any Australian lake and has a long, unresolved human occupation history. It also supplies 80 per cent of sand used in the Canberra region construction industry. This multidisciplinary study aims to determine the sedimentary, vegetation, climatic, hydrological, tectonic and archaeological history of the area, including application of cutting-edge dating methods. Project outcomes aim to increase knowledge of landscape evolution and human history in eastern Australia from an improved understanding of the responses of Lake George to past and future climate change and human impact, as well as optimising sustainable extraction of sand and gravel.Read moreRead less
New tools to decipher, predict and manage pacific oyster mortality episodes. This project aims to unite cutting-edge genomic and molecular biological tools with novel quantitative modelling analyses to identify the mechanisms behind oyster disease events. Oyster farming contributes almost $100 million to the Australian economy each year and is a cornerstone of coastal communities, but has been decimated by diseases that threaten this important primary industry. While some causative pathogens hav ....New tools to decipher, predict and manage pacific oyster mortality episodes. This project aims to unite cutting-edge genomic and molecular biological tools with novel quantitative modelling analyses to identify the mechanisms behind oyster disease events. Oyster farming contributes almost $100 million to the Australian economy each year and is a cornerstone of coastal communities, but has been decimated by diseases that threaten this important primary industry. While some causative pathogens have been identified, the environmental catalysts of oyster disease remain a mystery. The expected outcome of this project is an innovative coupling of tools that provides new capacity to forecast disease events, delivering the Australian oyster industry a powerful platform to predict, manage and prevent costly disease outbreaks. By identifying environmental thresholds and oyster disease danger periods, an expected outcome of this project is the development of new oyster farming strategies aimed at avoiding multi-million dollar losses associated with disease outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Exploiting natural processes to effectively remediate acidified coastal environments. Working with local government, industry and communities, this project aims to identify how natural processes can best be manipulated to limit acid sulfate soil discharge in many Australian estuaries. The expected outcomes are systematic remediation of these areas and improvement in estuarine water quality.
Remediation of groundwater using permeable reactive barriers. Permeable reactive barriers are passive subsurface installations that remove contamination from groundwater as it flows through a reactive substrate. This project will develop new permeable reactive barriers that will benefit the nation by building skills and knowledge in an area of growth in Australian industry, namely the rehabilitation of industrial lands and the protection and remediation of Australia's critical groundwater source ....Remediation of groundwater using permeable reactive barriers. Permeable reactive barriers are passive subsurface installations that remove contamination from groundwater as it flows through a reactive substrate. This project will develop new permeable reactive barriers that will benefit the nation by building skills and knowledge in an area of growth in Australian industry, namely the rehabilitation of industrial lands and the protection and remediation of Australia's critical groundwater sources. The project is aimed at remediating an industrially contaminated site in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, thereby contributing to the environmental improvement of that region. The technology developed will have wide application to other sites, both nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in estuaries. The aim of this project is to understand and quantify the factors controlling the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from estuaries. Coastal systems play a disproportionately large role in the global emissions of greenhouse gases, but this is poorly quantified. The project plans to use a combination of continuous concentration and stable isotope measurements, process measurements and advanced numerical modelling ....Unravelling the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in estuaries. The aim of this project is to understand and quantify the factors controlling the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from estuaries. Coastal systems play a disproportionately large role in the global emissions of greenhouse gases, but this is poorly quantified. The project plans to use a combination of continuous concentration and stable isotope measurements, process measurements and advanced numerical modelling across a range of undisturbed to disturbed systems. It is intended that this project will provide information for conceptualising, calibrating and verifying models, including green-house gas production. Good models, and the data that support them, such as that provided by this study, are critical for the efficient allocation of management resources in Australian coastal systems, including by our partners. The findings from this project will have direct implications to the management, rehabilitation and protection of waterways (including biodiversity) in Australia.Read moreRead less