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
Plate Wave Tomography for Reconstruction of Laminar Defects. The proposed project promotes a conceptual advance in the application of plate waves for the quantitative reconstruction of laminar defects by investigating fundamental experimental and analytical aspects of a novel approach in plate wave ultrasonic tomography. A successful development will have a comparable significance in the area of health monitoring of thin structures as computer tomography had in medical imaging. Previous attempts ....Plate Wave Tomography for Reconstruction of Laminar Defects. The proposed project promotes a conceptual advance in the application of plate waves for the quantitative reconstruction of laminar defects by investigating fundamental experimental and analytical aspects of a novel approach in plate wave ultrasonic tomography. A successful development will have a comparable significance in the area of health monitoring of thin structures as computer tomography had in medical imaging. Previous attempts have ignored wave scattering effects, and therefore do not describe the correct physics of the problem. With its combined experimental-numerical approach, the proposed fundamental studies will help to identify the potential of plate wave ultrasonic tomography for in-situ health monitoring of realistic structures and smart materials design.Read moreRead less
Tomographic Imaging of Structural Damage in Plates. The potential benefit of structural health monitoring is highlighted by the socio-economic impact of structural failure, which may result in loss of lives, infrastructure disruptions and loss of productivity. This proposal promotes a fundamental advance in the novel concept of ultrasonic diffraction tomography for imaging early stage structural damage in plates. The successful development will represent an essential advance in quantitative non- ....Tomographic Imaging of Structural Damage in Plates. The potential benefit of structural health monitoring is highlighted by the socio-economic impact of structural failure, which may result in loss of lives, infrastructure disruptions and loss of productivity. This proposal promotes a fundamental advance in the novel concept of ultrasonic diffraction tomography for imaging early stage structural damage in plates. The successful development will represent an essential advance in quantitative non-destructive evaluation of thin structures and enable the transition of the technique to realistic structures with all the potential benefits in mechanical and civil infrastructure management resulting in improved safety, reduced maintenance costs and the use of more efficient structural designs.Read moreRead less
The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of co ....The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of contaminants in various mixtures of biosolids and flyash materials, in the absence and presence of soil minerals, and soil ameliorants such as fertilizers and gypsum.Read moreRead less
Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enha ....Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enhancing plant survival during water stress. This will be tested for Australian native and non-native hyperaccumulator plants. The study will clarify our understanding of the evolutionary significance of hyperaccumulation, and has important applications for extracting metals from contaminated soils.Read moreRead less
Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage ....Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage sensing and telecommunications will be explored.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
The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project ....The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project will investigate the various conceptions of naturalism, looking at both their motivations and their implications for philosophy and scientific and mathematical methodology.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effec ....Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effectiveness. This model will be validated using new and existing data sources, including both controlled experiments and field data obtained in Australia and overseas. A user friendly version of the model will be developed for farm managers and advisory services as a design tool.Read moreRead less
Causes that make a difference: A philosophical theory of token-causation. Discussions of causation in philosophy and other disciplines raise matters of practical concern: for example, about how to improve causal explanations in economics, how to devise better ways of testing causal hypotheses in medicine, and how to automate procedures for discovering causal relations in agriculture. By clarifying the structure of causal concepts, the project will help in the efforts to address these problems, a ....Causes that make a difference: A philosophical theory of token-causation. Discussions of causation in philosophy and other disciplines raise matters of practical concern: for example, about how to improve causal explanations in economics, how to devise better ways of testing causal hypotheses in medicine, and how to automate procedures for discovering causal relations in agriculture. By clarifying the structure of causal concepts, the project will help in the efforts to address these problems, and so contribute indirectly to the national benefits that will accrue from solving them. A central aim of the project is to train several PhD students, the next generation of researchers, in this important field of enquiry.Read moreRead less