New multi-scale seed dispersal models for improved regional weed management. This project will exploit recent advances in ecological and atmospheric modelling with the aim to build improved models of seed dispersal across landscapes to anticipate weed spread. Damaging invasive plants are rapidly transforming landscapes and altering ecosystem function worldwide. The speed and direction of weed spread determines the success or failure of costly containment and control actions, however we lack the ....New multi-scale seed dispersal models for improved regional weed management. This project will exploit recent advances in ecological and atmospheric modelling with the aim to build improved models of seed dispersal across landscapes to anticipate weed spread. Damaging invasive plants are rapidly transforming landscapes and altering ecosystem function worldwide. The speed and direction of weed spread determines the success or failure of costly containment and control actions, however we lack the ability to adequately predict spread. New models that combine micrometeorological measurements, within-canopy turbulence and topographic variation in wind flows will be designed to better predict where dispersal will occur. In this project, these improved predictions are planned to be combined with decision models to direct the management of invasive species across entire landscapes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101611
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,040.00
Summary
Snow, shrub and climate feedbacks: impacts of shrub expansion in the Australian alpine zone. This project aims to understand the mechanisms promoting shrub expansion in alpine areas and the consequences of a shrub-dominated landscape in terms of shrubs as hydrological mediators and as biodiversity and ecosystem modifiers. Some shrub species trap wind-blown snow, thereby facilitating seedling survival through soil insulation and increases to meltwater. However, if adaptive and plastic responses t ....Snow, shrub and climate feedbacks: impacts of shrub expansion in the Australian alpine zone. This project aims to understand the mechanisms promoting shrub expansion in alpine areas and the consequences of a shrub-dominated landscape in terms of shrubs as hydrological mediators and as biodiversity and ecosystem modifiers. Some shrub species trap wind-blown snow, thereby facilitating seedling survival through soil insulation and increases to meltwater. However, if adaptive and plastic responses to climate change allows, shrub expansion will have significant negative impacts on alpine biodiversity and ecosystem function. This project will tease apart the interacting effects of snow, recruitment and adaptation to provide models of shrub increase and determine how shrubs modify alpine ecosystem processes and upper catchment hydrology.Read moreRead less
The role of radiation and cosmic rays in galaxy formation. This project aims to solve the enduring question about galaxy formation of why galaxies are so inefficient at turning gas into stars. This project will investigate two possible agents for this inefficiency, the pressures exerted by starlight photons and the relativistic cosmic rays produced by supernovae, using a combination of numerical simulations, basic physical analysis, and comparison to observations. The expected outcome will be a ....The role of radiation and cosmic rays in galaxy formation. This project aims to solve the enduring question about galaxy formation of why galaxies are so inefficient at turning gas into stars. This project will investigate two possible agents for this inefficiency, the pressures exerted by starlight photons and the relativistic cosmic rays produced by supernovae, using a combination of numerical simulations, basic physical analysis, and comparison to observations. The expected outcome will be a greatly improved understanding of the physics of the interaction of radiation and cosmic rays with star-forming interstellar gas. This will help complete the picture of how galaxies like our own came to be, and will provide tools for both future simulations and the interpretation of observations.Read moreRead less
The galactic centre: a laboratory for starburst galaxies. The Milky Way's centre is one of its most captivating regions; here star-formation, and potentially, the region's supermassive black hole, inject enormous amounts of energy and drive a powerful wind of plasma and cosmic rays above the galactic plane. This project will elucidate these processes and help us understand other galactic nuclei.
The Carina Nebula: a massive star factory and the anchor for calibrating extragalactic star formation. Massive stars are vital to the life cycle of a galaxy, providing material and controlling the environment where new stars are made. This project will use the Australia Telescope to map the spectacular Carina Nebula, a hotbed of massive stars, to provide a picture of its stars and gas and a template for understanding star formation in distant galaxies.
Deep-sea observatories for astrophysics - stardust on the ocean floor. This project aims to study the past 10 million years for unique signatures trapped in Earth’s deep ocean archives. It will investigate how and where the heavy elements are made in nature, and if nearby supernovae impacted on Earth. The project will provide a detailed time history of close-by supernova events. The set of radionuclide data can also be utilised for Earth’s climate record. The training included will provide quali ....Deep-sea observatories for astrophysics - stardust on the ocean floor. This project aims to study the past 10 million years for unique signatures trapped in Earth’s deep ocean archives. It will investigate how and where the heavy elements are made in nature, and if nearby supernovae impacted on Earth. The project will provide a detailed time history of close-by supernova events. The set of radionuclide data can also be utilised for Earth’s climate record. The training included will provide qualified researchers for many fields, such as nuclear technology, nonproliferation, medical physics and nuclear safeguards, important for national security, health and economy.Read moreRead less
Precipitation in wintertime storms across southeast Australia, Tasmania and the Southern Ocean. The pristine conditions and strong wind-shear over the Southern Ocean affect the formation of precipitation in clouds over the region, which is vital to the water supply of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. This project will evaluate and improve the ability to simulate this precipitation, which will lead to better water resource management.
Phenotypic plasticity and plant water use in a changing climate: a multi-species, multi-site investigation. Plants are highly responsive to the conditions under which they grow, but the combination of conditions they experience will be altered under climate change. This research into plant responses to the novel environments posed by climate change will examine plasticity in water-use-traits to better predict native plant tolerance of climate change.