PAST EAST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET AND GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL VARIATIONS. Unique fossil-bearing, open marine sediments occur inland from the modern Antarctic coastline. These were deposited when a now-glaciated Antarctic basin became a marine embayment, during intervals of significantly reduced ice sheet volume and elevated global sea-level in the past. Urgent palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical research on these sediments are vital to provide: directly datable in situ evidence for major i ....PAST EAST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET AND GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL VARIATIONS. Unique fossil-bearing, open marine sediments occur inland from the modern Antarctic coastline. These were deposited when a now-glaciated Antarctic basin became a marine embayment, during intervals of significantly reduced ice sheet volume and elevated global sea-level in the past. Urgent palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical research on these sediments are vital to provide: directly datable in situ evidence for major ice sheet retreat and global sea-level rise in the past; and quantifiable data concerning the environment during such events; an innovative opportunity to improve predictions of Antarctica's response to global warming and answer international debate about past Antarctic Ice Sheet stability.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100376
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,339.00
Summary
The role of mantle plumes in driving plate tectonics and continental margin evolution. Plumes of molten rock rise from deep within the Earth resulting in massive surface eruptions that can lead to global mass extinction events. Despite their size, the role plumes play in driving movements of the continents is poorly understood. This project combines independent global and Australian geological and geophysical data with open software systems to link deep Earth and surface geological processes. Th ....The role of mantle plumes in driving plate tectonics and continental margin evolution. Plumes of molten rock rise from deep within the Earth resulting in massive surface eruptions that can lead to global mass extinction events. Despite their size, the role plumes play in driving movements of the continents is poorly understood. This project combines independent global and Australian geological and geophysical data with open software systems to link deep Earth and surface geological processes. This approach will result in a clearer understanding of how the internal workings of our planet drive, and interact with, surface geological processes. The project will also show how these interactions shape the environmentally important, and resources rich, continental margins and ocean basins.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882854
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) will provide high-leverage access to the largest, and most effective international geoscience program.
Results from drilling within Australia's marine jurisdiction will give understanding of the oceans' state under past climates through high resolution records of the range of oceanographic and biological responses to climate change, the role of the deep biosphere in shapin ....Australian Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) will provide high-leverage access to the largest, and most effective international geoscience program.
Results from drilling within Australia's marine jurisdiction will give understanding of the oceans' state under past climates through high resolution records of the range of oceanographic and biological responses to climate change, the role of the deep biosphere in shaping oil and gas deposits, hydrothermal and igneous processes involved in ore genesis, and enhanced understanding of some of the world's largest earthquake- and tsunami-generating processes.
Read moreRead less
Advanced matrix-analytic methods with applications. Over the last twenty-five years, matrix-analytic methods have proved to be very successful in formulating and analysing certain classes of stochastic models. Motivated by applications, this project will investigate more advanced matrix-analytic methods than have hitherto been studied.
Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributi ....Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributions specifically and fiscal federalism more generally, the project aims to develop a reform blueprint for a sustainable and equitable fiscal federalism regime in Australia that best aligns with Australia’s current and long-term fiscal needs.Read moreRead less
Identification Of Glaucoma Susceptibility Variants By Exome Sequencing In Extended Pedigrees Showing Prior Evidence Of Gene Segregation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$694,002.00
Summary
Primary open angle glaucoma is a chronic eye disease and one of the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. This study will use cutting-edge genetic methods to look at the entire coding component of the human genome (exome) in 271 individuals from large glaucoma families. Our previous studies have shown that these families carry genetic variants that increase disease risk. In this investigation we aim to identify these genes, with the hope they may offer novel targets for tr ....Primary open angle glaucoma is a chronic eye disease and one of the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. This study will use cutting-edge genetic methods to look at the entire coding component of the human genome (exome) in 271 individuals from large glaucoma families. Our previous studies have shown that these families carry genetic variants that increase disease risk. In this investigation we aim to identify these genes, with the hope they may offer novel targets for treatment or diagnosis.Read moreRead less
Change Detection in Causal Relationships and Measurement of Systemic Risk. Empirical measures of interconnectedness between financial institutions based on tests of Granger causality are currently used in detecting systemic risk. However, researchers need to define periods of calm and stress exogenously in order to implement these tests appropriately. This project aims to develop a new procedure to identify changes in causal relationships and the timing of these changes. The new approach has the ....Change Detection in Causal Relationships and Measurement of Systemic Risk. Empirical measures of interconnectedness between financial institutions based on tests of Granger causality are currently used in detecting systemic risk. However, researchers need to define periods of calm and stress exogenously in order to implement these tests appropriately. This project aims to develop a new procedure to identify changes in causal relationships and the timing of these changes. The new approach has the potential to be a significant improvement in the real-time identification of emerging turmoil in financial markets and provide an improved method for the detection of systemic risk. The new test procedure will be implemented using data for financial and non-financial institutions across Europe, the US and Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100692
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,842.00
Summary
Stopping in the Real World: Cognitive Architectures for Selective Stopping. Response inhibition is the ability to stop actions that are in progress but become no longer appropriate, such as halting an order to launch a missile strike when a civilian vehicle is detected. The project focuses on people’s ability to either stop all planned actions or selectively stop some actions while allowing others to occur. The goal is to develop methodology to reliably measure the time it takes to stop actions, ....Stopping in the Real World: Cognitive Architectures for Selective Stopping. Response inhibition is the ability to stop actions that are in progress but become no longer appropriate, such as halting an order to launch a missile strike when a civilian vehicle is detected. The project focuses on people’s ability to either stop all planned actions or selectively stop some actions while allowing others to occur. The goal is to develop methodology to reliably measure the time it takes to stop actions, investigate the psychological mechanisms involved in stopping, and develop tools for defence-related personnel and job selection. The project provides significant benefits by enabling the study of how response inhibition ensures that appropriate actions occur and how failures of inhibition result in inappropriate actions. Read moreRead less
How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and polici ....How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and policies in Australia and the UK. Expected outcomes include best practice recommendations for government - about how to address memory loss to improve public policy - and novel academic findings about how institutional memory influences the character of public service delivery, lesson-learning and long-term reform.Read moreRead less
Tectonic geography of the world's oldest petroleum play, the McArthur Basin. This projects aims to develop a 4D tectonic geography framework to support the effective exploration of the McArthur Basin. This project will construct this by a) investigating the evolving tectonic setting, b) examining intra-basin correlations and trace the source to sink sediment provenance, c) unraveling the depositional geography using novel isotopic proxies, and, d) constructing the subsequent thermal history of ....Tectonic geography of the world's oldest petroleum play, the McArthur Basin. This projects aims to develop a 4D tectonic geography framework to support the effective exploration of the McArthur Basin. This project will construct this by a) investigating the evolving tectonic setting, b) examining intra-basin correlations and trace the source to sink sediment provenance, c) unraveling the depositional geography using novel isotopic proxies, and, d) constructing the subsequent thermal history of the basin. The techniques developed through this project will de-risk the exploration for petroleum in this basin, and be applicable in opening up Proterozoic petroleum elsewhere in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less