Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100185
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$464,531.00
Summary
Mass spectrometry for next generation isotope analysis of silicate minerals. This project aims to establish a facility for mass spectrometry and sample preparation to enhance Australian capacity to analyse the stable isotope composition of silicate minerals. The project seeks to implement innovations that will greatly enhance the use of stable isotopes in silicate minerals by increasing analytical throughput and reducing cost. This will provide better understanding of the trajectories of environ ....Mass spectrometry for next generation isotope analysis of silicate minerals. This project aims to establish a facility for mass spectrometry and sample preparation to enhance Australian capacity to analyse the stable isotope composition of silicate minerals. The project seeks to implement innovations that will greatly enhance the use of stable isotopes in silicate minerals by increasing analytical throughput and reducing cost. This will provide better understanding of the trajectories of environmental change, formation of mineral deposits and identifying trade networks in prehistoric societies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$950,000.00
Summary
The future of palaeoclimate and archaeological research in Australia: next generation instrumentation for chronology and environmental reconstruction. The outcomes of this project will promote a better understanding of Australia's arid continent and its surrounding marine environment, contribute to studies of global climate change, and provide new insights into the response of fragile ecosystems to such events and processes. The project addresses directly the National Research Priority 'Water - ....The future of palaeoclimate and archaeological research in Australia: next generation instrumentation for chronology and environmental reconstruction. The outcomes of this project will promote a better understanding of Australia's arid continent and its surrounding marine environment, contribute to studies of global climate change, and provide new insights into the response of fragile ecosystems to such events and processes. The project addresses directly the National Research Priority 'Water - a critical resource', 'Responding to climate change and variability', 'Overcoming soil loss, salinity and acidity', 'Sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity' and 'Understanding our region and the world'. It provides a consortium-type platform for highly productive collaborative research and training across eight universities and one research organisation in Australia.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883113
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
A stable-isotope mass spectrometer for novel determinations of past temperatures. Much of the Australian landscape is subject to a dry and evaporative climate, making it very difficult to use conventional geochemical techniques to estimate past temperatures, even on short timescales of tens to hundreds of years. The application of a new isotopic technique to preserved carbonate minerals (soil carbonate, shells in rivers, lakes and the ocean) avoids the difficulty of this variable evaporation, an ....A stable-isotope mass spectrometer for novel determinations of past temperatures. Much of the Australian landscape is subject to a dry and evaporative climate, making it very difficult to use conventional geochemical techniques to estimate past temperatures, even on short timescales of tens to hundreds of years. The application of a new isotopic technique to preserved carbonate minerals (soil carbonate, shells in rivers, lakes and the ocean) avoids the difficulty of this variable evaporation, and directly measures past temperatures. This will have a profound effect on our understanding of environmental changes on both short and long time scales, and permit a better understanding of the hydrological balances within the landscape.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,000.00
Summary
Laser ablation multiple split streaming. Laser ablation multiple split streaming: This geochemical facility with an innovative, world-leading micro-analytical capability intends to support research of fundamental and strategic problems at the frontiers of the Earth and Environmental Sciences. The facility aims to allow new insight into the age, composition, thermal history and structure of the Australian continent, as necessary for delineating mineral endowment and for tracing the sources of ore ....Laser ablation multiple split streaming. Laser ablation multiple split streaming: This geochemical facility with an innovative, world-leading micro-analytical capability intends to support research of fundamental and strategic problems at the frontiers of the Earth and Environmental Sciences. The facility aims to allow new insight into the age, composition, thermal history and structure of the Australian continent, as necessary for delineating mineral endowment and for tracing the sources of ore metals. It will provide a higher resolution record of climate and environmental change which will better inform assessment of the impacts, both locally and regionally. It is intended that the facility will amplify national and international scientific collaboration and create unique research opportunities for Australian-based scientists.Read moreRead less
Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and frac ....Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and fractures. This project integrates innovation in geology, chemistry, and mineral engineering, and will deliver mineral-scale reaction models that will increase efficiency of in-situ mining and leaching technologies. Knowledge generated can be applied to improve mineral exploration, mining, and processing, contributing to unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of resources tied up in low grade, mineralogically complex ores.Read moreRead less
Fire and rain: Drivers of deep-time ecosystem assembly in Australia. This project aims to investigate the influence of bushfires and shifting rainfall patterns on the development of Australia’s dominant ecosystems. By combining a range of novel geochemical, isotopic and palaeontological techniques, this research seeks to reveal the causes and consequences of Australia’s transformation from a forested to mainly open landscape of grassland, shrubland and savannah. The expected outcome is detailed ....Fire and rain: Drivers of deep-time ecosystem assembly in Australia. This project aims to investigate the influence of bushfires and shifting rainfall patterns on the development of Australia’s dominant ecosystems. By combining a range of novel geochemical, isotopic and palaeontological techniques, this research seeks to reveal the causes and consequences of Australia’s transformation from a forested to mainly open landscape of grassland, shrubland and savannah. The expected outcome is detailed knowledge of how changes in fire and rain shaped the ecology and evolution of plants and animals. This knowledge is key to understanding how Australian ecosystems function and to protecting their cultural, economic and environmental values, especially as climate and fire regimes continue to change into the future.Read moreRead less