Spatio-Temporal Statistics and its Application to Remote Sensing. By their very nature, environmental processes involve strong spatial and temporal variability. Inferring cause-effect relationships requires the incorporation of spatial and temporal dependence in the statistical models. The aims of this project are to develop mass-balanced hierarchical spatio-temporal statistical models, new loss functions that are relevant to multivariate processes, and optimal estimators obtained from the hiera ....Spatio-Temporal Statistics and its Application to Remote Sensing. By their very nature, environmental processes involve strong spatial and temporal variability. Inferring cause-effect relationships requires the incorporation of spatial and temporal dependence in the statistical models. The aims of this project are to develop mass-balanced hierarchical spatio-temporal statistical models, new loss functions that are relevant to multivariate processes, and optimal estimators obtained from the hierarchical model's predictive distribution. These methodologies are intended to be applied to the estimation of near-surface fluxes of atmospheric carbon dioxide, using massive remote sensing datasets from satellites and other data sources.Read moreRead less
Maternal contributions to offspring development in a changing climate. This project aims to investigate how maternal contributions to offspring developmental environments affect metabolism, learning, growth, and survival of offspring. This project expects to provide mechanistic and evolutionary insights into how changes in metabolic function, brought about by changes in the developmental environment, contribute to variation in learning and life-history. Expected outcomes include an in-depth unde ....Maternal contributions to offspring development in a changing climate. This project aims to investigate how maternal contributions to offspring developmental environments affect metabolism, learning, growth, and survival of offspring. This project expects to provide mechanistic and evolutionary insights into how changes in metabolic function, brought about by changes in the developmental environment, contribute to variation in learning and life-history. Expected outcomes include an in-depth understanding of how changes in maternal investment and hormones impact offspring developing in different thermal environments and how such changes are mediated by compromised physiological function – providing significant benefits in understanding population persistence in Australia's rapidly changing climate.Read moreRead less
The Total Column Carbon Observing Network in the Southern Hemisphere: constraining our understanding of the carbon cycle and climate. The global carbon cycle and the distribution, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are crucial drivers of climate change. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measures the amounts of greenhouse and other trace gases in the atmosphere by solar remote sensing from the ground with unprecedented accuracy and precision. ....The Total Column Carbon Observing Network in the Southern Hemisphere: constraining our understanding of the carbon cycle and climate. The global carbon cycle and the distribution, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are crucial drivers of climate change. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measures the amounts of greenhouse and other trace gases in the atmosphere by solar remote sensing from the ground with unprecedented accuracy and precision. TCCON data are the "gold standard" for total column measurements and an essential part of greenhouse gas science. They are used to improve knowledge of the carbon cycle and future climate change, both directly and by validating global-scale satellite measurements. This project will continue to expand TCCON in the southern hemisphere and the enhanced scientific understanding it will provide.Read moreRead less
Building a more sustainable city: official and everyday practices of regeneration. By exploring urban regeneration on a city-wide scale, this project will investigate how the urban fabric is changed, by both official large-scale regeneration projects and the everyday practices of households. The research will address critical gaps in our understandings of how cities can be regenerated and how to mobilise transitions to urban sustainability.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100201
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
High-resolution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer for cutting edge geochemistry research. The new-generation laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer is a highly versatile precise analytical instrument for palaeo-environmental, palaeoclimate, archaeological and geochemical studies. With this instrument Australia will continue to lead the way in cutting-edge geoscience research.
Creating a climate for change: from cognition to consensus. Climate change is a significant contemporary issue, and communicating the complexities of the terminology and the data is a major modern challenge. This project will apply principles of cognitive and social psychology to determine the most effective methods for promoting an understanding of the scientific dimensions of the issue. The research is significant because it provides a coherent theoretical framework for identifying the psychol ....Creating a climate for change: from cognition to consensus. Climate change is a significant contemporary issue, and communicating the complexities of the terminology and the data is a major modern challenge. This project will apply principles of cognitive and social psychology to determine the most effective methods for promoting an understanding of the scientific dimensions of the issue. The research is significant because it provides a coherent theoretical framework for identifying the psychological mechanisms underlying cognition and commitment at both an individual and collective level. The outcome will be a body of evidence that will inform strategies and policies for communication of complex scientific questions.Read moreRead less
When the ice melts: a new perspective on the causes of Quaternary glacial terminations. The project will assemble an unprecedented palaeoclimate time series extending back to 1.2 million years ago that will allow marine and ice core records to be placed onto an absolute time scale. This will allow testing of fundamental hypotheses on why the Earth's climate shifts from glacial to interglacial states, with flow-on effects to climate models.
Chemical warfare in the marine environment: the role of surface-associated bacteria and their antibiotics. Antibiotics from natural sources are an essential part of modern medicine, however their function in the environment is poorly understood. This project aims to define how antibiotic-producing bacteria from marine macroalgae determine ecological interactions on the micro- and macro-biological level. This work will combine innovative approaches in microbial and chemical analysis to provide in ....Chemical warfare in the marine environment: the role of surface-associated bacteria and their antibiotics. Antibiotics from natural sources are an essential part of modern medicine, however their function in the environment is poorly understood. This project aims to define how antibiotic-producing bacteria from marine macroalgae determine ecological interactions on the micro- and macro-biological level. This work will combine innovative approaches in microbial and chemical analysis to provide insights into how antibiotics influence microbial communities and how this impacts on macroalgal health. The outcomes of this project will answer the fundamental question of the impact of antibiotics in natural systems and the role of antibiotic-producing bacteria in safeguarding important habitat-forming macroalgae against environmental stress.Read moreRead less
Governing carbon: Australia's cities and carbon control. Two thirds of Australians live in cities. Developing governance systems to control urban carbon is essential to any effective response to climate change. This project will provide, for the first time, a baseline map and analysis of the actors, roles, relationships, and networks that govern carbon in Australia's cities.
Combined strategies to extinguish underground coal fires and to extract geothermal energy. This project addresses two serious environmental issues that occur worldwide. Firstly, it aims to develop strategies to combat underground coal fires which are a serious environmental problem. It has been estimated that underground coal fires in China alone contribute 2 to 3 per cent of the total world output of carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuel. Concentrations of CO2 and CO (carbon monoxide) o ....Combined strategies to extinguish underground coal fires and to extract geothermal energy. This project addresses two serious environmental issues that occur worldwide. Firstly, it aims to develop strategies to combat underground coal fires which are a serious environmental problem. It has been estimated that underground coal fires in China alone contribute 2 to 3 per cent of the total world output of carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuel. Concentrations of CO2 and CO (carbon monoxide) of up to 2200 ppm and 1000 ppm, respectively, have been measured in gases produced by underground coal fires. Secondly, the project is a proof of concept to validate the feasibility of production of geothermal energy from burning coal seams. This aspect has the potential to harvest large amounts of geothermal energy which is currently wasted.Read moreRead less