A Fundamental Understanding of Methane Driven Denitrification. Eutrophication in waterways due to the presence of nutrients including nitrogen is a well-recognised environmental problem. Moreton Bay, for example, used to receive 3,300 tons of nitrogen each year from point sources. Stringent nitrogen discharge limits have therefore been imposed on most wastewater treatment systems across Australia. Nitrogen removal from wastewater is commonly accomplished in a biological way involving the use of ....A Fundamental Understanding of Methane Driven Denitrification. Eutrophication in waterways due to the presence of nutrients including nitrogen is a well-recognised environmental problem. Moreton Bay, for example, used to receive 3,300 tons of nitrogen each year from point sources. Stringent nitrogen discharge limits have therefore been imposed on most wastewater treatment systems across Australia. Nitrogen removal from wastewater is commonly accomplished in a biological way involving the use of bacteria. The project aims to investigate a particular bacterial community, which is able to perform nitrogen removal from wastewater with methane as a renewable carbon source. The project will therefore lead to more sustainable wastewater treatment systems.Read moreRead less
Multiphase flow and transport in complex coastal wetland systems. Salt marshes play an essential role in maintaining Australia's coastal bio-diversity. They also function as barriers to fluxes of terrestrial pollutants to our coastal sea. Australia has a large number of salt marshes listed by the Ramsar Convention as coastal wetlands of international importance but many of them are subject to loss and degradation due to competing land uses. This project, examining in detail the flow and transpor ....Multiphase flow and transport in complex coastal wetland systems. Salt marshes play an essential role in maintaining Australia's coastal bio-diversity. They also function as barriers to fluxes of terrestrial pollutants to our coastal sea. Australia has a large number of salt marshes listed by the Ramsar Convention as coastal wetlands of international importance but many of them are subject to loss and degradation due to competing land uses. This project, examining in detail the flow and transport processes in marsh soils, will lead to (1) better understanding of the marsh's response to anthropogenic stress; and (2) improvement of strategies and methods for marsh wetland preservation and restoration.Read moreRead less
Natural convection induced exchange flows between near shore and central regions of reservoirs. Inland discharges into reservoirs often carry rich nutrients, pollutants and biological species into the coastal regions, which are redistributed across the central regions of reservoirs through dynamical mixing processes. One of the important mixing processes is the horizontal exchange flow between the near shore and central regions induced by diurnal heating and cooling through the water surface, wh ....Natural convection induced exchange flows between near shore and central regions of reservoirs. Inland discharges into reservoirs often carry rich nutrients, pollutants and biological species into the coastal regions, which are redistributed across the central regions of reservoirs through dynamical mixing processes. One of the important mixing processes is the horizontal exchange flow between the near shore and central regions induced by diurnal heating and cooling through the water surface, which is classified as a natural convection process. This process will be investigated in this project through a closely linked analytical, experimental and numerical research program. The output from this research will have direct application in water quality management and environmental planning.Read moreRead less
Understanding Fugitive Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Systems for Reliable Accounting and Effective Mitigation. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial reductions in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to GHG emission through not only energy consumption but also direct emissions of fugitive GHG such as methane and nitrous oxide. T ....Understanding Fugitive Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Systems for Reliable Accounting and Effective Mitigation. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial reductions in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to GHG emission through not only energy consumption but also direct emissions of fugitive GHG such as methane and nitrous oxide. This project aims to deliver the urgently needed knowledge and technology support to the Australian wastewater industry to achieve reductions in fugitive emissions. The research will also provide support to the greenhouse office via more reliable estimation of such emissions.Read moreRead less
A novel approach to tracking estuarine food chains: combined use of fatty acid and stable isotope biomarkers. Fatty acid biomarkers provide promising novel tracers for studying estuarine food chains. Stable isotopes, commonly employed in food chain studies, lack specificity to allow easy determination of feeding relationships. Different primary producers are characterised by unique fatty acid sequences. This study will thoroughly evaluate the applicability of fatty acid biomarkers in tracking ....A novel approach to tracking estuarine food chains: combined use of fatty acid and stable isotope biomarkers. Fatty acid biomarkers provide promising novel tracers for studying estuarine food chains. Stable isotopes, commonly employed in food chain studies, lack specificity to allow easy determination of feeding relationships. Different primary producers are characterised by unique fatty acid sequences. This study will thoroughly evaluate the applicability of fatty acid biomarkers in tracking both natural and human-impacted estuarine food chains. By developing a new approach of combining the advantages of fatty acid bioamrkers and stable isotopes in studying estuarine trophodynamics, this study will provide essential information for the management of estuarine biotic resources.Read moreRead less
Modelling of unsteady natural convection in a reservoir sidearm. Horizontal exchange flows induced by daytime heating and night-time cooling through water surface play an important role in the transport of water properties in the shoreline regions of reservoirs. This project is aimed at exploring the driving mechanisms of these flows through a closely linked experimental, numerical and analytical research program. At the completion of this project, significant advance in experimental methodology ....Modelling of unsteady natural convection in a reservoir sidearm. Horizontal exchange flows induced by daytime heating and night-time cooling through water surface play an important role in the transport of water properties in the shoreline regions of reservoirs. This project is aimed at exploring the driving mechanisms of these flows through a closely linked experimental, numerical and analytical research program. At the completion of this project, significant advance in experimental methodology will be achieved, and reliable experimental and theoretical data will be available that can be used to estimate the heat and mass transfer in the coastal regions which is important for water quality management and environmental planning.Read moreRead less
Transport by Natural Convection in Reservoir Sidearms. This project is a first step in developing models of the distribution of water quality parameters in reservoirs by a range of small scale dynamical processes not included in commercial water quality models. Specifically, the project will investigate the transport of suspended materials from the shore to the deeper parts resulting from the interaction of the meteorological forcing and the topography. This will contribute to the development of ....Transport by Natural Convection in Reservoir Sidearms. This project is a first step in developing models of the distribution of water quality parameters in reservoirs by a range of small scale dynamical processes not included in commercial water quality models. Specifically, the project will investigate the transport of suspended materials from the shore to the deeper parts resulting from the interaction of the meteorological forcing and the topography. This will contribute to the development of improved water quality models, and therefore to better management of water quality of Australia's water resources.Read moreRead less
Sustainable farming in Australia: Market instruments for improved land management. Sustainable farming has become a national priority. As climate change and global economic pressures increase the problems facing rural areas, Australian governments have attempted to combine more sustainable land management with a competitive agricultural sector. Several policy instruments using market incentives have been proposed to manage the competing demands of farm viability and environmental sustainability. ....Sustainable farming in Australia: Market instruments for improved land management. Sustainable farming has become a national priority. As climate change and global economic pressures increase the problems facing rural areas, Australian governments have attempted to combine more sustainable land management with a competitive agricultural sector. Several policy instruments using market incentives have been proposed to manage the competing demands of farm viability and environmental sustainability. This project will examine the responses of beef, dairy and grain farmers to these initiatives and their potential for addressing pressing environmental issues. The research will make a vital contribution to the design of policies for the future of farming, resilient rural communities and an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Interactive effects of salinity and nutrients: linking physiological processes with patterns in mangrove forest productivity. The proposed research will provide insight into physiological mechanisms that underpin mangrove productivity along salinity and aridity gradients, and determine how these factors affect plant responses to nutrient enrichment. Plant traits that increase salt and drought tolerance will be identified, thereby assisting development of plant varieties suited to Australian cond ....Interactive effects of salinity and nutrients: linking physiological processes with patterns in mangrove forest productivity. The proposed research will provide insight into physiological mechanisms that underpin mangrove productivity along salinity and aridity gradients, and determine how these factors affect plant responses to nutrient enrichment. Plant traits that increase salt and drought tolerance will be identified, thereby assisting development of plant varieties suited to Australian conditions. The results will also contribute to development of process-based models to better manage mangrove resources with climate change and increasing nutrient influx from urban or agricultural activities. Such models are essential for managing mangrove productivity for sustainable fisheries, and protecting the ecological well being of the coastal zone.Read moreRead less
Water exchange and mixing at the aquifer-ocean interface. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) has been identified by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme as an important contamination source for coastal marine and estuarine environments. Nutrient input associated with SGWD is threatening the Great Barrier Reef. Water exchange driven by tides/waves at the shore contributes to SGWD significantly. However, no data of the water exchange rates exist. This project will measure time-varying g ....Water exchange and mixing at the aquifer-ocean interface. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) has been identified by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme as an important contamination source for coastal marine and estuarine environments. Nutrient input associated with SGWD is threatening the Great Barrier Reef. Water exchange driven by tides/waves at the shore contributes to SGWD significantly. However, no data of the water exchange rates exist. This project will measure time-varying groundwater flow and salinity distribution in the intertidal zone at two beaches to study near-shore water exchange and mixing. These unique data, providing basis for developing SGWD models, will improve the understanding and quantification of subsurface chemical fluxes to coastal waters.Read moreRead less