Long range interactions of atoms. Atomic physics is often described as both a basic and enabling discipline and the present project on long range atomic interactions fits within both of those categories. The results of the project will lead to a more thorough understanding of the details of long range atom-atom interactions. This will lead to Australian expertise making a significant contribution in a number of cutting edge areas in atomic and molecular physics.
Application of variational methods in atomic and molecular physics. Atmoic physics is both a basic an enabling science and this project will improve fundamental knowledge about the interactions of electrons and positrons with atoms and molecules. Research will be directly relevant to the activities of the National Positron Beam-Line (located at the Australian National University) which is directed to break-through research in matter-antimatter interactions and materials characterisation.
....Application of variational methods in atomic and molecular physics. Atmoic physics is both a basic an enabling science and this project will improve fundamental knowledge about the interactions of electrons and positrons with atoms and molecules. Research will be directly relevant to the activities of the National Positron Beam-Line (located at the Australian National University) which is directed to break-through research in matter-antimatter interactions and materials characterisation.
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Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted fo ....Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted for in blue carbon budgets. This project will couple high-resolution radionuclide geochronology of soil carbon cycling with autonomous measurements of aquatic exports and greenhouse gas fluxes. This study will provide the detailed data required to refine the blue carbon paradigm.Read moreRead less
Up in smoke and out to sea? Carbon, water and land use change in savanna. This project aims to improve our understanding of carbon cycling in natural and transformed savannas. It seeks to resolve a large discrepancy in savanna carbon sink size as measured by flux towers compared to long-term direct measures of carbon stock change. This would improve our fundamental understanding of carbon balances (gains/losses) and residence times in these dynamic ecosystems. The long-term impacts of these land ....Up in smoke and out to sea? Carbon, water and land use change in savanna. This project aims to improve our understanding of carbon cycling in natural and transformed savannas. It seeks to resolve a large discrepancy in savanna carbon sink size as measured by flux towers compared to long-term direct measures of carbon stock change. This would improve our fundamental understanding of carbon balances (gains/losses) and residence times in these dynamic ecosystems. The long-term impacts of these land use changes on carbon storage are poorly understood, therefore this new knowledge is vital in determining the viability of 'carbon farming' in these landscapes. More accurate information would guide improved land management given the intensification of land use, weed invasion and fire regime change in northern Australia.Read moreRead less
Analysis of the structure of latin squares. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. Discrete mathematics and combinatorics are boom disciplines of the computer age and this project seeks new knowledge concerning basic building blocks of combinatorial mathematics. The outcomes will be of interest to theoretical discrete mathematicians around the world, enhancing Australia's already high research profile in this important area ....Analysis of the structure of latin squares. The benefits to Australia of fundamental research in core disciplines such as mathematics are well documented. Discrete mathematics and combinatorics are boom disciplines of the computer age and this project seeks new knowledge concerning basic building blocks of combinatorial mathematics. The outcomes will be of interest to theoretical discrete mathematicians around the world, enhancing Australia's already high research profile in this important area of pure mathematical research. Importantly, the problems under investigation offer substantial opportunity for excellent postgraduate training, critical for the future of Australian research. Read moreRead less
Competition between regulatory processes in Amphibians: Testing the effects of physical and physiological factors on thermoregulation and hydroregulation. Regulation of body temperature is important for many animals, and it influences processes such as growth and reproduction. However, it is not clear to what extent wet-skinned animals can control body temperature because of evaporation. Understanding this about frogs is crucial to understanding their habitat requirements and the effects of clim ....Competition between regulatory processes in Amphibians: Testing the effects of physical and physiological factors on thermoregulation and hydroregulation. Regulation of body temperature is important for many animals, and it influences processes such as growth and reproduction. However, it is not clear to what extent wet-skinned animals can control body temperature because of evaporation. Understanding this about frogs is crucial to understanding their habitat requirements and the effects of climate change, habitat modification, and the invasion of cane toads on their populations. Amphibians are in decline worldwide, and research into the basic ways that these animals interact with the physical environment is needed before effective management plans can be produced. The unique physiological characteristics of Australian frogs make this is the best place in the world to do this research.Read moreRead less
Multivariate Algorithmics: Meeting the Challenge of Real World computational complexity. This Project will result in better methods for designing the algorithms that all computer applications depend on. Algorithms are the instruction sets that tell computers how to process information. Some information processing tasks are intrinsically difficult, even for computers working at enormous speeds. This Project will deliver new mathematical approaches to overcome these difficulties. More efficient al ....Multivariate Algorithmics: Meeting the Challenge of Real World computational complexity. This Project will result in better methods for designing the algorithms that all computer applications depend on. Algorithms are the instruction sets that tell computers how to process information. Some information processing tasks are intrinsically difficult, even for computers working at enormous speeds. This Project will deliver new mathematical approaches to overcome these difficulties. More efficient algorithmic approaches for difficult problems enable advances in all areas of computer applications such as medical diagnosis and health prediction, national security, communications efficiency, industrial productivity and all fields of science and engineering.Read moreRead less
Next generation high throughput lipidomics using adaptive modelling. This project aims to develop a unique high-throughput method to capture the lipidomic profile of human plasma suitable for large human population screening. Lipids are fundamental to every biological system, but our understanding of their regulation in humans have been largely superficial. By incorporating a new lipidomics approach, with genomic data, this project aims to expand our understanding of human biology by identifying ....Next generation high throughput lipidomics using adaptive modelling. This project aims to develop a unique high-throughput method to capture the lipidomic profile of human plasma suitable for large human population screening. Lipids are fundamental to every biological system, but our understanding of their regulation in humans have been largely superficial. By incorporating a new lipidomics approach, with genomic data, this project aims to expand our understanding of human biology by identifying regulators of lipid metabolism. The large diversity in humans necessitate sufficient sample sizes to identify true genetic regulators, but to date techniques capturing phenotypic data (lipids) have been largely limited. It is anticipated that this study will identify new regulators of lipid metabolism in humans.Read moreRead less
Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. ....Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. Expected outcomes include a refined estimate of the net carbon sequestration potential across Australian biomes and seasons. This should provide significant benefits such as avoiding misalignment of greenhouse gas abatement policies and advancing carbon cycling models and predictions.Read moreRead less
Local reoptimization for turbocharging heuristics. Theoretical computer science has up until now had little impact on the design of effective heuristics. While data sets may be large, significant structure is almost always present and important to take into account when designing algorithms. Parameterised complexity considers the underlying structure by parameterising not only on the size of the input but also on structural parameters. This project aims to take advantage of the many opportunitie ....Local reoptimization for turbocharging heuristics. Theoretical computer science has up until now had little impact on the design of effective heuristics. While data sets may be large, significant structure is almost always present and important to take into account when designing algorithms. Parameterised complexity considers the underlying structure by parameterising not only on the size of the input but also on structural parameters. This project aims to take advantage of the many opportunities for new theories in the design of new heuristics and in turbocharging existing heuristics for computationally hard problems.Read moreRead less