Precise location of earthquakes: combining arrival times with Coda Wave Interferometry. The location of earthquakes is important for improving our knowledge
of the contemporary plate tectonic regime, mapping of active crustal faults and quantifying risk posed to population centres and infrastructure. Precise relative location of micro-earthquakes also has important industrial applications, including mapping the extent of underground geothermal reservoirs, and in exploration for ore producing ....Precise location of earthquakes: combining arrival times with Coda Wave Interferometry. The location of earthquakes is important for improving our knowledge
of the contemporary plate tectonic regime, mapping of active crustal faults and quantifying risk posed to population centres and infrastructure. Precise relative location of micro-earthquakes also has important industrial applications, including mapping the extent of underground geothermal reservoirs, and in exploration for ore producing hydrothermal systems. This project will advance the field of earthquake location by introducing new techniques that will increase the amount of seismic information that can be used for both research and national monitoring purposes. Read moreRead less
Structural and Mechanistic Studies of the Oxygen Evolving Centre in Photosystem II. Hydrogen fuel production from electricity and water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. The present project is an important step in this ambitious program and directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make artificial photosynthesis feasibl ....Structural and Mechanistic Studies of the Oxygen Evolving Centre in Photosystem II. Hydrogen fuel production from electricity and water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. The present project is an important step in this ambitious program and directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make artificial photosynthesis feasible. This hurdle is the efficient electrical conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen, a two part process of which the latter is the most chemically difficult. The project aims to 'steal nature's secrets', by deciphering and then technologically mimicking the highly efficient means by which plants carry out these processes.Read moreRead less
Bio-Physical Studies of the Oxygen Evolving Complex in Photosystem II. Hydrogen fuel production from electricity and water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. The present project is an important step in this ambitious program and directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make artificial photosynthesis feasible. This hurdl ....Bio-Physical Studies of the Oxygen Evolving Complex in Photosystem II. Hydrogen fuel production from electricity and water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. The present project is an important step in this ambitious program and directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make artificial photosynthesis feasible. This hurdle is the efficient electrical conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen, a two part process of which the latter is the most chemically difficult. The project aims to 'steal nature's secrets', by deciphering and then technologically mimicking the highly efficient means by which plants carry out these processes.Read moreRead less
Catalytic Electron Transfer in Photosystem II of Plants and Bacteria. Large scale hydrogen production from electricity and abundant water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. Although the present project is but one step in this ambitious program, it directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make the project feasible. This ....Catalytic Electron Transfer in Photosystem II of Plants and Bacteria. Large scale hydrogen production from electricity and abundant water sources, such as sea water, represents the ultimate goal for the research described here. This is part of an overall scheme, called "Artificial Photosynthesis", to generate clean renewable energy. Although the present project is but one step in this ambitious program, it directly addresses a key hurdle which must be overcome to make the project feasible. This is the efficient electrical conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen, a two part process of which the latter is the most chemically difficult. The project aims to 'steal nature's secrets', by deciphering and then technologically mimicking the highly efficient means by which plants carry out these processes.Read moreRead less
Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small ....Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small electrical appliances, public transport and in private cars in about ten years. Read moreRead less
Existence and Stability of a Model for Three-Dimensional Toroidal Plasma Equilibria. There is great physical interest in modelling strongly non-axisymmetric toroidal plasmas, but fundamental existence problems have made rigorous numerical analysis so far impossible. We seek to overcome this by investigating a class of idealized, but physically motivated, magnetohydrodynamic equilibria with stepped pressure profiles for which existence in the neighbourhood of axisymmetry has been proven. We will ....Existence and Stability of a Model for Three-Dimensional Toroidal Plasma Equilibria. There is great physical interest in modelling strongly non-axisymmetric toroidal plasmas, but fundamental existence problems have made rigorous numerical analysis so far impossible. We seek to overcome this by investigating a class of idealized, but physically motivated, magnetohydrodynamic equilibria with stepped pressure profiles for which existence in the neighbourhood of axisymmetry has been proven. We will (i) develop numerical techniques to extend these piece-wise Beltrami states far away from axisymmetry (ii) develop practical tests to determine when existence breaks down (iii) analyze the frequency spectrum of small oscillations about such equilibria (iv) extend the model to two-fluid MHD.Read moreRead less
The mechanism of water splitting in photosynthesis. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by the vast body of plants and algae living in surface waters and on the land to drive photosynthesis. One of the most fundamental contributions that photosynthesis provides to the Biosphere is the gaseous oxygen produced by its water-splitting chemistry - ~300 gigatons of O2 are released into the atmosphere per year. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not precisely known. We will use a range o ....The mechanism of water splitting in photosynthesis. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by the vast body of plants and algae living in surface waters and on the land to drive photosynthesis. One of the most fundamental contributions that photosynthesis provides to the Biosphere is the gaseous oxygen produced by its water-splitting chemistry - ~300 gigatons of O2 are released into the atmosphere per year. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not precisely known. We will use a range of unique experimental approaches to determine the molecular mechanism of the photosynthetic water-splitting chemistry. The understanding of this reaction will provide the molecular blueprint for the development of efficient biocatalysts to generate H2 and O2 from water.Read moreRead less
A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural ....A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural and engineering rock slopes, reduce the uncertainties in the prediction of the safety of infrastructures, and thus minimize the loss and damage. The research outcomes can also be used to maintain workplace safety in mining environments and avoid disruptions to production.
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Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could ....Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could shape important decisions in the future and impact on environmental risk assessment.Read moreRead less
Localised instabilities in magnetically confined plasmas heated by radio waves. The H-1 Heliac Major National Facility will be used for experiments to search for localised plasma "ballooning" instabilities. These instabilities, studied theoretically but not yet identified in experiments, are thought to limit the pressure achievable in plasmas of interest for production of renewable, low-greenhouse gas emission, fusion power, and are also invoked to explain magnetospheric phenomena like auroral s ....Localised instabilities in magnetically confined plasmas heated by radio waves. The H-1 Heliac Major National Facility will be used for experiments to search for localised plasma "ballooning" instabilities. These instabilities, studied theoretically but not yet identified in experiments, are thought to limit the pressure achievable in plasmas of interest for production of renewable, low-greenhouse gas emission, fusion power, and are also invoked to explain magnetospheric phenomena like auroral substorms. The flexible magnetic configuration, radio frequency (rf) and microwave plasma heating systems, and diagnostic set of H-1 are uniquely suited to this program. Advances in rf plasma techniques and diagnostics will also benefit the development of novel communications and instrumentation technologies.Read moreRead less