Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0226357
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
Enhancement of VIEPS Stable Isotope Facilities: Environmental and Geological Research. This proposal will enhance the Monash/VIEPS stable isotope facility by automating a variety of analytical procedures. This will increase our throughput of samples, enable a broader range of analyses to be undertaken, and improve accuracy and precision. The enhanced facility will be state-of -the-art and used to support research in a broad range of fields, including: Hydrogeology (groundwater resources, salinit ....Enhancement of VIEPS Stable Isotope Facilities: Environmental and Geological Research. This proposal will enhance the Monash/VIEPS stable isotope facility by automating a variety of analytical procedures. This will increase our throughput of samples, enable a broader range of analyses to be undertaken, and improve accuracy and precision. The enhanced facility will be state-of -the-art and used to support research in a broad range of fields, including: Hydrogeology (groundwater resources, salinity, contaminant studies); Interaction of organic matter with groundwater systems; Cementation and diagenesis in sedimentary basins; Palaeoclimatology; Global carbon cycles; Crustal fluid flow; and Economic geology.Read moreRead less
Geochemical, physical and microbiological controls on zinc mobility and implications for bioremediation strategies in Western Tasmanian acid mine drainage. We propose to study heavy metal pollution (e.g., zinc, arsenic, iron, tin) and biogeochemical processes operating in acid mine drainage at the abandoned Mt Bischoff tin mine in Western Tasmania. The drainage waters at this site have pH values as low as 2, but contain an extensive and thriving natural biological community. We will evaluate w ....Geochemical, physical and microbiological controls on zinc mobility and implications for bioremediation strategies in Western Tasmanian acid mine drainage. We propose to study heavy metal pollution (e.g., zinc, arsenic, iron, tin) and biogeochemical processes operating in acid mine drainage at the abandoned Mt Bischoff tin mine in Western Tasmania. The drainage waters at this site have pH values as low as 2, but contain an extensive and thriving natural biological community. We will evaluate whether the natural biogeochemical processes operating at Mt Bischoff have the potential to remediate mine waters under the full gamut of climatic conditions, so as to evaluate whether the biota could be exported to other mine sites to help in ameliorating acid drainage problems.Read moreRead less
Groundwater in the southeast Murray Basin: Developing an integrated hydrogeological model and predicting future changes. Agricultural and urban development increases demands on groundwater resources. The sustainable use of groundwater requires a thorough knowledge of hydrogeology. This project addresses the origins, age, and geochemical evolution of groundwater in the Murray Basin, in particular constraining groundwater flow patterns, aquifer-aquitard interaction, water-rock interaction, and gro ....Groundwater in the southeast Murray Basin: Developing an integrated hydrogeological model and predicting future changes. Agricultural and urban development increases demands on groundwater resources. The sustainable use of groundwater requires a thorough knowledge of hydrogeology. This project addresses the origins, age, and geochemical evolution of groundwater in the Murray Basin, in particular constraining groundwater flow patterns, aquifer-aquitard interaction, water-rock interaction, and groundwater-surface water interactions both under present day and previous climatic conditions. The results of this project will ensure that this groundwater resource can be more effectively used and managed sustainably over the long term. In particular, historical responses of the system will be used to predict the effects of landuse or climate changes.Read moreRead less
Biogeochemical drivers of uranium isotope fractionation in regolith and groundwater. Water and soil resources are critical to Australia's present and future health and wealth. This project provides necessary data to increase our understanding groundwater recharge, flow and quality, weathering rates and uranium behaviour in soil and water. It will help delineate the impacts of agricultural activities and climate change. It may also trigger the development of new mineral exploration strategies for ....Biogeochemical drivers of uranium isotope fractionation in regolith and groundwater. Water and soil resources are critical to Australia's present and future health and wealth. This project provides necessary data to increase our understanding groundwater recharge, flow and quality, weathering rates and uranium behaviour in soil and water. It will help delineate the impacts of agricultural activities and climate change. It may also trigger the development of new mineral exploration strategies for uranium and other commodities.Read moreRead less
A novel approach for economic uranium deposit exploration and environmental studies. Outcomes of this project will be: (i) the discovery of new economic uranium ore deposits; (ii) development of a new exploration technology allowing for improved ore deposit targeting. Information gained on the behaviour of radioactive elements at the Earth's surface will be critical for the study of safety issues related to radioactive waste storage and obtaining reliable time constraints on the evolution of the ....A novel approach for economic uranium deposit exploration and environmental studies. Outcomes of this project will be: (i) the discovery of new economic uranium ore deposits; (ii) development of a new exploration technology allowing for improved ore deposit targeting. Information gained on the behaviour of radioactive elements at the Earth's surface will be critical for the study of safety issues related to radioactive waste storage and obtaining reliable time constraints on the evolution of the Australian landscape.Read moreRead less
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
Maximising carbon sequestration in freshwater wetlands. Maximising carbon sequestration in freshwater wetlands. This project aims to determine how manipulation of wetland hydrology can alter sulphur and iron cycling to inhibit methane emission and improve wetland net-carbon sequestration. Wetlands are among earth's most efficient ecosystems for carbon sequestration, but methane emission can offset this capacity. Redox cycling of sulphur and iron in wetlands can inhibit methane emission, but the ....Maximising carbon sequestration in freshwater wetlands. Maximising carbon sequestration in freshwater wetlands. This project aims to determine how manipulation of wetland hydrology can alter sulphur and iron cycling to inhibit methane emission and improve wetland net-carbon sequestration. Wetlands are among earth's most efficient ecosystems for carbon sequestration, but methane emission can offset this capacity. Redox cycling of sulphur and iron in wetlands can inhibit methane emission, but the precise biogeochemical processes and their efficiency are very poorly constrained due to a lack of studies—especially in Australian freshwater wetlands. This project is expected to inhibit methane emission in freshwater wetlands and maximise their net carbon sequestration efficiency.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the rhizosphere redox-cycling of iron, sulphur and carbon in re-flooded acidic wetlands. This project will reveal how major re-flooding will influence the cycling of iron, sulphur and carbon in re-flooded acidic, freshwater wetlands. By resolving current biogeochemical uncertainties, this project will generate the necessary knowledge platform to underpin wise long-term management of these sensitive and unique landscapes.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100159
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,000.00
Summary
Mobile Australian field isotope alliance. This project will enable a quantum leap in capacity to undertake, real-time, field-based studies of environmental processes using the natural isotope tracers of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. This will enable the project to address a range of fundamental research questions in climate change, water resources, ecology and human impact in tropical Australia.