Identifying the risks and assessing the impacts of marine debris on sea turtles in Australian waters. Marine debris is a significant global issue, with the amount of waste released into our oceans growing exponentially each year. Preliminary work in Australia has shown that entanglement and ingestion of debris is a serious threat to endangered sea turtles. The project aims to determine the impact debris is having and provide ways to reduce this impact.
A surface functionality based approach for the risk assessment of manufactured nanomaterials in the environment. Manufactured nanoparticles are increasingly present in the environment yet their risk assessment is fraught with analytical challenges. This project will use customised nanoparticles with unique isotopic signatures and surface properties to circumvent key difficulties and support novel investigations into nanoparticle stability, fate and toxicity.
Addressing the uncertainties: Pathways, fate and associated risks of manufactured nanoparticles in the environment. Manufactured nanomaterials are increasingly present in commercial products, such as sunscreens, textiles and building materials. Their subsequent release to the environment is unavoidable. This project will deliver novel methods for assessing the associated risks, thereby supporting the safe and sustainable use of nanomaterials in Australia.
Tracing Past and Present Pollution Sources in the River Torrens, South Australia. The Torrens River is the principal water supply to 500,000 South Australians. Since early in European settlement it has suffered the impacts of eutrophication and high rates of sedimentation. The Catchment Management Board is seeking to prioritise rehabilitation resources to maximise water quality improvements. This will be informed by the revelation of the principal sources of sediment and nutrients over time.
Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management mod ....Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management model to wetland rehabilitation. Adaptive management addresses uncertainty through experiments integrated into the rehabilitation process. It uses monitoring, and information feedback loops to inform current management actions. A generic model for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation will be developed which will predict responses to different re-wetting scenarios.Read moreRead less
Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant red ....Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant reduction in the economic and social costs associated with dryland salinity and flooding whilst simultaneously increasing the environmental benefits associated with the maintenance and rehabilitation of the ecological value of the some of the region's approximately 200 wetlands.Read moreRead less
Innovative approaches to managing and understanding taste and odour in drinking water systems. Taste and odour (T/O) problems resulting from Cyanobacteria can change consumers' perception of product safety, resulting in many complaints, soaring management and treatment costs, and large financial losses, yet little is known about how they arise.
This project will provide the Australian Water Industry with cost-effective, sensitive, specific, rapid and practical tools for managing and understandi ....Innovative approaches to managing and understanding taste and odour in drinking water systems. Taste and odour (T/O) problems resulting from Cyanobacteria can change consumers' perception of product safety, resulting in many complaints, soaring management and treatment costs, and large financial losses, yet little is known about how they arise.
This project will provide the Australian Water Industry with cost-effective, sensitive, specific, rapid and practical tools for managing and understanding T/O episodes, and will also benefit the aquaculture and food sectors, and the research community. An improved ability to manage geosmin in drinking water, will also have positive repercussions on the Australian environment, by eliminating the need to use environmentally controversial control methods such as copper sulphate dosing.
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Community Based Water Resources Management. In a time of predicted severe water shortage in the Asia Pacific, the University of Western Sydney and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India have developed research into community based water resources management for regional townships and communities. The objective of this proposal is to connect the two water research organisations in a cross cultural comparison of their respective research programs and to develop a generic model o ....Community Based Water Resources Management. In a time of predicted severe water shortage in the Asia Pacific, the University of Western Sydney and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India have developed research into community based water resources management for regional townships and communities. The objective of this proposal is to connect the two water research organisations in a cross cultural comparison of their respective research programs and to develop a generic model of regional community water use management for developed and developing countries, appropriate to the Asia-Pacific.Read moreRead less
Identifying and managing the ecological impacts of free-ranging wild horses. Wild horses cause significant ecological damage in conservation areas in Australia, but experimental research examining horse impacts is lacking. Our approach is to assess ecological impacts of wild horses in Guy Fawkes River National Park, a significant wilderness in northern NSW. We will describe the relationship between horse abundance and environmental impacts, experimentally determine how horse exclusion affects ....Identifying and managing the ecological impacts of free-ranging wild horses. Wild horses cause significant ecological damage in conservation areas in Australia, but experimental research examining horse impacts is lacking. Our approach is to assess ecological impacts of wild horses in Guy Fawkes River National Park, a significant wilderness in northern NSW. We will describe the relationship between horse abundance and environmental impacts, experimentally determine how horse exclusion affects key environmental variables, and test the sensitivity of threatened plants to wild horse browsing and trampling. A key outcome will be development of scientifically-validated protocols for assessing horse impacts, and for managing wild horses in other areas of eastern Australia.Read moreRead less
Multi-Objective Optimal Operation of Urban Water Supply Systems. In recent past, there has been a significant shift away from development of new water resources to optimal operation of existing reservoir systems. This project aims to develop a decision support framework to determine optimum operating rules of existing reservoir systems that consider a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, with a strong focus on decision analysis of alternative operating rules. The results of the ....Multi-Objective Optimal Operation of Urban Water Supply Systems. In recent past, there has been a significant shift away from development of new water resources to optimal operation of existing reservoir systems. This project aims to develop a decision support framework to determine optimum operating rules of existing reservoir systems that consider a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, with a strong focus on decision analysis of alternative operating rules. The results of the project will enable water planners to manage their urban water systems efficiently and effectively under a range of long term and short term planning conditions including droughts, while reducing associated environmental impacts.Read moreRead less