Environmental fingerprints of biogeochemical cycles embedded in tree rings: Linking global climate change to local long-term forest productivity. Forests cover one-third of the Earth's land surface and account for 80-90% of plant carbon and 30-40% of soil carbon. Forest carbon stocks and dynamics respond to and interact with global climate change (GCC). Recent tree ring research highlights the worsening impact of GCC and acid deposition on long-term forest productivity in central Europe. This pr ....Environmental fingerprints of biogeochemical cycles embedded in tree rings: Linking global climate change to local long-term forest productivity. Forests cover one-third of the Earth's land surface and account for 80-90% of plant carbon and 30-40% of soil carbon. Forest carbon stocks and dynamics respond to and interact with global climate change (GCC). Recent tree ring research highlights the worsening impact of GCC and acid deposition on long-term forest productivity in central Europe. This project seeks to develop and apply novel tree ring technologies for linking biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients to long-term forest productivity in different regions, and to provide a scientific basis for accounting for long-term forest productivity and carbon stocks in response to future GCC.Read moreRead less
The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
Characterising the tropical "heat engine" of global climate: combined coral, stalagmite and tree-ring records from the Indo-Pacific region. The recent anthropogenic global warming is causing polar icecap melting, sea level rise, reef coral bleaching and degradation, and increased frequency and intensity of severe droughts, floods, tropical cyclones/hurricanes/typhoons in the past decades, focusing daily media headlines worldwide. Our study will enhance understanding of global climate change, El ....Characterising the tropical "heat engine" of global climate: combined coral, stalagmite and tree-ring records from the Indo-Pacific region. The recent anthropogenic global warming is causing polar icecap melting, sea level rise, reef coral bleaching and degradation, and increased frequency and intensity of severe droughts, floods, tropical cyclones/hurricanes/typhoons in the past decades, focusing daily media headlines worldwide. Our study will enhance understanding of global climate change, El Niño and Asian-Australian monsoon variability and coral reef degradation, and provide improved knowledge for future predictions. The outcome will impact on our National Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, enhance Australia's leadership in coral reef research, and contribute to an improved relationship with our neighbours in science, education and training.Read moreRead less
Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. ....Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. The successful conduct of this multidisciplinary collaborative research will result in: improved understanding and management of forest ecosystems in response to GCC and effective biodiversity conservation in managed forests; and enhanced international reputation and expertise of the Australian scientists in the relevant research fields.Read moreRead less
THE CORAL RECORD OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF:QUANTIFICATION OF ANTHROPOGENIC FLUXES. The objective of this proposal is to quantify the environmental impacts of enhanced terrestrial fluxes and climate change on the coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. This will be achieved by using an integrated approach based on coral proxy records of river plumes and sea surface temperatures that are preserved in carbonate skeletons of the long-lived (200-400 year old) Porites coral. ....THE CORAL RECORD OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF:QUANTIFICATION OF ANTHROPOGENIC FLUXES. The objective of this proposal is to quantify the environmental impacts of enhanced terrestrial fluxes and climate change on the coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. This will be achieved by using an integrated approach based on coral proxy records of river plumes and sea surface temperatures that are preserved in carbonate skeletons of the long-lived (200-400 year old) Porites coral. This will be integrated with monitoring and process studies of river flood plumes and coral reefs and provide a scientific basis to ensure the long-term sustainability of the GBR.Read moreRead less
Avoiding community backlash in the fight against terrorism . This project examines the willingness of diverse minority groups to cooperate in counter-terrorism initiatives and how fair procedures and perceptions of the law shape attitudes towards counter-terrorism policing. Outcomes will provide insights into how public cooperation in counter-terrorism can be enhanced.
Conflicting temporalities of climate governance: a comparative sociology of policy design and operationalization in Australia and the United Kingdom. This project will investigate the ways in which climate policy in Australia and the United Kingdom deals with uncertainty in the timing of climate change and climate change impacts. It will evaluate the utility of various approaches to climate policy and the potential contradictions that arise between climate dynamics and the policy design.
Integrated and precautionary approach for assessing complex environmental health impacts. It is important to develop an innovative and systematic approach to the improvement of environmental health impact assessment for emerging complex environmental hazards. It has become increasingly apparent that traditional risk assessment methods are no longer suitable for assessing the health impact of emerging global environmental issues such as climate change and ecosystem degradation. The novelty of thi ....Integrated and precautionary approach for assessing complex environmental health impacts. It is important to develop an innovative and systematic approach to the improvement of environmental health impact assessment for emerging complex environmental hazards. It has become increasingly apparent that traditional risk assessment methods are no longer suitable for assessing the health impact of emerging global environmental issues such as climate change and ecosystem degradation. The novelty of this proposal lies in its intention to create fundamental knowledge on an integrated and precautionary approach for assessing complex and emerging environmental health risks by development of a conceptual framework for integrated environmental health impact assessment.Read moreRead less
Parental marital conflict and marital change: effects on child, adolescent and young adult developmental outcomes. Aggressive and/or delinquent behaviour, poor school performance and learning, an inability to develop social relationships or successfully join the workforce have all been related to family structure and family functioning. Unfortunately, current policy is poorly informed as previous studies largely involve clinical samples or small population sub-groups. This study is the only Au ....Parental marital conflict and marital change: effects on child, adolescent and young adult developmental outcomes. Aggressive and/or delinquent behaviour, poor school performance and learning, an inability to develop social relationships or successfully join the workforce have all been related to family structure and family functioning. Unfortunately, current policy is poorly informed as previous studies largely involve clinical samples or small population sub-groups. This study is the only Australian 21 year prospective assessment of the way changes in marriage are impacting on the development of children and adolescents and on the longer term outcomes for young adults.Read moreRead less
Toward the effective surveillance of environmental health hazards for a sustainable society. It is important to maintain and enhance environmental health and community well-being from a sustainable development perspective. There has been an increasing realisation that an effective surveillance system needs to be developed to identify and manage environmental health hazards. The expected research outcomes of this project provide significant social benefits by contributing to the development of an ....Toward the effective surveillance of environmental health hazards for a sustainable society. It is important to maintain and enhance environmental health and community well-being from a sustainable development perspective. There has been an increasing realisation that an effective surveillance system needs to be developed to identify and manage environmental health hazards. The expected research outcomes of this project provide significant social benefits by contributing to the development of an effective surveillance system of emerging environmental health hazards for a sustainable society. The results of this project will also assist governments to formulate policies, guide actions and assess progress in the direction toward sustainable development.Read moreRead less