Mitigating the risk of cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater ponds. Cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater treatment plants impact on effluent quality and the utility of recycled water, posing a significant risk to the economy, the environment and public health. To understand the causes of cyanobacterial blooms in pond-based wastewater treatment plants and the risk they pose, this project will use the latest molecular techniques to examine how the microbial communities within these systems interact w ....Mitigating the risk of cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater ponds. Cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater treatment plants impact on effluent quality and the utility of recycled water, posing a significant risk to the economy, the environment and public health. To understand the causes of cyanobacterial blooms in pond-based wastewater treatment plants and the risk they pose, this project will use the latest molecular techniques to examine how the microbial communities within these systems interact with each other and their surrounding environment to form blooms and produce toxins and other harmful metabolites. Such knowledge will inform risk assessment and provide strategies for the mitigation of future bloom events, improving the security of our increasingly valuable recycled water resources.Read moreRead less
More bang for your carbon buck: carbon, biodiversity and water balance consequences of whole-catchment carbon farming. Farming carbon via tree plantings on pasture land is becoming increasingly common to address the effects of climate change. This activity is likely to produce dramatic changes in Australia's rural landscapes, but we have little knowledge of likely effects on crucial ecosystem services and attributes such as stream water yields and biodiversity. This project will investigate the ....More bang for your carbon buck: carbon, biodiversity and water balance consequences of whole-catchment carbon farming. Farming carbon via tree plantings on pasture land is becoming increasingly common to address the effects of climate change. This activity is likely to produce dramatic changes in Australia's rural landscapes, but we have little knowledge of likely effects on crucial ecosystem services and attributes such as stream water yields and biodiversity. This project will investigate the relationship between tree cover, carbon uptake, water yield and biodiversity. The outcomes will allow government agencies, landowners and carbon farming groups to better evaluate the effects of different landscape planning options and contribute to effective long-term planning for multiple goals.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775548
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Advanced characterisation facilities for functional nanostructured materials. A critical factor that enhances frontier research is a set of advanced core research experimental facilities for material characterisation purposes. The proposed equipment aims to: (1) provide research facilities for advanced nanomaterial research; (2) improve national competitiveness and growth in a knowledge-based economy; and (3) foster local talented researchers in order to meet the strategic needs of the nation fo ....Advanced characterisation facilities for functional nanostructured materials. A critical factor that enhances frontier research is a set of advanced core research experimental facilities for material characterisation purposes. The proposed equipment aims to: (1) provide research facilities for advanced nanomaterial research; (2) improve national competitiveness and growth in a knowledge-based economy; and (3) foster local talented researchers in order to meet the strategic needs of the nation for a sustainable environment. These activities will revitalise Australia's leading role in creating new technologies with particular relevance to using advanced nanostructures for the production of clean air and water, and sustainable energy alternatives.Read moreRead less
Impacts of deforestation and afforestation on greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon and water resources in the Daly River catchment, north Australia. Over the last decade, north Australia have been viewed as a potentially exploitable resource, given issues of salinisation, soil acidification, over-allocation of water resources and rainfall declines in south Australian agricultural regions. Improved pastures and plantation forestry are two land uses that may expand in the NT. Clearing of savanna v ....Impacts of deforestation and afforestation on greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon and water resources in the Daly River catchment, north Australia. Over the last decade, north Australia have been viewed as a potentially exploitable resource, given issues of salinisation, soil acidification, over-allocation of water resources and rainfall declines in south Australian agricultural regions. Improved pastures and plantation forestry are two land uses that may expand in the NT. Clearing of savanna vegetation would be required, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions, soil health, water resources and dry season environmental flows. This project will track greenhouse emissions and water use from uncleared and cleared savanna that has been converted to pasture and timber plantations, providing critical understanding of the environmental implication of such land use change in savanna.Read moreRead less
Risk Assessment of Pesticide Contamination of Surface Water and Groundwater - Trigger Mechanisms for Fast Transport. Pesticide and herbicide transport to groundwater and surface water poses a risk to the environment and humans alike. A new event-based risk assessment approach of pesticide movement to surface water and groundwater will be developed. With the use of rainfall simulation partitioning between surface runoff and infiltration will be quantified in an agricultural catchment. Pesticide c ....Risk Assessment of Pesticide Contamination of Surface Water and Groundwater - Trigger Mechanisms for Fast Transport. Pesticide and herbicide transport to groundwater and surface water poses a risk to the environment and humans alike. A new event-based risk assessment approach of pesticide movement to surface water and groundwater will be developed. With the use of rainfall simulation partitioning between surface runoff and infiltration will be quantified in an agricultural catchment. Pesticide contamination events will be identified from climatic data such high intensity rainfalls and soil properties controlling runoff and preferential flow. Results will be used to develop management strategies to reduce offsite movement of pesticides.Read moreRead less
Ecological regime shifts for re-engineering water pollution management. This project aims to validate a framework for the management of water pollution. As the world population increases, maintaining robust, cost-effective and environmentally safe water resources is important. This project will investigate environmental controls of toxin occurrence in urban and wastewater systems. The project is expected to mitigate deadly cyanotoxins, which threaten the safety of water resources, while a numeri ....Ecological regime shifts for re-engineering water pollution management. This project aims to validate a framework for the management of water pollution. As the world population increases, maintaining robust, cost-effective and environmentally safe water resources is important. This project will investigate environmental controls of toxin occurrence in urban and wastewater systems. The project is expected to mitigate deadly cyanotoxins, which threaten the safety of water resources, while a numerical ecological model will tackle water pollution issues in natural and engineered water systems.Read moreRead less
A Generalized Flood Frequency Framework for Prediction of the Effects of Multi-Scale Hydroclimatic Variability. The proposed project aims to investigate the effects of natural, multi-scale variability in climatic inputs, especially precipitation inputs -- intra-annual (seasonal), inter-annual and inter-decadal -- on the estimation of frequency of flooding. It will investigate the propagation of these natural variabilities through the catchment system, through simple models that can enable the e ....A Generalized Flood Frequency Framework for Prediction of the Effects of Multi-Scale Hydroclimatic Variability. The proposed project aims to investigate the effects of natural, multi-scale variability in climatic inputs, especially precipitation inputs -- intra-annual (seasonal), inter-annual and inter-decadal -- on the estimation of frequency of flooding. It will investigate the propagation of these natural variabilities through the catchment system, through simple models that can enable the estimation of probability distributions of soil moisture, runoff generation and flood peaks, and elucidate the underlying process controls. In this way, it will help develop a new framework for the incorporation of these multi-scale variabilities in flood estimation practice in Australia.Read moreRead less
Testing the potential of integrated vegetation bands to increase water retention, buffer climate extremes, sequester carbon and enhance production. The project will integrate a complex set of functions into one landscape restoration design which will benefit production and conservation objectives. These functions are improved use of surface runoff using native vegetation to reduce velocities and increase infiltration, improved soil and catchment condition through decreased erosion, lowering wind ....Testing the potential of integrated vegetation bands to increase water retention, buffer climate extremes, sequester carbon and enhance production. The project will integrate a complex set of functions into one landscape restoration design which will benefit production and conservation objectives. These functions are improved use of surface runoff using native vegetation to reduce velocities and increase infiltration, improved soil and catchment condition through decreased erosion, lowering wind speeds which desiccate landscape and erode valuable topsoil, providing a system of corridors for biodiversity, and sequestering carbon in woody biomass. IVB’s configuration captures the beneficial structural and functional attributes of vegetation while minimising competitive interactions. This will increase the resilience and productivity of Australian farming landscapes in a changing climate.Read moreRead less
A Phase III Trial Comparing Adjuvant Versus Salvage Radiotherapy For High Risk Patients Post Radical Prostatectomy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,138.00
Summary
About half of all patients Treated with an operation to remove their prostate cancer have a high chance of the cancer coming back. Giving immediate radiotherapy to all patients will improve cure rates but does not benefit all men and can cause significant side effects. This study explores whether it is safe to wait and only give radiotherapy when there is a rising PSA after surgery indicating active cancer. A total of 470 men from Australasia will enter this study comparing the two approaches.
Understanding salt and water dynamics to enhance the quality of turfgrasses irrigated with saline water in a Mediterranean environment: an evaluation of four species. This project will elucidate quantitative relationships between growth and the levels of root-zone salts and water. The results will enable development of best practices for use of salt-tolerant turfgrass species, to (i) improve aesthetics of many rural and coastal towns faced with salinity, and (ii) enable use of saline groundwater ....Understanding salt and water dynamics to enhance the quality of turfgrasses irrigated with saline water in a Mediterranean environment: an evaluation of four species. This project will elucidate quantitative relationships between growth and the levels of root-zone salts and water. The results will enable development of best practices for use of salt-tolerant turfgrass species, to (i) improve aesthetics of many rural and coastal towns faced with salinity, and (ii) enable use of saline groundwater, and thus conserve precious potable water, reducing costs of water for irrigation. The project is also of relevance to saline agricultural areas, as the species investigated could also have applications in saltland pastures. The outcomes will contribute to National priorities dealing with salinity management and protection of water resources. Read moreRead less