Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. ....Restoring hydrological connectivity of surface and ground waters: Biogeochemical processes and environmental benefits for river landscapes. This project examines the restoration of lateral hydrological connectivity to improve floodplain structure and function. The connections between stream flows and both shallow groundwaters and floodplains are critical in sustaining river landscapes. Degrading land and water management practices compounded by natural climatic extremes have severed this link. Restoring hydrological connectivity is vital for replenishing groundwater storage and increasing base flows that affect fundamental riverine processes. Using an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture, our project unites multidisciplinary scientific and industry expertise to investigate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of secondary floodplain channels and in-stream structures on riverine groundwater processes.Read moreRead less
Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between val ....Stream power and river morphology in partly-confined valleys of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Rivers in the escarpment-dominated catchments of coastal NSW are characterised by confined and partly-confined valley-settings in which channels have little capacity to adjust. The key aim of this project is to determine controls on the distribution of floodplains in this landscape. Particular attention will be placed on the role played by stream power in determining the relationship between valley incision and lateral expansion processes along river courses. Understanding controls on these rivers is critical in determining how they modify their form in response to various disturbance events (whether 'natural' of human-induced). Results will provide a rigorous basis with which to explain cross-catchment variability in river forms and processes, aiding our capacity to predict future adjustments to disturbance and develop river management strategies that 'work with nature'.Read moreRead less
Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enha ....Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enhancing plant survival during water stress. This will be tested for Australian native and non-native hyperaccumulator plants. The study will clarify our understanding of the evolutionary significance of hyperaccumulation, and has important applications for extracting metals from contaminated soils.Read moreRead less
Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for ....Risk Measures and Management in Finance and Actuarial Science Under Regime-Switching Models. New models for assessing and managing risk of financial products will place Australia at the forefront of risk management. The work will also sustain the competitive edge of Australia as one of the major financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region through enhancing both the theory and practice of financial risk management. The project outcome will also benefit to the country in other areas of risk, for example, environment risk, climate change, and energy and security problems.Read moreRead less
The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of co ....The potential of biosolids and flyash mixtures for soil remediation for revegetation of degraded land. Revegetation of land that has been subjected to land clearing or mining is often limited by the poor quality or lack of topsoil. It may prove possible to remediate these areas of land by incorporating a mixture of two waste products, biosolids and flyash. The aim in this project is to determine the usefulness of this method of land remediation by investigating the nutrient levels and fate of contaminants in various mixtures of biosolids and flyash materials, in the absence and presence of soil minerals, and soil ameliorants such as fertilizers and gypsum.Read moreRead less
Dynamic risk measures. Exposure to risk is a pervasive problem. The results will be of importance for financial institutions when they estimate their exposure to risk. Other applications will be to determine the level of risk from a terrorist attack or regional instability. Companies wish to allocate resources to minimize their exposure to adverse events.
Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to inv ....Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to investigate the link between healthy eating and the design and management of school canteens with the view to developing design and management guidelines that will influence the life-long eating habits of Australian children.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effec ....Evaluating the role of buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. The role of vegetative buffer strips in reducing soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies is well established, but the physical processes and their interactions involved are not well understood. These hydraulic, sediment/chemical transport processes will be modelled from physical principles, recognising that the multi-size characteristics of soil plays a vital role in buffer strip effectiveness. This model will be validated using new and existing data sources, including both controlled experiments and field data obtained in Australia and overseas. A user friendly version of the model will be developed for farm managers and advisory services as a design tool.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989759
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Australian Access to and Operation of Advanced Synchrotron Radiation Facilities at the Photon Factory. The primary national benefit of this application will be continued access by peer review for Australian scientists to the advanced synchrotron-radiation capabilities of the Australian National Beamline Facility and other complementary beamlines at the Photon Factory, Japan. This proposal is consistent with the National Research Priorities of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, Promoting a ....Australian Access to and Operation of Advanced Synchrotron Radiation Facilities at the Photon Factory. The primary national benefit of this application will be continued access by peer review for Australian scientists to the advanced synchrotron-radiation capabilities of the Australian National Beamline Facility and other complementary beamlines at the Photon Factory, Japan. This proposal is consistent with the National Research Priorities of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries and will generate science to support and stimulate domestic industry, enhance the domestic knowledge base and international research profile, train students and future synchrotron scientists and foster domestic and international collaborations.Read moreRead less
Building communities: managing public assets to provide social value. Local government facilities have a social value for the community beyond the immediate provision of service or amenity. However, this aspect is not generally considered in the formal planning and management of public facilities, which concentrate on economic considerations and community service needs. This project explores the links between public assets, their social value and community well-being. The research will provide a ....Building communities: managing public assets to provide social value. Local government facilities have a social value for the community beyond the immediate provision of service or amenity. However, this aspect is not generally considered in the formal planning and management of public facilities, which concentrate on economic considerations and community service needs. This project explores the links between public assets, their social value and community well-being. The research will provide a rationale, model, and set of indicators to assess social value for facilities, assisting local government decision-making, including regional and rural communities, and contribute to the development of meaningful long-term infrastructure and community plans.Read moreRead less