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
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
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
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
Response of residential structures to blast vibration. This proposed project combines the expertise and disciplines of residential construction, structural dynamics and blasting technology. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a rational methodology for assessing the damage potential of ground vibration resulting from blasting on typical Australian residential structures. The project involves field blast vibration measurements, static and dynamic laboratory tests on structural sub-assem ....Response of residential structures to blast vibration. This proposed project combines the expertise and disciplines of residential construction, structural dynamics and blasting technology. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a rational methodology for assessing the damage potential of ground vibration resulting from blasting on typical Australian residential structures. The project involves field blast vibration measurements, static and dynamic laboratory tests on structural sub-assemblages in a controlled environment, and comprehensive analytical modelling of both loading and response. The outcomes from this research will have direct application to the mining, insurance, construction and defence industries.Read moreRead less
Novel Cutting Picks for Mining Industry and an Australian Standard. This research will enable the development of highly efficient and robust mining picks and establish the methodology and techniques for setting up an Australian standard for mining picks which does not exist at present but is imperatively needed by the mining industry. The novel technology will provide effective solutions to improving mine environment and safety, and reducing nation's power consumption, green house gas emission, ....Novel Cutting Picks for Mining Industry and an Australian Standard. This research will enable the development of highly efficient and robust mining picks and establish the methodology and techniques for setting up an Australian standard for mining picks which does not exist at present but is imperatively needed by the mining industry. The novel technology will provide effective solutions to improving mine environment and safety, and reducing nation's power consumption, green house gas emission, and environmental pollution. These will in turn reduce the probability of black lung which has been the biggest killer of underground workers in mines.Read moreRead less
Mechanism and Control of In-situ Minerals Extraction. By introducing the theory of coupled hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-chemical processes and the well technology in petroleum engineering into in-situ minerals extraction, mineral values will be extracted directly from ore deposits without the need for mining. This work will have the potential to convert the known sub-economic mineral resources (about 37 million tonnes in Australia alone) into reserves. The five-year project will lead to a comput ....Mechanism and Control of In-situ Minerals Extraction. By introducing the theory of coupled hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-chemical processes and the well technology in petroleum engineering into in-situ minerals extraction, mineral values will be extracted directly from ore deposits without the need for mining. This work will have the potential to convert the known sub-economic mineral resources (about 37 million tonnes in Australia alone) into reserves. The five-year project will lead to a computer simulation assisted in-situ minerals extraction methodology for application in mining industry.Read moreRead less
Uncertainty and Risk Quantifying Optimistion for Open Pit Mine Design and Production Scheduling. Open pit mine design and production scheduling (OPDPS) deals with the management of cash flows in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, and is a critical aspect of mining ventures. To enhance decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, this proposal aims to develop a new methodology for OPDPS based on mathematical and statistical techniques which model uncertainty in key parameters, geol ....Uncertainty and Risk Quantifying Optimistion for Open Pit Mine Design and Production Scheduling. Open pit mine design and production scheduling (OPDPS) deals with the management of cash flows in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, and is a critical aspect of mining ventures. To enhance decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, this proposal aims to develop a new methodology for OPDPS based on mathematical and statistical techniques which model uncertainty in key parameters, geological, mining and market/cost and their effects on economic forecasts. The new formulation is founded on stochastic integer programming, and its integration with spatial stochastic simulations of geological attributes. Methods developed are computerised and tested in field studies.Read moreRead less
Continuum Damage Mechanics in Geotechnical Engineering. Mining and oil exploration are amongst the major industries in Australia and must address geotechnical problems in which growth in damage plays a central role. For example, failure of an offshore platform can occur under cyclic environmental loading, due to accumulated damage to the seabed soils. Design tools are therefore needed that incorporate continuum damage mechanics in modelling the response of geomaterials. The project will place Au ....Continuum Damage Mechanics in Geotechnical Engineering. Mining and oil exploration are amongst the major industries in Australia and must address geotechnical problems in which growth in damage plays a central role. For example, failure of an offshore platform can occur under cyclic environmental loading, due to accumulated damage to the seabed soils. Design tools are therefore needed that incorporate continuum damage mechanics in modelling the response of geomaterials. The project will place Australia at the forefront in this field through the development of rigorous yet simple numerical models that achieve this, and thus underpin safe but economic geotechnical engineering solutions in the mineral resource industries.Read moreRead less
Molecular Structure and Transport Properties of Hydrothermal Fluids under Extreme Conditions: Near-Critical, High Salinity, High Pressure and High Volatile Contents. The experimental capabilities, theoretical understanding, and numerical modeling methods developed in this project have broad implication for supporting both well-established (mineral exploration and ore processing) and emerging (geothermal energy; geosequestration) industries of core significance for the future of Australia's econo ....Molecular Structure and Transport Properties of Hydrothermal Fluids under Extreme Conditions: Near-Critical, High Salinity, High Pressure and High Volatile Contents. The experimental capabilities, theoretical understanding, and numerical modeling methods developed in this project have broad implication for supporting both well-established (mineral exploration and ore processing) and emerging (geothermal energy; geosequestration) industries of core significance for the future of Australia's economy. This project also provides access to unique technology developed overseas; this technology will be adapted for the unique challenges faced by Australia, and made available to the broader scientific community via the Australian Synchrotron.Read moreRead less