Australian transplants: the political ecology of Acacia exchanges across the Indian Ocean. The case studies and conclusions arising out of this project will help environmental practitioners and policymakers make informed decisions about exotic plant introductions, balancing needs to 'safeguard' Australia on the one hand with interests in 'improving' Australia on the other. The project's innovative focus on the comings and goings of a single plant genus also makes a significant contribution to ....Australian transplants: the political ecology of Acacia exchanges across the Indian Ocean. The case studies and conclusions arising out of this project will help environmental practitioners and policymakers make informed decisions about exotic plant introductions, balancing needs to 'safeguard' Australia on the one hand with interests in 'improving' Australia on the other. The project's innovative focus on the comings and goings of a single plant genus also makes a significant contribution to Australian environmental studies, by generating richer public discussion of the question of native versus introduced plants. Finally, it will produce new knowledge about our iconic wattles (made accessible through a book), increase international collaboration across the Indian Ocean, and train two postgraduate students.Read moreRead less
The Future of Australian Mineral Exports. Australia is among the world's largest exporters of steelmaking raw materials, specifically iron ore, coking coal and manganese. This project will develop an integrated econometric model of the global steel industry to forecast future trends in global steel production and the associated demand for raw materials. The results of this research will not only assist Australian mineral exporters in achieving better outcomes in annual pricing negotiations by im ....The Future of Australian Mineral Exports. Australia is among the world's largest exporters of steelmaking raw materials, specifically iron ore, coking coal and manganese. This project will develop an integrated econometric model of the global steel industry to forecast future trends in global steel production and the associated demand for raw materials. The results of this research will not only assist Australian mineral exporters in achieving better outcomes in annual pricing negotiations by improving market knowledge, but also help focus their longer term marketing strategies. The extensive global mine database to be assembled as part of the network flow component of this model will also allow Australian mineral exporters to assess their competitive position relative to foreign producers.Read moreRead less
Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vib ....Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vibration sensors and actual survey instrumentation to confirm its effectiveness, robustness and durability.Read moreRead less
A Marine Cadastre for Australia - Addressing Key Scientific and Policy Issues. A marine cadastre provides a means for delineating, managing and administering legally definable offshore boundaries. Marine cadastre research was initiated in Australia under a previous ARC grant which aimed at defining issues affecting the development of an Australian marine cadastre. The current project focuses on four such issues :
(1) Resolving ambiguities in the definition of the tidal interface
(2) Issues ....A Marine Cadastre for Australia - Addressing Key Scientific and Policy Issues. A marine cadastre provides a means for delineating, managing and administering legally definable offshore boundaries. Marine cadastre research was initiated in Australia under a previous ARC grant which aimed at defining issues affecting the development of an Australian marine cadastre. The current project focuses on four such issues :
(1) Resolving ambiguities in the definition of the tidal interface
(2) Issues in the use of natural rather than geometric boundaries to define jurisdictional limits
(3) Expanding the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure to support a marine cadastre
(4) Legal and security issues intrinsic to the development of a marine cadastre.Read moreRead less
Weathering on Mars and Australian Analogues: Developing Suitable Chronological Tools and Theoretical Approaches. The research outlined in this proposal will place Australia at the forefront of Mars exploration research. It will lead to the development of new approaches for the analysis of minerals formed by low temperature water-rock interaction and for the interpretation of geochronological results obtained from supergene minerals. The new analytical approaches developed in this project will ha ....Weathering on Mars and Australian Analogues: Developing Suitable Chronological Tools and Theoretical Approaches. The research outlined in this proposal will place Australia at the forefront of Mars exploration research. It will lead to the development of new approaches for the analysis of minerals formed by low temperature water-rock interaction and for the interpretation of geochronological results obtained from supergene minerals. The new analytical approaches developed in this project will have direct application in the study of the paleoclimatological and environmental evolution of Earth and Mars. It will also result in improved understanding of environmental and landscape evolution in Australia, helping to reach the objectives of an Environmentally Sustainable Australia, a national research priority.Read moreRead less
Formation, degradation and migration of a yet unidentified POP source. Australia has recently ratified the Stockholm Convention, targeting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for global reduction and elimination. A significant gap exists, however, in understanding sources and pathways of POPs in Australia, and subtropical/tropical environments. Previous research has shown an extensive POP contamination in coastal Australia, and exposure of biota to elevated levels. The present study will evalua ....Formation, degradation and migration of a yet unidentified POP source. Australia has recently ratified the Stockholm Convention, targeting persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for global reduction and elimination. A significant gap exists, however, in understanding sources and pathways of POPs in Australia, and subtropical/tropical environments. Previous research has shown an extensive POP contamination in coastal Australia, and exposure of biota to elevated levels. The present study will evaluate the formation, degradation and migration of POPs, and their significance to Australia's past, present and future emissions. The outcomes will allow identification of sources, their prioritization for elimination and exposure prevention, and ultimately serve to protect the environment and human health in Australia.Read moreRead less
Modelling soil formation in the landscape. Soil is a complex system composed of a set of interconnected physical, chemical and biological factors that function as a whole. Soil system is a key part of natural ecosystems that is significantly affected by land management. This project aims to create a new quantitative model for soil formation in the landscape. This project will investigate whether the soil variability is a result of the soil being a complex system. The outcome of the model will en ....Modelling soil formation in the landscape. Soil is a complex system composed of a set of interconnected physical, chemical and biological factors that function as a whole. Soil system is a key part of natural ecosystems that is significantly affected by land management. This project aims to create a new quantitative model for soil formation in the landscape. This project will investigate whether the soil variability is a result of the soil being a complex system. The outcome of the model will enable us to reconstruct the history of soil profile development in the landscape and help us understand how soil forms and landscape evolves with time.Read moreRead less
Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corr ....Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corrective or supportive action. The outcomes of this project will benefit Australia by forecasting changes in professional employment prospects, and by providing a framework to consider development scenarios for architectural educational and professional institutions, national research and development priorities, and international trade agreement agendas.Read moreRead less
Conserving native wildlife during urbanisation: the effectiveness of biodiversity-friendly urban design and construction practices. Urbanisation has many negative effects upon native wildlife and their habitats, but biodiversity-friendly urban design and construction practices may greatly reduce these impacts. This study will examine the effectiveness of such measures at sustaining wildlife at sites of urban development, and will therefore produce significant benefits for local residents and the ....Conserving native wildlife during urbanisation: the effectiveness of biodiversity-friendly urban design and construction practices. Urbanisation has many negative effects upon native wildlife and their habitats, but biodiversity-friendly urban design and construction practices may greatly reduce these impacts. This study will examine the effectiveness of such measures at sustaining wildlife at sites of urban development, and will therefore produce significant benefits for local residents and the broader Australian community. Healthy natural ecosystems in urban areas provide many services to the public, reduce the need for costly management, and improve the livelihood of residents living in greener environments. This study will enhance all these community benefits through a detailed examination of the effectiveness of biodiversity-friendly urban development measures.Read moreRead less
Management of Complex Assets Using Smart Information Systems. The aim is to develop an integrative framework and a smart system for holistic asset management in order to manage and optimise asset decisions vis-a-vis shifts in customer and market needs. It will develop an advanced conceptual framework, a dedicated smart system that is capable of handling uncertainty often associated with decision making in large complex operations. The benefits of this research are: a more competitive indusry wit ....Management of Complex Assets Using Smart Information Systems. The aim is to develop an integrative framework and a smart system for holistic asset management in order to manage and optimise asset decisions vis-a-vis shifts in customer and market needs. It will develop an advanced conceptual framework, a dedicated smart system that is capable of handling uncertainty often associated with decision making in large complex operations. The benefits of this research are: a more competitive indusry with focus on markets; a smart system to demonstrate business-based decision making and generally a much more sophisticated approach to asset management.Read moreRead less