Tracking flood waters over Australia using space gravity data. This project aims to assess the utility of near-real-time data from the currently operating space gravity satellite mission to quantify and track flood waters in Australia. Through analysis of the satellite data and fusion of observed signals with rainfall, river flows and conventional hydrological modelling, it expects to create new knowledge of soil moisture and movement of flood waters. Expected outcomes include a capability to im ....Tracking flood waters over Australia using space gravity data. This project aims to assess the utility of near-real-time data from the currently operating space gravity satellite mission to quantify and track flood waters in Australia. Through analysis of the satellite data and fusion of observed signals with rainfall, river flows and conventional hydrological modelling, it expects to create new knowledge of soil moisture and movement of flood waters. Expected outcomes include a capability to improve hydrological models by including the information of water signals obtained from the near-real-time observations. This should provide significant benefits such as more accurate land saturation maps and better predictions of runoff and flood risk.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary origins of sexual parasitism in an Australian freshwater fish. Carp gudgeons are the most abundant, widespread and biodiverse freshwater fishes in southeastern Australia. The unacknowledged presence of many cryptic species and sexually-parasitic lineages severely taints all research on this cornerstone group. This project aims to provide unrivalled evolutionary, genomic, and taxonomic insights into this new instance of vertebrate sexual parasitism, which offers a unique mix of resea ....Evolutionary origins of sexual parasitism in an Australian freshwater fish. Carp gudgeons are the most abundant, widespread and biodiverse freshwater fishes in southeastern Australia. The unacknowledged presence of many cryptic species and sexually-parasitic lineages severely taints all research on this cornerstone group. This project aims to provide unrivalled evolutionary, genomic, and taxonomic insights into this new instance of vertebrate sexual parasitism, which offers a unique mix of research advantages not displayed by any other sexual/unisexual complex. The knowledge gained could impact many research fields, including evolutionary theory addressing the unexplainable prevalence of sex, native fish ecology, and environmental monitoring of the Murray-Darling Basin, an ecosystem of world significance.Read moreRead less
Restoring amphibian populations in chytrid-impacted landscapes. This project aims to address an outstanding problem in wildlife disease ecology: how can we enable susceptible amphibians to persist in the face of the chytrid pathogen, which has devastated amphibian biodiversity? This project expects to generate new knowledge by experimentally trialling two highly promising interventions: immunising animals and creating disease refugia through simple habitat manipulations. Outcomes of this project ....Restoring amphibian populations in chytrid-impacted landscapes. This project aims to address an outstanding problem in wildlife disease ecology: how can we enable susceptible amphibians to persist in the face of the chytrid pathogen, which has devastated amphibian biodiversity? This project expects to generate new knowledge by experimentally trialling two highly promising interventions: immunising animals and creating disease refugia through simple habitat manipulations. Outcomes of this project include a framework for predicting how interventions might enable host-pathogen coexistence. This project should provide significant benefits including enhanced understanding of wildlife disease dynamics that will pave the way for interventions to restore amphibian biodiversity in chytrid-impacted landscapes.Read moreRead less
Salt, Bubbles and Life; A study of ion specificity in colloid science. A colloidal solution is a liquid that contains a finely dispersed material. The properties of these solutions are critical in many industrially important practices and in the everyday processes of life. Though not understood, it is observed that the type of salt in solution controls how the colloid behaves. Through a series of very careful experiments we seek to learn precisely how different salts influence the properties of ....Salt, Bubbles and Life; A study of ion specificity in colloid science. A colloidal solution is a liquid that contains a finely dispersed material. The properties of these solutions are critical in many industrially important practices and in the everyday processes of life. Though not understood, it is observed that the type of salt in solution controls how the colloid behaves. Through a series of very careful experiments we seek to learn precisely how different salts influence the properties of a colloidal solution. This world-leading research will enable us to improve our fundamental understanding of colloids and thereby facilitate advances in topics as diverse as enzymatic action and minerals purification, ensuring Australia remains at the forefront of science in this field.Read moreRead less
How arid zone wetlands persist: linking ecological dynamics with hydrological regimes . This project will investigate how aquatic food webs assemble and persist in mound springs, relict streams and river pools in the Australian arid zone. Knowing how aquatic systems respond to wet and dry phases is the first step towards ‘climate proofing ’ these systems against future extreme events.
Surface adsorption, repulsion and attraction: A new experimental approach to surface forces. The ability to understand and manipulate the stability of finely dispersed particles (colloids) in water is essential to modern living. It is necessary in processes as diverse as water purification, minerals separation, food and paper production. The behaviour of the colloidal system can often be understood in terms of the interaction between the dispersed particles. This project aims to improve our abil ....Surface adsorption, repulsion and attraction: A new experimental approach to surface forces. The ability to understand and manipulate the stability of finely dispersed particles (colloids) in water is essential to modern living. It is necessary in processes as diverse as water purification, minerals separation, food and paper production. The behaviour of the colloidal system can often be understood in terms of the interaction between the dispersed particles. This project aims to improve our ability to predict the nature of the interaction between dispersed particles, through an understanding of the events at a particle surface during a collision with another particle. This will enable us to better understand and control real colloidal systems.Read moreRead less
Origins and distributions of intraplate earthquakes. This project aims to investigate the behaviour and origin of intraplate earthquakes in Australia by developing a multi-million-year record of earthquakes using geological, geochronological, geospatial, seismological, statistical and numerical modelling data. It will use maximum credible magnitudes, maximum shaking intensities of intraplate earthquakes and spatiotemporal relationships between large prehistoric and contemporary earthquakes to im ....Origins and distributions of intraplate earthquakes. This project aims to investigate the behaviour and origin of intraplate earthquakes in Australia by developing a multi-million-year record of earthquakes using geological, geochronological, geospatial, seismological, statistical and numerical modelling data. It will use maximum credible magnitudes, maximum shaking intensities of intraplate earthquakes and spatiotemporal relationships between large prehistoric and contemporary earthquakes to improve models of future seismic hazard in Australia and globally. This will lead to improved predictions of future earthquake impacts in urban and natural environments and development of new paleoseismic techniques.Read moreRead less
Ionic Dispersion Forces in Physical Chemistry: Implications for pH, Electrochemistry, Nanoparticle Formation and Organic Synthesis. Our current understanding of charged systems in solution is deeply flawed . Existing theories are not predictive, mainly because they concentrate entirely on electrostatics. This proposal aims to partially rectify this by including the effects of previously neglected dispersion forces in a number of problems. These forces are responsible for much of the behaviou ....Ionic Dispersion Forces in Physical Chemistry: Implications for pH, Electrochemistry, Nanoparticle Formation and Organic Synthesis. Our current understanding of charged systems in solution is deeply flawed . Existing theories are not predictive, mainly because they concentrate entirely on electrostatics. This proposal aims to partially rectify this by including the effects of previously neglected dispersion forces in a number of problems. These forces are responsible for much of the behaviour seen in the following systems: the theory of electrolytes; electrochemistry pH and buffers; self energy effects in organic chemistry; and zeolite and nano-particle synthesis. The main outcome will be accurate and predictive theories for these systems.Read moreRead less
Nanorheology: Hydrodynamic Slip in Newtonian Fluids. Understanding fluid flow across a surface is essential to a great number of technologies. For over one hundred years it has been assumed that the layer of fluid adjacent to the solid moves with the solid, this is known as the no-slip boundary condition. Recently direct force balance measurements of aqueous Newtonian solutions have indicated the presence of boundary slip. Using a newly developed nanorheology technique we will systematically inv ....Nanorheology: Hydrodynamic Slip in Newtonian Fluids. Understanding fluid flow across a surface is essential to a great number of technologies. For over one hundred years it has been assumed that the layer of fluid adjacent to the solid moves with the solid, this is known as the no-slip boundary condition. Recently direct force balance measurements of aqueous Newtonian solutions have indicated the presence of boundary slip. Using a newly developed nanorheology technique we will systematically investigate the conditions that control boundary slip. This information will be used to quantify, model and control boundary slip, progressing the fields of microfluidics, particle deposition, and colloid stability.Read moreRead less
The effect of de-gassing on the dispersion and stability of emulsions and colloidal solutions. Although it is widely accepted that oil and water will not mix, the reverse has recently been found to occur (by the applicant) under the unusual conditions of complete de-gassing. This discovery has opened up new areas for investigation and for the development of new processes and products. Hydrocarbon oils and hydrophobic powders can now be readily dispersed in water without the use of additives. Ho ....The effect of de-gassing on the dispersion and stability of emulsions and colloidal solutions. Although it is widely accepted that oil and water will not mix, the reverse has recently been found to occur (by the applicant) under the unusual conditions of complete de-gassing. This discovery has opened up new areas for investigation and for the development of new processes and products. Hydrocarbon oils and hydrophobic powders can now be readily dispersed in water without the use of additives. However, the mechanisms involved have not yet been elucidated and it is the aim of this project to understand the process and develop potential commercial applications.Read moreRead less