Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560895
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$854,354.00
Summary
A new-generation gas-source radiocarbon system for integrated environmental and archaeological research. An ultra-sensitive radiocarbon analysis system, proposed here, is central to new, multi-institution research into past fluctuations of Australia's climate, natural resources and ecosystems. Focussed on the 40,000 years of human presence, the research is an integrated approach to changes of earth systems in the Australian region.The equipment is a single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SS ....A new-generation gas-source radiocarbon system for integrated environmental and archaeological research. An ultra-sensitive radiocarbon analysis system, proposed here, is central to new, multi-institution research into past fluctuations of Australia's climate, natural resources and ecosystems. Focussed on the 40,000 years of human presence, the research is an integrated approach to changes of earth systems in the Australian region.The equipment is a single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS) with an innovative gas-fed ion source and automated gas-handling system, with simpler processing and smaller samples than present AMS facilities. Future developments include automated multi-sample handling and coupling to microprobe and chromatographic analysers for microscale radiocarbon analysis of complex substances.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100094
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Single-grain optically-stimulated luminescence and dosimetry instruments to service the Sydney metropolitan and greater New South Wales region. This equipment will support projects that address significant environmental challenges in Australia, such as climate change and variability, coastal management and sustainable river and water management, and that assess the impacts and consequences of these challenges for populations living in environmentally sensitive areas. These projects will build on ....Single-grain optically-stimulated luminescence and dosimetry instruments to service the Sydney metropolitan and greater New South Wales region. This equipment will support projects that address significant environmental challenges in Australia, such as climate change and variability, coastal management and sustainable river and water management, and that assess the impacts and consequences of these challenges for populations living in environmentally sensitive areas. These projects will build on established collaborations in Australia, Antarctica and the south-west Pacific and encourage new collaborations with south-east Asian, Egyptian and Argentinean researchers, which will promote Australian research on a world stage. The use of this equipment will also pioneer new dating methodologies to further enhance Australia's place at the forefront of geochronology.Read moreRead less
Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key out ....Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key outcome will be an accurate appreciation of long-term drought occurrence. This will also provide a stronger basis for utilising climate information in guiding day-to-day reservoir and water supply management. The proxy histories are of key importance in estimating future flood and drought risk assessments for water resources management and planning.Read moreRead less
A Stochastic Downscaling Framework for Catchment Scale Climate Change Impact Assessment. We propose a framework for climate change impact assessment at the catchment scale, that can both assess the change in catchment yield, as well as refine management policies to mitigate likely impacts. A key aim is to represent the full uncertainty in the simulated streamflow, thus enabling a risk-based comparison of current policies with those for climate change conditions. Given the importance of this rese ....A Stochastic Downscaling Framework for Catchment Scale Climate Change Impact Assessment. We propose a framework for climate change impact assessment at the catchment scale, that can both assess the change in catchment yield, as well as refine management policies to mitigate likely impacts. A key aim is to represent the full uncertainty in the simulated streamflow, thus enabling a risk-based comparison of current policies with those for climate change conditions. Given the importance of this research to the availability of water under a climate change scenario, this proposal has been listed under the ARC's Research Priority 1: 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia', with the specific priority goals being 'Water - A Critical Resource', and 'Responding to climate change and variability'.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on coastal floodplain wetland biogeochemistry and surface water quality. The most vulnerable Australian landscapes to global warming driven sea-level rise are our low-lying coastal floodplains. Seawater inundation dramatically affects soil chemistry and water quality. Over 74,000 km2 of the low-lying coastal floodplains of Australia contain acid sulfate soils. For these soils, seawater inundation has the potential to greatly enhance the release of acidity, with a high c ....Impacts of climate change on coastal floodplain wetland biogeochemistry and surface water quality. The most vulnerable Australian landscapes to global warming driven sea-level rise are our low-lying coastal floodplains. Seawater inundation dramatically affects soil chemistry and water quality. Over 74,000 km2 of the low-lying coastal floodplains of Australia contain acid sulfate soils. For these soils, seawater inundation has the potential to greatly enhance the release of acidity, with a high capacity to severely degrade wetlands, estuaries and farmland. This project will directly contribute to our national capacity to assess and manage impacts from climate change, providing greater protection of our coastal floodplains resources.Read moreRead less
Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and ....Palaeoclimatic and environmental significance of major Late Quaternary drainage contributions and disruptions in the Lake Eyre basin. This study will advance our knowledge of the most remarkable floods ever known to have occurred in Australia. They were associated with a vast aquatic ecosystem in what today is the barren northern end of the Flinders Ranges, a region of desert dunes and salt lakes. Remarkably, such wet conditions appear to have coincided with episodes of megafaunal extinction and with the human occupation of Australia. The results will provide valuable information with which to better understand the the main global drivers of episodes of profound wetness and dryness in Australian climate. Read moreRead less
How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilome ....How green were our deserts? Evidence for Late Quaternary climate change and the source of water in the Lake Eyre basin. This project addresses the National Research Priority of Environmentally Sustainable Australia by examining evidence for what has controlled climate change and variable runoff in the vast Lake Eyre basin. It will provide evidence for why Australia, presently the world's driest inhabited continent, has as recently as medieval times supported large lakes holding many cubic kilometres of fresh water adjacent to the now-barren Flinders Ranges. It will show if this water had a tropical or temperate source, fundamental information for understanding Australia's past climate, and allow predictions of future climate to be based on firm evidence.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775739
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$135,000.00
Summary
Environmental Research Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (ERIRMS). The projects supported by this facility are esential to: sustainable management of Sydney's surface and groundwater; understanding food webs and trophic interactions in Sydney Harbour and elsewhere on the eastern seaboard; developing predictive models for the impacts of climate change on Australia's forests, especially carbon sequestration and water yield; understanding the trade-offs involved in managing fire risks through prescr ....Environmental Research Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (ERIRMS). The projects supported by this facility are esential to: sustainable management of Sydney's surface and groundwater; understanding food webs and trophic interactions in Sydney Harbour and elsewhere on the eastern seaboard; developing predictive models for the impacts of climate change on Australia's forests, especially carbon sequestration and water yield; understanding the trade-offs involved in managing fire risks through prescribed burning, especially trade-offs involving carbon and water; and understanding and predicting air quality and the effects of emissions from cars, industry, fires and natural sources.
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Using Advances in Bayesian Statistics to Estimate Australian Rainfall Variations in a Climate Change World. Modelling changes to rainfall patterns answers many important questions about changes in Australia's climate. This is essential to protecting our biodiversity and ensuring Australia's environmental sustainability. The project will address such issues as the extent to which the entire distribution of daily rainfall has changed over time, which areas of Australia have been most affected by t ....Using Advances in Bayesian Statistics to Estimate Australian Rainfall Variations in a Climate Change World. Modelling changes to rainfall patterns answers many important questions about changes in Australia's climate. This is essential to protecting our biodiversity and ensuring Australia's environmental sustainability. The project will address such issues as the extent to which the entire distribution of daily rainfall has changed over time, which areas of Australia have been most affected by this change and to what extent are these changes related to global climate indices. The latest advances in Bayesian statistics will be used to introduce flexibility and complexity into the model.Read moreRead less
What controls the shift from a hot house climate to a cold house climate: the Eocene/ Oligocene climate transition and greenhouse warming. This study contributes to putting Australia on the map as a centre of excellence in the study of past climates as well as in global warming research. It aims at a greater understanding of the dynamics of past warm climate states. This could ultimately lead to a better knowledge of the formation of the ancient deposits that we mine in Australia today. Furtherm ....What controls the shift from a hot house climate to a cold house climate: the Eocene/ Oligocene climate transition and greenhouse warming. This study contributes to putting Australia on the map as a centre of excellence in the study of past climates as well as in global warming research. It aims at a greater understanding of the dynamics of past warm climate states. This could ultimately lead to a better knowledge of the formation of the ancient deposits that we mine in Australia today. Furthermore, the study of these past warm climates tells us something about current global warming as both involve increased levels of carbon in the atmosphere. The impact of climate change on Australia is likely to be large. Our study of past warm climates helps to gain an understanding of the mechanisms behind climate change and help quantify the risks of climate change posed to Australia.Read moreRead less