Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100137
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$881,758.00
Summary
Australian Environmental Specimen Bank: advancing specimen bank capability. The aim of this LIEF is to advance Australia’s specimen banking capabilities through a new, enhanced national facility, the Australian Environmental Specimen Bank (AESB). The AESB would be founded on a unique current archive of human and environmental samples established by the partners to the LIEF. Importantly, the AESB would be managed as a nationally available (to all public sector researchers), operationally self-fun ....Australian Environmental Specimen Bank: advancing specimen bank capability. The aim of this LIEF is to advance Australia’s specimen banking capabilities through a new, enhanced national facility, the Australian Environmental Specimen Bank (AESB). The AESB would be founded on a unique current archive of human and environmental samples established by the partners to the LIEF. Importantly, the AESB would be managed as a nationally available (to all public sector researchers), operationally self-funded resource for integrated exposure research into the future. The archive is expected to support longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to assess trends in exposure to chemical and biological hazards in the Australian population, identify emerging hazards, and provide a scientific basis for policy and regulatory actions.Read moreRead less
Understanding Australia by analysing wastewater during the Census 2021 . This project aims to utilise the Australian Census 2021, a unique opportunity to link exposure to chemical and biological hazards with catchment socio-demographic data via systematic wastewater analysis. The project is expected to advance our capabilities to identify emerging hazards and understand factors that affect spatiotemporal trends in hazards across Australia. Moreover, in a world first, the project aims to assess c ....Understanding Australia by analysing wastewater during the Census 2021 . This project aims to utilise the Australian Census 2021, a unique opportunity to link exposure to chemical and biological hazards with catchment socio-demographic data via systematic wastewater analysis. The project is expected to advance our capabilities to identify emerging hazards and understand factors that affect spatiotemporal trends in hazards across Australia. Moreover, in a world first, the project aims to assess chemical fate on a national level by linking sales/use with fate and release from wastewater treatment plants and assess treatment efficiency at >100 plants around Australia. The project expects to provide insight for government, wastewater managers and industry into hazards that may affect environmental and human health.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100633
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,573.00
Summary
Microplastics accumulation in Australian coastal wetlands. This project aims to quantify the intensity, rate and impact of the accumulation of microplastic particles in Australia’s coastal wetlands for the first time. This multidisciplinary project will examine interactions between microplastics, wetland ecology and carbon dynamics using advanced analytical chemistry, biogeochemistry and environmental microbiology. Expected outcomes of this project include the world’s first nationwide analysis o ....Microplastics accumulation in Australian coastal wetlands. This project aims to quantify the intensity, rate and impact of the accumulation of microplastic particles in Australia’s coastal wetlands for the first time. This multidisciplinary project will examine interactions between microplastics, wetland ecology and carbon dynamics using advanced analytical chemistry, biogeochemistry and environmental microbiology. Expected outcomes of this project include the world’s first nationwide analysis of the sequestration of microplastics and their influence on the carbon cycle in coastal ecosystems. This work will provide significant benefits, such as facilitating decision-making about microplastics emissions reduction and coastal wetlands conservation.Read moreRead less
Using facial recognition for bird conservation management. Long-term monitoring of reintroduced species is essential to measure conservation success. This project aims to use a novel and non-invasive facial recognition software developed by our research group to measure the recovery of a vulnerable and native bird species following introduction outside of its historic range. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of animal monitoring. Expected outcomes of this project includ ....Using facial recognition for bird conservation management. Long-term monitoring of reintroduced species is essential to measure conservation success. This project aims to use a novel and non-invasive facial recognition software developed by our research group to measure the recovery of a vulnerable and native bird species following introduction outside of its historic range. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of animal monitoring. Expected outcomes of this project include improved ability to track individuals and their persistence to better inform conservation priorities. This should provide significant benefits to researchers, government agencies and industries to improve conservation planning as well as the outcomes of reintroductions and other translocations.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100756
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$398,945.00
Summary
Closing the data gap: Systematic monitoring of PFAS remediation in soil. Extensive past use of perfluorinated chemicals (PFASs) has resulted in soil and waterway contamination, damaging human and environmental health. The best option for treatment is often soil remediation with sorbents to immobilise PFASs, but the long-term fate of PFASs in treated soil is poorly understood. This project aims to generate new insights into PFASs and sorbent behaviour in soils over time, and re-design analytical ....Closing the data gap: Systematic monitoring of PFAS remediation in soil. Extensive past use of perfluorinated chemicals (PFASs) has resulted in soil and waterway contamination, damaging human and environmental health. The best option for treatment is often soil remediation with sorbents to immobilise PFASs, but the long-term fate of PFASs in treated soil is poorly understood. This project aims to generate new insights into PFASs and sorbent behaviour in soils over time, and re-design analytical methods to better mimic field conditions. Expected outcomes include strategies and methods to allow industry and government agencies to tailor remediation strategies to each site’s environmental and chemical profile, and effectively monitor progress to create longer lasting benefits to human health and the environment. Read moreRead less
Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative ....Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative that could be incorporated into DTA programs if their ecological relevance can be demonstrated. This project will develop and validate a new and internationally significant suite of in vitro bioassays for incorporation into DTA programs, leading to more ethical, cost effective and improved environmental protection.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
Understanding third hand exposure of Australian people to methamphetamine. In Australia, there is high community concern around inadvertent exposure to methamphetamine residues in contaminated houses. In this proposal, an interdisciplinary research team aim to engage with public health authorities and public housing industry to conduct collaborative research on total exposure to methamphetamine in contaminated indoor environments. The project will assess exposure pathways (via air, dust, surface ....Understanding third hand exposure of Australian people to methamphetamine. In Australia, there is high community concern around inadvertent exposure to methamphetamine residues in contaminated houses. In this proposal, an interdisciplinary research team aim to engage with public health authorities and public housing industry to conduct collaborative research on total exposure to methamphetamine in contaminated indoor environments. The project will assess exposure pathways (via air, dust, surfaces) and link them with methamphetamine levels in samples from occupants (urine, hair). The project is expected to significantly enhance our understanding of how third hand exposure leads to internal exposure in humans. This knowledge provides evidence for policies on residential indoor exposures and remediation strategies.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less