Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual ....Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer; the mezzo level of the volunteer-involving organisation; and the macro level of society. This innovative approach aims to identify, analyse and develop a tool to help organisations build Australia’s civil society and develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector into the future.Read moreRead less
Measuring the impact of urban regulation on housing affordability in Australian cities and regions. Urban planning must ensure that development meets new environmental goals, but stringent regulation may reduce housing supply and affordability. This project uses new local planning data and econometric studies to quantify and monitor planning regulation impacts on housing supply and affordability in Australian cities and regions.
Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-tim ....Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-time information regarding the quality of the remediated water. We expect this to improve the availability of regional water resources by providing a low-cost remediation solution with integrated monitoring to provide assurances of meeting the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006).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
Unlocking the secrets of the groundwater cycle using Si and Li isotopes. This project aims to determine how non-conventional lithium and silicon isotopes can be used to understand groundwater processes using an innovative source-to-target approach. The project aims to apply these isotope tracers to trace the water cycle within a well constrained system: an island aquifer with a dense borefield which has been analysed using traditional isotopic techniques. Supporting hydrochemical data will be us ....Unlocking the secrets of the groundwater cycle using Si and Li isotopes. This project aims to determine how non-conventional lithium and silicon isotopes can be used to understand groundwater processes using an innovative source-to-target approach. The project aims to apply these isotope tracers to trace the water cycle within a well constrained system: an island aquifer with a dense borefield which has been analysed using traditional isotopic techniques. Supporting hydrochemical data will be used to determine the relationship of the isotopes with environmental processes. The project impact will be the development of new methods to help understand our groundwater resource. The improved process understanding will be translated to groundwater management in general. The projects' focus on carbonate aquifer systems typical of coastal regions of southern, eastern and western Australia will have relevance to groundwater management in urban areas such as Perth and in rural areas for tourism and viticulture, and for management of natural resources in National Parks.Read moreRead less
Advanced water treatment technologies to minimise nitrogenous disinfection by-products in drinking water: understanding the role of organic nitrogen. This project will identify improved methods for treatment of drinking water to prevent the formation of potentially hazardous disinfection by-products. It will assist water resource managers and regulators to select the most economical and safe treatment for each type of water source and to plan for future demands on our limited water supplies.
On-line monitoring of cyanobacteria to predict coagulant doses and powdered activated carbon application in water treatment. Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, can impact water quality by releasing toxins that can be harmful to human health and imparting unpleasant taste and odours to the water. This project will support the water industry in managing these risks by providing a rapid, on-line tool to assist in their removal during water treatment.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR180200015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,007.00
Summary
Combination of electrochemistry with sono to destroy and detoxify PFAS. Previously the major means of dealing with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is by adsorption, to collect and remove PFAS from contaminated sites. However, PFAS still exist, non-degraded and waiting for destruction. Targeting slurry waste from current remediation / adsorption plants, this project aims to efficiently degrade PFAS by combining electrochemical oxidation with sono-chemistry to enhance degradation capac ....Combination of electrochemistry with sono to destroy and detoxify PFAS. Previously the major means of dealing with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is by adsorption, to collect and remove PFAS from contaminated sites. However, PFAS still exist, non-degraded and waiting for destruction. Targeting slurry waste from current remediation / adsorption plants, this project aims to efficiently degrade PFAS by combining electrochemical oxidation with sono-chemistry to enhance degradation capacity, to accelerate PFAS desorption / transportation from slurry waste, to avoid electrode fouling and to detoxify PFAS. The expected outcome of this project is to clean up contaminated sites, including PFAS / precursors and other persistent organic pollutants, leading to significant environmental benefits.Read moreRead less
Source - receptor analysis of lignin and lipid macromolecules in karst to quantify stalagmite biomarker proxies of vegetation and temperature change. Cave stalagmites are archives of past climate and environmental changes. This project seeks to develop two novel biomarkers, lignin and bacterial membrane lipids, from which we will generate new records of historic and prehistoric vegetation and temperature change.
Unravelling the cycling of nitrogen along a subtropical freshwater-marine continuum using a multi-isotope, multi-tracer and modelling approach. This project will significantly advance our understanding of the sources, cycling and pathways of nitrogen along a sub-tropical catchment-river-estuary. As such, the findings from this research will have direct implications to the management, rehabilitation and protection of waterways (including biodiversity) in Australia.