Sustainability research
Small scale heat and power plant (2015)
The aim of this project is to build and demonstrate a residential-size CHP (combined heat and power plant) which utilises solar heat to generate sufficient electricity for household and make hot water available for cooking and other purposes. Such a plant would make it possible for those around the world who are deprived from accessing the grid to generate their own electricity. Besides those in remote Australia, this applies to about 600 million people in India, 350 million in China and more in Africa. Read more >
Paleoclimate research in the Murray-Darling Basin (2011-2014)
Further information
Prof Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Victorian farmer typology for climate adaptation (2012-2013)
The aim of this project was to further develop and document the farmer typology methodology by using an 8-item rather than 14-item survey instrument to collect data from the Victorian Farmer Survey on Climate Change 2011 to derive a 2011 farmer typology based on climate change adaptation attitudes and behaviours.
Recent Victorian drought and its impact (2009-2013)
Read The Recent Victorian Drought and its impact publication (pdf, 1mb).
Further information
Prof Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Victorian farmer survey on climate change (2011-2012)
The primary aim of this project was to investigate the attitudes and knowledge of Victorian farmers towards climate change, climate variability and greenhouse gas emissions on their farming enterprises and to track the changes that have occurred in attitude, knowledge and on-farm actions since the 2009 benchmarking survey.
Read more about the Victorian farmer survey on climate change.
Global wetland change (2014-2017)
Peter Gell's recent proposal to lead a PAGES working group entitled Transitions in Global Aquatic Systems (TriGAS), has been provisionally accepted by the PAGES Executive Committee. This group of wetland change scientists from over 20 countries will assemble records of wetland change from across the globe, with a focus on first human impact, first industrial impact and maximum human impact on wetlands, as well as evidence for regime shifts and early warning systems of change.
Further informationProf Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Optimisation of a post-combustion CO2 capture plant in brown coal-fired power stations (2011-2015)
Amine solvent based post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) is likely to be the first carbon capture technology to be deployed on a large scale worldwide. However before the technology can be implemented, a better understanding of the dynamic behaviour and optimisation of process conditions is required through process modelling.
Small scale heat and power plant (2015)
The aim of this project is to build and demonstrate a residential-size CHP (combined heat and power plant) which utilises solar heat to generate sufficient electricity for household and make hot water available for cooking and other purposes. Such a plant would make it possible for those around the world who are deprived from accessing the grid to generate their own electricity. Besides those in remote Australia, this applies to about 600 million people in India, 350 million in China and more in Africa.
Read more about the Small scale heat and power plant project.
Battery storage software for households (2013-2015)
Assoc Prof Peter Vamplew is collaborating with Dr Adam Berry and Tim Moore (CSIRO Energy Technology) and Assoc Prof Doug Creighton (Deakin University) on a project to develop intelligent software to control local battery storage for household solar power systems. An inherent limitation of solar power is that production is highest during daytime hours, which may not coincide with the time when the household is actually consuming power.
Read more about the Battery storage software for households project.
Restoration of warm temperate rainforest, Gippsland (ongoing)
Dr Wendy Wright is working with HVP Plantations Pty Ltd on a long term ecological monitoring project, tracking the outcomes of an ecological restoration project at Macks Creek in the Strzelecki Ranges in Gippsland.
Read more about the Restoration of warm temperate rainforest project.
Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (ongoing)
This project aims to adapt new technologies and leverage high capacity broadband to visualise Victoria’s groundwater systems which will contribute to groundwater research and ultimately, the sustainable management of groundwater resources. The project budget of $2.23 million combines funding granted by the Victorian Government via the Broadband Enabled Innovation Program (BEIP) with financial and significant in-kind contributions from partnering organisations.
Visit the Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (VVG) website.Waterbirds for Barrick Gold at Lake Cowal (ongoing)
Peter Gell has undertaken tri-annual surveys of waterbird populations, and breeding activity, at Lake Cowal in NSW since 1992 for Barrick Gold. This has provided great insight into the changing patterns of birds that use a wetland through wetting and drying cycles.
Further information
Prof Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Water Research Network (ongoing)
The Water Research Network is centred at the Mt Helen Campus of Federation University Australia. Our Network was established in late 2014 when the water research strengths of the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) and the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM) were merged. Our members have extensive expertise and connections through scientific, management and policy organisations, locally and globally.
Wetland change (ongoing)
Further information
Prof Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Monitoring and managing ecosystem function on the steep slopes of the Lower Jinsha River Valley, Sichuan, China (2012-2017)
Dr Wendy Wright is working with colleagues at Sichuan University in China to assess ecological function along a section of the Jinsha River Valley in Sichuan Province, China. The combined effects of a rain shadow and föhn winds in the area cause an unusually dry climate. Most of the hill slopes are used for agricultural production but small patches of natural habitat remain, often at higher elevations and along watercourses.
Read more about the Monitoring and managing ecosystem function on the steep slopes of the Lower Jinsha River Valley, Sichuan, China project.Strzelecki koala population, distribution and health (2013-2016)
Dr Wendy Wright, Dr Fiona Hogan and Assoc Prof Jenny Mosse are working with PhD candidate Ms Faye Wedrowicz on a study of the Strzelecki koala, using genetic analysis of DNA sourced from koala scats to assess the population’s health and conservation importance of this population. Preliminary results suggest the Strzelecki population is distinct from other Victorian koalas and that there may be deeper genetic structure within the koalas of Strzelecki bioregion.
Read more about the Strzelecki koala population, distribution and health project.
Leadbeater's possum recovery program (2014-2015)
In January 2014, the government accepted recommendations from the Leadbeater's Possum Advisory Group on ways to support the recovery of the Leadbeater's possum, whilst maintaining a sustainable timber industry. The Leadbeaters Possum Implementation Committee produced a series of recommendations in relation to publishing a range of historic, current and future research, information and data on aspects of the Leadbeater’s possum population, habitat and management online.
Travellers' Trails: An exciting journey in sustainability for secondary students (2013-2014)
A project developed by the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) visualising staff commuter patterns was adapted and trialled as a classroom exercise for collecting sustainability data. One of the aims of the Travellers’ Trails was to extend participants' understanding of the impact of different modes of travel on carbon emissions, relevant to their school community.
Visit the Travellers' Trails: An exciting journey in sustainability for secondary students webpage.
Sustainable land use, Sovereign Hill (2012-2014)
Further information
Prof Peter Gell
Email: p.gell@federation.edu.au
Catchment restoration: Landholder perceptions of riparian restoration (2011-2012)
The aim of this project was to investigate farmer perceptions of riparian restoration and the benefits they received from doing it on their farms.
Federation University Australia researchers involved in the project were Michelle Graymore and Imogen Schwarz (Wimmera Research Group). Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority and Centre for Environmental Management were project partners.
Further informationDr Michelle Graymore
Email: m.graymore@federation.edu.au
Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership (ongoing)
Visit the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership website.
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