Honours project recruiting

Project description

One of the most evident effects of stress release in the Earth’s crust are tectonic earthquakes. Earthquakes provides stress information, in deeper intervals (>5 km) that are usually inaccessible by other methods. Australia, whilst not extensively seismically active, has a significant number of minor earthquakes and is being increasingly better covered by seismic arrays. Earthquakes of sufficient magnitude (M>2.5) and that are observed on a significant number of stations can be used to generate focal mechanism solutions for estimation of present-day stress. This project aims to compile and analyse minor earthquakes data across Australia to characterise state of neotectonic stress across the continent.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Geophysics, Tectonics

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Mojtaba Rajabi by email to discuss this project

Project description

The project aims to investigate transformative solutions to the marine plastic problem. Using a systems science approach, the project aims to find preventive, curative, and innovative strategies to plastic waste within the overarching framework of Circular Economy. This project seeks to build empirically grounded new knowledge that captures how theories and methods from risk management, environmental management, decisions under uncertainty, real options theory, and novel methodologies and data gathering strategies, such as organizational network analysis, can aid organizations to develop policy-oriented strategies and actions to prevent and minimize marine plastic litter across the product lifecycle. The main objectives are as follows.

1. Develop policy-oriented strategies and actions to prevent and minimize marine plastic litter across the product lifecyle based on systematic review.
2. Circular business models within Queensland to ensure sustainable management of plastic resources.

Relevant field

Industrial Ecology, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Life Cycle Assessment, Circular Economy

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Anthony Halog by email to discuss this project

Project description

The research project involves identifying and analysing the potential environmental impacts (i.e., emissions, waste, and resource consumption) of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games by conducting a systematic review and materials/energy flow analysis. Honours student will gain skills in data collection from databases and other sources with relevance to materials/energy flow analysis, analysing environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas, waste, resource consumption), as well as conducting systematic review.

Relevant field

Industrial Ecology, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Life Cycle Assessment, Circular Economy

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Anthony Halog by email to discuss this project

Project description

Coastal erosion under rising sea levels is a pressing global concern. However, erosion is governed by more than sea level position. It is dependent on sediment flux. On many coastlines, Queensland included, substantial sediment input has offset erosion from sea level rise and led to shoreline progradation. Yet, where does this extra sediment come from? This project will focus on the dynamics of the QLD coast to determine if progradation is driven by sediment sourced from the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The results will allow for better predictions of coastal response under a future rise in sea level.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Geography, Geology, Marine Science, Geomorphology

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Dan Harris by email to discuss this project

Project description

Water resources have been central to Australia’s economic and social history, in particular for the First Nations. However, they have suffered multiple environmental and socio-economic crises. This project aims to investigate the influence of climate change on water availability in several remote indigenous communities in northern Queensland. Historical documents, water balance analysis and GIS technology will be used in this project. This project will provide potential adaptation solutions on water security for indigenous communities in future.

Relevant field

Environmental Management, GIS

Supervisor

Please contact Professor Yongping Wei by email to discuss this project

Project description

Enthusiastic students are encouraged to join our ongoing research efforts in understanding the development of convergent plate margins around the globe. We carry out research in the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau, eastern Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and other places to reconstruct critical geological processes such as continental collision, subduction, mountain building, and resource accumulation, by using a combination of sedimentary, igneous, paleontological and metamorphic records. Students who are interested should contact us as early as possible to develop projects together. The student will work in a multiciplinary environment while focusing on a project that involves a combination of some of the following techniques: field mapping, petrography, micropaleontology, geochronology, thermochronology, and tectonic modeling. The exact project will be determined based on its scientific merit (e.g., whether it addresses an important scientific question) and the student’s background and interests.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Environmental Science, Geography, Geology, Marine Science, Mineralogy

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Renjie Zhou by email to discuss this project

Project description

Rare earth elements (REE) particularly the heavy ones together with Yttrium (REY) are important for the development of modern technology associated with renewable energy and sustainability goals. We know that deep sea muds in the Pacific Ocean, which accumulate at very slow rates are significantly enriched in REY (Kato et al. 2011). Courtesy of Earth’s heat engine and the plate tectonic processes it drives lithified versions of such muds can become accreted continental margins in subduction complexes. This project will examine deep marine cherts in eastern Australia to ascertain their prospectivity. It will involve fieldwork for sample collection with follow up labwork.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Environmental Science, Geology, Marine Science, Mineralogy

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Renjie Zhou by email to discuss this project

Project description

Discovery of diamond and other high-pressure minerals in ophiolites (remnants of ancient ocean crust) has challenged our traditional view on the pathways of recycling of crustal materials in the context of plate tectonics and mantle convection. One of the conundrums, which has puzzled the geoscientific community, is that these minerals, such as diamonds, must form several hundreds of kilometres deeper than the formation of their hosting ophiolites. Locating and charactering exotic minerals from classic ophiolites are key to solving some of the highly debated questions. Enthusiastic students who are interested in mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry are encouraged to participate in this research. The student will work with samples from ophiolites collected in the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand, New Caledonia) using a range of advanced analytical techniques (High Voltage Pulse/HVP processing, electron microprobe analysis, laser ablation ICP-MS, and SHRIMP ion probe)

Relevant field

Earth Science, Environmental Science, Geology, Mineralogy

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Renjie Zhou by email to discuss this project

Project description

Worldwide, there is a growing recognition of the role of urban planning and policy in promoting the community wellbeing. Recently, more national, state and local governments have focused on developing strategic plans and implementation strategies aimed at planning ‘healthy’ and ‘liveable’ cities and communities. This project will investigate how the definition of 'healthy' and 'liveable' cities have changed after the Covid-19 pandemic. It will focus on developing liveability indicators for planning healthy and resilient cities and communities during/post pandemics. Liveability indicators are comprehensive and measurable and enable policy makers to monitor the progress towards the strategic vision for the community.

Relevant field

Geography, Planning, Social Science

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Sara Alidoust by email to discuss this project

Project description

Description: This project entails collecting leaf-level data with a state-of-the-art gas exchange and spectral instrumentation that will underpin the link between plant health and what earth observing satellites can measure. Students will gain experience with spectrometers, gas exchange systems, and jupytper notebooks for data visualisation and analysis.

New insights for remotely measuring leaf photosynthetic function are anticipated from the datasets.

Relevant field

Agriculture, Earth Science, Environmental Science

Supervisor

Please contact Dr William Woodgate by email to discuss this project

Project description

Linking Earth's most diverse communities to ecosystem services. We have projects focussing on the associations between microbial communities and the health of ecosystems, people and plants.

Relevant field

Agriculture, Conservation, Environmental Management, Environmental Science, Microbial Ecology

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Paul Dennis by email to discuss this project

Project description

The wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchments are vital for trapping sediments on the way to the reef, but also for their own biodiversity and ecosystem services.  In collaboration with the Department of Environment and Science this project aims to reconstruct environmental changes in those wetlands using pollen and chemical proxies to aid in their future management.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Environmental Management, Environmental Science, Geography

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Kevin Welsh by email to discuss this project

Project description

This project will investigate environmental change for up to the last 10,000 years based on palaeoecological and geochemical analysis of sediment cores collected from coastal wetlands from Port Davey, SW Tasmania. Information collected from this study will be used to assist management of this unique region, particularly in terms of fire management. There is an opportunity for a trip down to Tasmania as part of this project.

Relevant field

Environmental Management, Geography, Archaeology

Supervisor

Please contact Professor Patrick Moss by email to discuss this project

Project description

Knowledge of geomechanical parameters is essential for management of all underground openings (such as mines and tunnels) and geo-reservoirs. Direct measurement of these parameters is usually not viable due to the high cost of testing or a lack of available data. Therefore, indirect methods are often used to predict these parameters from available data. This project will use geophysical log data to develop machine learning and geostatistical methods (using RStudio) for prediction of geomechanical and geological parameters in one of Australian sedimentary basins.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Geology, Geomechanics, Geotechnics

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Mojtaba Rajabi by email to discuss this project

Project description

To work on sediment cores collected from Moreton Bay to understand past changes in the environment over the last 2000 years. The cores are being collected as part of an international project called Seachange, that is interested in changes in the marine ecosystems as a result of human interactions with the marine environment.

Relevant field

Earth Science, Environmental Science, Marine Science, Archaeology

Supervisor

Please contact Associate Professor Helen Bostock or Dr Kevin Welsh by email to discuss this project

Project description

The Mitter Lab has received global media coverage for developing the world’s first tissue-culture production system for avocado plants - the world's most instagrammed fruit. This is important as a sustainable, cost-effective and climate-secure way to produce plants. We have also developed cryopreservation (cryostorage at -196C) of avocado, with plants able to be revived from cryostasis and grown. This is the safest way to conserve precious species that cannot be seedbanked.

Dedicated students will be part of our expanding research in a new $20M tissue-culture facility at UQ, developing systems for other crop species as well as endangered native species.

Relevant field

Agriculture, Conservation

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Alice Hayward (a.hayward@uq.edu.au) by email to discuss this project

Project description

The city manifests and reproduces urban inequalities through unequal access to services and infrastructure, unequal access to decision-making process by diverse groups, and unequal use of public space. The project will look at one or more aspects of inequalities in cities in the Global North or South, using qualitative research methods.

No funding available.

Relevant field

Students from Planning, Environmental Management, Geography, Development, Social Science

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Sonia Roitman (s.roitman@uq.edu.au) by email to discuss this project

Project description

The project examines how disasters are framed within the urban planning system. It analyses responses and recovery actions from the government and from civil society organisations (Non-Governmental Organisations and communities), looking at how the top-down and bottom-up approaches can complement and learn from each other. The project will analyse urban areas in the Global North or South, using qualitative research methods. No funding available.

Relevant field

Students from Planning

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Sonia Roitman (s.roitman@uq.edu.au) by email to discuss this project

Project description

The project examines SDG11 and how it is being addressed according to a) regulatory frameworks; b) stakeholders involved; c) projects and activities. The location of the study can be a city in the Global North or South. The project will mainly use qualitative research methods. No funding available.

Relevant field

Students from Planning, Environmental Management, Geography, Development, Social Science

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Sonia Roitman (s.roitman@uq.edu.au) by email to discuss this project

Project description

The Cloncurry district is a world-class iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) terrane and hosts a wide variety of IOCG deposit types. The Elizabeth Springs target area is located approximately 200km south of Cloncurry and has been the subject of historic and current drilling, with IOCG-style mineralisation intersected associated with strong geophysical anomalies under approximately 400m of overlying cover sequences. Significant multi-element chemistry, geochronological, petrophysical and hyperspectral datasets have been collected from the drill core by Anglo American Exploration as part of a Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) grant from the Queensland Department of Resources in early 2021. This type of deep exploration, requiring extraction of maximum data from fewer drill holes, is increasingly common as explorers move into deeply covered target areas.

The aim of this project is to understand and document the alteration paragenesis, the distribution and zonation of alteration types, and importantly their relationship to copper-gold mineralisation in the area. Comparison will be made with other IOCG deposits documented in the Cloncurry district. The student will study in detail the rock types, alteration, geochemistry and mineralisation from approximately five historic deep drill holes in the area. This will involve detailed drill core logging, thin section petrography, and a review of bulk-rock geochemistry and hyperspectral data

Relevant field

Geology, Sedimentology, Petrology, Geochemistry and Geochronology/Earth Sciences

Supervisor

Please contact Assoc Prof. Carlos Spier (c.spier@uq.edu.au) by email to discuss this project

Project description

In February 2022, an episode of intense rainfall impacted Southeast Queensland, causing widespread flooding. Weather radars and satellites rely heavily on dedicated locally informed algorithms to produce accurate rainfall rate estimates. This can be done via the local observations of the rainfall microstructure (the number, size, and shape of rainfall droplets). Such a unique dataset of rainfall microstructure was collected for the February 2022 event using a disdrometer at The University of Queensland providing such observations for the region for the first time. The student will undertake a program of research that will contribute to the analysis and interpretation of that unique dataset. They will place their research in the context of the event’s meteorology. Existing knowledge and interest to learn further the python programming language is required, while there will be the opportunity to contribute to the publication of research on extreme rainfall characteristics in Southeast Queensland.

Relevant field

Environmental Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, Water resources

Supervisor

Please contact Prof Hamish McGowan (h.mcgowan@uq.edu.au),  Dr Adrien Guyot (a.guyot@uq.edu.au) (Bureau of Meteorology and UQ) by email to discuss this project

Project description

The 2020 worldwide bushfire activity has been the most intense and widespread since the existence of satellite-based observational capabilities. In Australia alone, the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires resulted in an economic cost of more than $100 billion, a burnt area of more than 18 M ha, 10,000 destroyed buildings, 34 direct deaths and more than 400 deaths due to smoke exposure. The most extreme manifestation of fire-atmosphere coupling are fire-triggered thunderstorms. UQ is leading an initiative supported by Google.org and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to monitor bushfire smoke plumes and fire-triggered thunderstorms with weather radar. The student will explore and analyse data from the BoM operational network and the UQ portable weather radar of fire-triggered thunderstorms. Existing knowledge and interest to learn further the python programming language is required, and there will be the opportunity to contribute to the publication of research on radar analyses of extreme bushfire events.

Relevant field

Environmental Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences

Supervisor

Please contact Prof Hamish McGowan (h.mcgowan@uq.edu.au),  Dr Adrien Guyot (a.guyot@uq.edu.au) (Bureau of Meteorology and UQ) by email to discuss this project

Project description

Mixtures of pesticide frequently occur in waterways that discharge to the Great Barrier Reef. Relationships that use land use composition data to predict the toxicity of pesticide mixtures have been developed. In this project, you will develop methods to determine the up-stream land that drains to any point in a waterway and its land use composition. The resulting land use composition data will then be substituted into the land use – pesticide toxicity relationships to estimate the toxicity of pesticide mixtures at any selected point in any waterway even for sites where there is no pesticide monitoring data. You will be working with scientists from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. There is a $5000 scholarship associated with this project.

Relevant field

Pollution Science, Water Quality, Geographic Information Systems

Supervisor

Please contact Assoc. Prof. Michael Warne (SEES),Dr Ryan Turner (SEES), Mr YongJing Mao (SEES), Catherine Neelamraju (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)

Project description

Monitoring of up to 86 pesticides has been conducted in rivers that discharge to the Great Barrier Reef for over 12 years. The crucial question of whether concentrations of individual pesticides are increasing or decreasing in these rivers has only been answered for one insecticide, imidacloprid and is currently being addressed for diuron. In this desktop project you will use trend analysis to determine if pesticide concentrations are changing over time. You will work with scientists from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Your project will generate results that will inform future management actions and policies that aim to improve the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. It is expected that the results will be publishable. There is a $5000 scholarship associated with this project.

Relevant field

Pollution Science, Water Quality, Data Analysis, Pesticides

Supervisor

Please contact Assoc. Prof. Michael Warne (SEES), Dr Ryan Turner (SEES), Dr Alan Huang (School of Mathematics and Physics), Catherine Neelamraju and Dr Reinier Mann (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)

Project description

The Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program conducted by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, conducts water analyses to identify pesticides in runoff from horticultural crops. In order to assess the risk of these chemicals, it is necessary to derive guidelines for the protection of freshwater and marine ecosystems. This desktop project will identify priority pesticides on the basis of sampling and analysis of GBR catchment waters, search the literature and toxicity databases for relevant toxicity data and derive guidelines. You will work with toxicologists from UQ and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Your project will generate results that will inform future management actions and policies that aim to improve the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef. It is expected that the results will be publishable and end up being Australian Water Quality Guidelines. There is a $5 000 scholarship associated with this project.

Relevant field

Pollution Science, Water Quality, Data Analysis, Pesticides

Supervisor

Please contact Assoc. Prof. Michael Warne (SEES), Catherine Neelamraju and Dr Reinier Mann (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)

Project description

We have spectral sensor probes in 56 rivers that discharge to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon. Every fifteen minutes they each generate a spectra of the water passing the probe to estimate nitrate concentrations. In this project you will analyse the spectra and traditional laboratory-based measurements of pollutants (86 pesticides, suspended sediment and nine forms of nitrogen and phosphorus) to determine if there are statistically significant relationships that can accurately predict pollutant concentrations. If they are sufficiently accurate, they will be used to predict the concentrations of pollutants in waterways without pollutant data. Successful relationships would be of immense interest to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and would be extremely useful in efforts to improve the quality of water entering the GBR lagoon. It is expected that the results will be publishable. There is a $5000 scholarship associated with this project.

Relevant field

Pollution Science, Water Quality, Predicting water quality, Water quality monitoring

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Ryan Turner (SEES), Assoc. Prof. Michael Warne (SEES), Dr Alan Huang (School of Mathematics and Physics)

Project description

The conversion of biomass to fuels and value-added chemicals is key to supporting net-zero aspirations both globally and within Australia. Ideally, biomass sources should be non-food biomass such as lignocellulosic biomass, and/or supply chain surplus or wastes. However, the biorefinery concept is challenged by the valorisation of complex waste streams encompassing all biomass components; the requirement for new, biobased supply chains; discovery of new technologies and processes that are also sustainable with respect to social, economic, and environmental factors; heterogeneity of biomass feedstocks; integration of biorefinery systems within established systems; and complex modelling requirements.

Additionally, to mitigate climate change impacts, highly efficient multi-faceted multi-product biorefinery systems must be developed to replace and dominate fossil-based systems. In this context waste/biomass-based integrated biorefinery systems are promising but currently at a nascent stage. There is an unmet need to bring together the critical areas of process integration and life cycle sustainability assessment with techno-economic, social, and environmental aspects, for estimating the overall sustainability of these biorefineries.

This project will focus on developing multi-objective sustainability led optimization-based decision support tool for exploring the potential of waste/biomass-based biorefinery systems.

Relevant field

The honours applicant should have an interest in computational optimization, process systems, chemical engineering, green chemistry, industrial ecology, computer science, mathematics or another engineering/science disciplines with significant computational elements, and some coding experience in a programming language (e.g., Python, GAMS, MATLAB) are essential for the role. Experience in mathematical optimisation modelling, open-source software, and/or process simulation is desirable. Applicants with interests in sustainability and circular economy as well as background knowledge of life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis are highly desirable.

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Anthony Halog (SEES)

Project description

We are seeking a motivated Honours student to undertake a field research project alongside Noosa Shire Council within the beautiful Cooloola Sandmass (Great Sandy National Park). The student will be undertaking fieldwork to quantify groundwater discharge into the Noosa River at selected sites. Research permits and access have been secured. The student would be working with an existing PhD project investigating groundwater-dependent ecosystems within the Cooloola Sandmass.

Noosa River and surrounding ecosystems feature iconic landscapes home to many important plant and animal species. The mosaic of wetland, riverine and fen systems within Cooloola make it a hotspot of biodiversity. But climate change, groundwater extraction and potential development within the National Park threaten these pristine habitats. More information is require on the quantity and quality of groundwater discharging into Noosa River and the interaction between rainfall and shallow groundwater tables to adequately inform future sustainable developments and enhance resilience.

Relevant field

Ideally looking for a student with an interest in hydrology and/or hydrogeology with an interest in maths / physics / chemistry, but those with skills in quantitative ecology and environmental science are encouraged to apply. Field experience not necessary though favourable (FWD experience, remote work).

Supervisor

Please contact Dr Harald Hofmann (SEES)