[Aqualist] ARC announced Future Fellowships (and recent Linkage grants also included)

[Simon Haberle]

Dear all,

The ARC have just announced the funding outcomes for 2014 Future Fellowships. The successful applicants in Quaternary-related research areas are listed below. Congratulations to you all.

Cheers, Simon



FUTURE FELLOWSHIPS

University of Wollongong
Dr Bo Li (FT140100384)
Total=$771,504
GEOLOGY
Project Summary: Chronology is a critical component of geological and archaeological studies. To reconstruct the evolutionary histories of Homo sapiens and other hominin species in their environmental context, we must establish reliable age estimates for key archaeological sites and Quaternary deposits. This project aims to develop new-generation sediment dating techniques using the non-fading infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signal from potassium feldspars. These improved methods will be able to be applied to sites in Africa, Europe and Asia that contain important human fossils and artefacts, including the unique type localities of Denisovans and Hobbits, to answer fundamental questions about the timing of key turning points in human evolution and dispersal.

Asst Prof Benjamin Marwick (FT140100101
Total=$654,154
ARCHAEOLOGY
Project Summary: At a crossroads between India, Australia and the Pacific, this project recognises western mainland Southeast Asia as critical to understanding the human history of the region over the past 50 000 years. Thailand and Myanmar are strategically positioned to test competing models of initial modern human expansion, and subsequent trajectories of cultural change and interaction. This project aims to produce multiple data sets for reconstructing palaeoclimate. This data will assist in testing projections for future climate, making a significant contribution in responding to climate change and variability.

Dr Katherine Szabo (FT140100504)
Total=$812,966
ARCHAEOLOGY
Project Summary: Shell valuables are fundamentally important in many Melanesian societies, linking people to each other, the land and their ancestors. Although shell artefacts are frequent in Melanesian archaeological sites, presently it is not possible to discriminate between types and levels of value. Through ethnoarchaeological enquiry in the Solomon Islands and intensive studies of museum ethnographic collections, this project aims to develop tools to allow archaeologists to better interpret the nature of different shell artefacts and the social contexts of their production, use and discard. In doing so, it will enhance understandings of Melanesian societies and their transformations through time.

The University of Adelaide
Dr Damien A Fordham (FT140101192)
Total=$770,684
OTHER BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Project Summary: Current forecasts indicate that human-driven climate change will likely cause widespread biodiversity loss. However, climatic shifts during the Quaternary (2.6 million years ago to present), similar in magnitude to those projected for the 21st century, did not apparently cause extensive extinctions (with the exception of the megafauna). This project aims to use models linked to past responses imprinted in species¶ genes to resolve whether the disparity between observed and predicted extinction rates comes from models over-predicting species loss due to climate change. It will use this genetic- demographic approach to improve predictions of biodiversity responses to global change by establishing the biological and environmental determinants of extinction.

The Australian National University
 Dr Helen V McGregor (FT140100286)
Total=$771,360
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
Project Summary: El Niño and La Niña events have a profound influence on Australian drought conditions and rainfall. Forecasting is hampered by short climate records, which do not capture the full range of El Niño dynamics. This project aims to generate records of unprecedented length and spatial coverage from key sites across the western and central equatorial Pacific. Five hundred years of continuous, monthly-resolution climate data will be integrated with output from state-of-the-art climate model simulations to distil the key processes that cause El Niño to vary. This project aims to provide major advances in determining the full range of El Niño and La Niña behaviour, leading to improved forecasts of future changes, with consequences for Australia's water security.

Dr Jimin Yu (FT140100993)
Total=$758,724
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
Project Summary: The causes for past atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) changes and their mechanistic links to the histories of climate and ocean carbonate chemistry remain elusive, but may hold future-relevant information. This project aims to use novel methods to quantify deep ocean carbonate ion concentrations, a critical but poorly constrained parameter of the global carbon cycle, at 10 key locations spanning the global ocean during the last 350 000 years. By feeding new data into a model, this project aims to gain critical insights into mechanisms controlling past deep-sea carbonate cycles and atmospheric CO2 changes, thereby leading to improved understandings of the climate system.



LINKAGE GRANTS


The Australian National University

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
Pillans, Prof Bradley J; McPhail, A/Prof D C "Bear"; Hiscock, Prof Peter D; Dosseto, Dr Anthony; Papp, Dr Eva; Opdyke, Dr Bradley N; Clark, Dr Daniel J; Osborne, Mr James D; Osborne, Mr Henry; Gregory, Mr Wayne
Total=$450,000.00
Partner Organisation(s): Geoscience Australia, Grantham Park Holdings Pty Ltd, Currandooley Pty Ltd, Tobiway Crushing Pty Ltd
Project Summary
Lake George is an outstanding natural archive - it contains the longest continuous sedimentary record of any Australian lake and has a long, unresolved human occupation history. It also supplies 80 per cent of sand used in the Canberra region construction industry. This multidisciplinary study aims to determine the sedimentary, vegetation, climatic, hydrological, tectonic and archaeological history of the area, including application of cutting-edge dating methods. Project outcomes aim to increase knowledge of landscape evolution and human history in eastern Australia from an improved understanding of the responses of Lake George to past and future climate change and human impact, as well as optimising sustainable extraction of sand and gravel.

The Flinders University of South Australia

LP140100317 - PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
Werner, A/Prof Adrian D; Cartwright, Prof Ian; Yan, Ms Wei
Total=$294,000.00
Partner Organisation(s): SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
Project Summary
Rivers are the main source of freshwater for many ecosystems in semi-arid zones. River water may seep into the floodplain aquifer, providing an accessible store of low-salinity water within freshwater lenses. The project aims to investigate lens dynamics using numerical groundwater models supported by extensive field data from the lower River Murray, where freshwater lenses are declining. The project aims to model lens extent, growth and decline in response to natural variations in climate and to changes in land use, river regulation and groundwater pumping. Project results intend to evaluate management options to promote freshwater lenses, with the aim of improving river salinity and floodplain vegetation health.


University of Canberra

LP140100521 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
Unmack, Dr Peter J; Gruber, Asst Prof Bernd M; White, Dr Duanne A; Georges, Prof Arthur; Kilian, Dr Andrzej
Total=$269,692.00
Partner Organisation(s): Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd
Project Summary
Understanding factors that influence genetic spatial structure of species is essential for conserving biodiversity. Movement of freshwater organisms in riverine environments is severely constrained by dendritic structure of streams, variation in aridity, and geomorphology. The project aims to test hypotheses of how these factors impact genetic patterns across east-west climatic gradients in eastern Australia. For most aquatic species, research is limited on genetic patterns across spatial scales with varying riverine dendritic structure and rarely incorporates historical data. Uncovering genetic spatial structure in aquatic ecosystems is necessary for conservation management and predicting species movements in the current changing climate.


The University of Western Australia

LP140100393 - ARCHAEOLOGY
McDonald, Prof Josephine J; Veth, Prof Peter M; Paterson, Prof Alistair G; Hampson, Asst Prof Jamie; Glaskin, A/Prof Katie; Whitley, Asst Prof Thomas G; Bourke, A/Prof Paul D; Mulvaney, Dr Kenneth J
Total=$720,000.00
Partner Organisation(s): Rio Tinto
Project Summary
Despite the acknowledged National Heritage significance of the Dampier Archipelago's petroglyphs and stone features, there has been little research which assists in knowing when, why and how this art was produced. This landscape was occupied and art was produced both before and after sea level rise c.8-6,000 years ago. Developing a reliable chronology of occupation will allow a reconstruction of the role that art played in land-use systems of the Archipelago and adjacent Abydos Plain. This aims to be achieved by targeting and analysing landscapes associated with the earliest art of the Archipelago. The second aim is to explore contemporary social connections to this place back to first contact with historical seafarers and colonial settlers.


Griffith University

LP140100387 - ANTHROPOLOGY
Westaway, Dr Michael C; Wright, Dr Duncan J; Lambert, Prof David M; Miller, Prof Adrian; Fry, Prof Brian; Clegg, Dr Margaret; Collard, Prof Mark; Sankarasubramanian, Dr Subashchandran; Li, Dr Ruiqiang; Willerslev, Prof Eske; Hadnutt, Mr Nicholas
Total=$740,880.00
Partner Organisation(s): Novogene Bioinformatics Technology Co. Ltd, Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Queensland Museum
Project Summary
The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A number of techniques have been developed in the field of biological anthropology to reconstruct the history of individual skeletal remains. This innovative project aims to use advances in the fields of ancient DNA, isotope analysis and craniometrics to resolve the provenance of 113 trophy skulls from the Torres Strait Islands.


James Cook University

LP140100536 - ANTHROPOLOGY
Foale, Dr Simon J; Wood, Dr Michael A; McIntyre-Tamwoy, Dr Susan R; Filer, Dr Colin S; Leavesley, Dr Matthew G; Kelly, Dr Matthew S; Specht, Dr Jim R; Mondiai, Mr Kenn N
Total=$228,000.00
Partner Organisation(s): Archaeological & Heritage Management Solutions, Partners with Melanesians Inc
Project Summary
This project aims to document and integrate the natural and cultural values of the Nakanai Caves in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, in preparation for a cultural landscape World Heritage nomination. The project's novel methodology incorporates community knowledge with archaeological and anthropological evidence to link natural and cultural values and define the landscape from local perspectives. Local input into the research will be prioritised. By emphasising local participation and management of World Heritage listing processes the project aims to address an identified gap in World Heritage methodologies. This project allows for a subtle, nuanced definition of cultural landscapes under the World Heritage Convention.