[Aqualist] ARC DP/DI/LIEF Success 2022 - and wishing you a very restful summer break

[Simon Haberle]

Dear Colleagues,

The ARC have finally announced the outcomes for the Discovery Projects, Discovery Indigenous and LIEF projects. Below is a list of those who were successful in fields related to Quaternary research (including archaeology).

This year was a bumper year for Discovery Projects in Quaternary research with a total of 19 DPs being awarded equating to $9.16M in funding (compared to 14 DPs and $5.37M in funding in 2020). Congratulations to all.

Also, an extra big thank you to all those who submitted applications but were not successful this time around. The contribution everyone makes to advancing knowledge and developing strong collaborative networks through the grant writing process, whether successful or not, is incredibly important for the future of Quaternary research. Looking forward to more success next year.

Regards, Simon

Prof Simon Haberle
Director, School of Culture, History & Language
Professor of Natural History

ANU College of Asia & the Pacific, Coombs Builiding (Rm 3.378), Fellows Rd
The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2600
+61 2 6125 5125 (ph)  0424453861 (mob)



Discovery Projects

The Australian National University

DP220100828- Dr Larissa Schneider; Professor Simon Haberle; Dr Krystyna Saunders; Dr Stephen Roberts; Associate Professor Ruoyu Sun; Dr Alan Griffiths
Long range toxic metal pollution in Australia and the Southern Ocean.
This project aims to investigate how environmental change and human activities since industrialisation have impacted toxic metal transport and deposition on the south coast of Australia, Tasmania and Southern Ocean islands. This project expects to fill gaps in understanding of the global mercury cycle using a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary methodology including the role of sea salt aerosols and hemispheric-scale wind patterns . Anticipated outcomes involve a novel palaeo-atmospheric model that can be applied in other parts of the world. This should provide significant benefits, such as science-based evidence to ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury and guide new regulations to reduce environmental/health risks from metal pollution. $409,193.00

DP220102167 - Associate Professor David Heslop; Professor Andrew Roberts; Professor Stewart Fallon; Dr Katharine Grant; Professor Catherine Constable; Dr Monika Korte
Understanding the Geodynamo: Putting Australia on the Map.
This Project aims to construct high-quality Australian palaeomagnetic records from lake sediments for incorporation into models of Earth’s magnetic field history. Earth’s magnetic field is generated by a dynamo within our planet’s outer core, it underpins modern navigation and forms a shield against space radiation. International efforts to understand ancient geodynamo evolution lack Australian palaeomagnetic data, a shortcoming referred to as the “Australian data wasteland”. This Project aims to address this data deficiency and is expected to reinvigorate Australia’s role in understanding the geodynamo. Furthermore, models of Earth’s ancient magnetic field are anticipated to provide ages for Australian archaeological and climate records. $470,000.00

DP220100289 - Professor Michael Ellwood; Dr Robert Strzepek; Professor Philip Boyd
Deciphering strategies polar phytoplankton employ to lessen iron limitation.
The Southern Ocean is of global importance. It comprises one-third of the global ocean by area and disproportionately absorbs two-thirds of anthropogenic ocean heat and half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions even though phytoplankton in this region are chronically iron-limited. This project aims to understand why copper uptake by phytoplankton lessens the effects of iron limitation and how copper substitutes for iron. This knowledge is critical for evaluating the impacts and feedbacks between iron and copper in regulating Southern Ocean productivity and ultimately its ability to drawdown atmospheric CO2. The results from this project will facilitate the development of improved ecosystem models and conservation tools. $470,342.00


The University of Melbourne

DP220102133 - Professor Russell Drysdale; Professor Jonathan Woodhead; Dr Eleonora Regattieri; Professor David Hodell
New insights on the forcing of Quaternary ice-age terminations.
This project investigates the period when Earth's climate last experienced a major step change. Using novel techniques, it combines information from an exceptional archive of cave deposits and ocean sediments to precisely determine the timing of ice-age cycles. The results will provide the first robust test of hypotheses proposed to explain these cycles, leading to refinements in the astronomical theory of the ice ages. They will also provide an essential reference record of Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet history, which will complement data from forthcoming Antarctic ice cores. Together, this will better contextualise current and projected greenhouse warming. $410,000.00

DP220102134 - Professor Russell Drysdale; Associate Professor Laurie Menviel; Associate Professor Helen Bostock; Dr Josephine Brown; Dr Pauline Treble; Dr John Hellstrom; Professor Dr Hai Cheng; Dr Mathieu Daëron
Millennial climate change in southern Australia during the Last Glacial.
Abrupt warming and cooling events were a persistent feature of Earth's most recent climate cycle. Surprisingly, little is known of how these events affected the climate of Australia. This project will produce precisely dated reconstructions of rainfall and temperature trends in southern Australia during these events. These new terrestrial and ocean data will be compared with model simulations to determine how rapidly abrupt climate perturbations in the Northern Hemisphere reached our region, and the processes by which this occurred. The results will advance theory on how abrupt climate change propagates globally and provide a long-awaited climatic context for capstone events in Australia's natural history. $475,000.00


La Trobe University

DP220101967 - Professor Susan Lawrence; Dr Peter Davies; Dr Anna Lintern
Lost Mines: The Troubled Legacies of Former Mining Landscapes.
This project aims to investigate how historical mining activities in Victoria have left a toxic legacy of heavy metals in soil and water. By integrating approaches from historical archaeology, environmental humanities, and the physical sciences the project seeks to generate novel datasets that document the spatial distribution of contaminants and novel ways of understanding mining heritage. Anticipated outcomes include new knowledge about pre-industrial background levels of heavy metals in the environment, more efficient and targeted remediation of former mine sites, and improved dialogue between heritage and environmental managers. This promises significant benefits for future land and water management and approaches to mining heritage. $430,783.00


Macquarie University

DP220102223 - Associate Professor Paul Hesse; Professor Kirstie Fryirs; Dr Timothy Ralph; Associate Professor Anthony Kiem; Associate Professor Andrea Taschetto; Dr Alfonsina Tripaldi; Dr Adriana Mehl
Will rivers be smaller when the climate is hotter?
This project aims to investigate how large rivers are affected by changing atmospheric temperature. Large inland rivers are the main source of water supporting ecological functions, economies and societies. This project will quantify the size and age of abandoned river channels in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of southeast Australia and the Atuel/Diamante basin of Argentina. We will use this to reconstruct a history of changes in river discharge and relate this to climate. Novel climate and hydrological modelling will then be used to simulate the impact of temperature changes on catchment runoff and river discharge. Such information is vital for decision-making, planning and water resource allocation in the MDB and elsewhere. $443,000.00

DP220102637 - Professor Dr Martin Bommas; Professor Naguib Kanawati; Associate Professor Craig O'Neill
Crisis as Opportunity: Societal Change in Early Middle Kingdom Egypt.
The project aims to address political and social shifts in the ancient Egyptian early Middle Kingdom c. 4000 years ago. For the first time, and with exclusive study concessions from the government of Egypt, material data of the two most significant cemeteries of the period will be investigated. The project not only expects to generate new knowledge about human interaction during crisis but will utilise interdisciplinary research strategies to investigate the emerging opportunities, such as social mobility, for individuals from all strata of society. It will provide significant benefits such as understanding the mechanics of post-crisis political leadership and the cultural impact that enabled the classical period of ancient Egypt to emerge. $408,881.00


Southern Cross University

DP220100195 - Associate Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau; Associate Professor Gary Schwartz
Decoding the geochemical record of early human fossils.
This project aims to reconstruct the infanthood records of early hominin species in South Africa, using cutting-edge geochemical imaging of fossil teeth. The research is at the forefront of human evolution and will transform our understanding of hominin adaptations to their ecological niches. The project will shine light on adaptive strategies of early Homo which allowed our genus to outcompete other hominin species at a time of climate variability. The results will pioneer new analytical approaches to extract early-childhood geochemical archives such as breastfeeding behaviour, diet, seasonality and physiological adaptations of each species and thereby gain novel perspectives on the environmental conditions of our ancestors. $368,118.00


University of Tasmania

DP220100606 - Dr Tessa Vance; Associate Professor Anthony Kiem; Professor Nerilie Abram
Australia's variable rainfall - how dry or wet can it really get?
Australia’s rainfall is extremely variable, which means existing weather records are too short to calculate the true risk posed by droughts and floods. This project aims to quantify how naturally variable the rainfall coming from the Indo-Pacific mid-latitudes is, allowing recent rainfall extremes and future projections to be assessed in a long-term context. This project expects to produce new estimates of atmospheric moisture budgets between Australia and Antarctica based on a novel, 1000-year length reconstruction of moisture-bearing southern Indian Ocean storms. This new information is critically needed by water managers so that they can properly calculate (and ultimately prepare for) the worst of Australia’s rainfall-related risks. $353,000.00

DP220101658 - Professor Zanna Chase; Professor Elisabeth Sikes; Dr Taryn Noble
Using the last glacial cycle to understand carbon-climate feedbacks.
This project aims to investigate how the ocean’s carbon cycle will respond to anthropogenic climate change by examining its response to past climate variability. The project expects to generate new records of the dust feedback cycle and the microbial decomposition feedback cycle in the poorly studied Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Expected outcomes include new datasets to test climate models, and a new method to detect temperature-driven changes in microbial decomposition. This should lead to significant benefits including more accurate estimates of how much carbon humanity can safely emit, and the science to inform whether Australia should adopt ocean fertilisation as a strategy to combat climate change. $523,674.00


Flinders University

DP220102926 - Professor Patrick Hesp; Professor Colin Murray-Wallace; Dr Christopher Wilson; Dr Toru Tamura; Professor Patrick Nunn; Professor Sergio Dillenburg; Dr Graziela Miot da Silva; Adjunct Professor Robert Bourman; Dr Roger Luebbers; Dr Ian Moffat
Evolution, Morphodynamics and History of the Younghusband Peninsula.
This project will examine the history and evolution of the Sir Richard-Younghusband Peninsula (SRYP) complex barrier in SA. The aims are to derive a understanding of how the influences of relative sea-level changes, neotectonics, and sediment supply, can produce remarkably different responses in barrier development. No complex barrier (i.e. foredune ridges in one portion, transgressive dunefields in another) has ever been comprehensively drilled, dated, modelled, or examined in the context of indigenous occupation and oral histories in Australia. The study provides excellent analogues for barrier and dune response, and shoreline translation to varying rates of sea level rise, paralleling pressures facing all coastlines today. $378,000.00

DP220101522 - Emeritus Professor Michael Smith; Professor Claire Smith; Dr Christopher Wilson; Associate Professor Michael Morley
Warratyi: Cultural Innovation in the Indigenous Settlement of Australia.
This project aims to determine the role of cultural innovation in the Indigenous settlement of Australia's arid zone 50,000 years ago. Using innovative methods, it will produce new data on key technologies, symbolic behaviours and human interactions with animals and environment to identify the cultural innovations needed to overcome the challenges of Australia's deserts. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the settlement of the arid zone to inform global debates relating to the dispersal, settlement and lifestyles of early humans in marginal environments. Expected benefits include new information for cultural tourism and education and to support South Australia’s World Heritage nomination for the Flinders Ranges. $910,000.00


The University of Queensland

DP220102525 - Associate Professor Helen Bostock; Dr Alexandra Post; Dr Ben Galton-Fenzi; Dr Giuseppe Cortese; Professor Zanna Chase; Dr Laura Herraiz Borreguero
Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation?
Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and past Antarctic Bottom Water formation under different climate states (warmer and colder than present), to determine if there are climate tipping points for the shut down of Antarctic Bottom Water formation. The anticipated benefits include a better understanding of future climate change on this important water mass. $672,000.00

DP220100561 - Associate Professor Michael Westaway; Professor Andrew Fairbairn; Professor Patrick Moss; Dr Tiina Manne; Professor James Shulmeister; Dr Nathan Wright; Dr Richard Martin
Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis.
How we define traditional Aboriginal food production and settlement systems is a key challenge to Australian archaeology in light of the far reaching success of Bruce Pascoe's popular book Dark Emu. This project aims to undertake a new trans-disciplinary investigation, the first incorporating archaeological science, plant genetics and palynology through the lens of Niche Construction Theory to generate new empirical data in order to determine how we best define Aboriginal socio-economic systems. Investigating the intricacies of Mithaka economy and possible 'village sites' with a focus on the idea of plant domestication, the project will identify how we best define these sophisticated cultural and economic systems. $404,000.00

DP220100167 - Dr Benjamin Schoville; Dr Jayne Wilkins; Dr Robyn Pickering; Dr Irene Esteban
The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert.
This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Australia. The expected outcome of this project is creation of new knowledge on the origins of human resilience to water stress. The benefit lies in the potential to gain insights into meeting future climate challenges by exploring the adaptive strategies developed by early modern humans in the southern Kalahari. $267,053.00


Griffith University

DP220100462 - Professor Maxime Aubert; Professor Adam Brumm; Dr Tim Maloney; Dr Andrea Jalandoni; Associate Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau; Dr Rebecca Jones; Mr Marlon Ririmasse; Dr Pindi Setiawan
Early art, culture and occupation along the northern route to Australia.
This project aims to uncover archaeological evidence for early humans in Indonesia's northern island chain (from Borneo to West Papua). This poorly known region harbours the world's earliest known figurative cave art (>45,500 years old), and it is also the most likely maritime route used by modern humans during the initial peopling of Australia ~65,000 years ago. The project aims to use cave excavations and rock art dating to fill the 20,000 year gap between the earliest known archaeological evidence from these islands and the oldest human site in Australia. Expected outcomes include new insight into the ancient past of Indonesia and a greatly improved understanding of the art and cultural lifeways of the ancestors of the First Australians. $848,116.00

DP220100250 - Professor David Lambert; Associate Professor Craig Millar; Dr Edinur Atan; Professor Enrico Cappellini; Professor Eske Willerslev; Mr Gudju Gudju Fourmile
The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda.
This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about the ancient people of Australasia and their relationship to other human populations worldwide. The research will use cutting-edge methods of DNA and protein sequencing of ancient human material and will provide critical reference genomes / proteomes that will anchor future research. $430,182.00


Curtin University

DP220100051 - Professor Kliti Grice; Associate Professor Marco Coolen; Professor Dr Lorenz Schwark; Dr Vera Korasidis
The molecular record in extraordinarily preserved plants and insects.
This project aims to unlock a hidden record of our planet’s past and the life it supported, using a novel approach with benefits for environment and industry. Fossilised soft tissues of plants and insects preserved in sedimentary concretions will be analysed, extending the traditional inorganic fossil framework of major evolutionary events. Understanding the biofilm entombment and preservation mechanisms responsible for this unique organic fossil archive will extend our knowledge of microbial functionality. Expected outcomes are a new way for interpreting our planet’s past, with improved understanding of extinction, disease, environmental change and consequent adaptation of plants and insects. $484,598.00


Discovery Indigenous

Charles Darwin University

IN220100079 - Dr Kellie Pollard; Professor Claire Smith; Associate Professor Liam Brady; Dr Nicolas Bullot; Associate Professor Craig Taylor
Indigenist Archaeology: New Ways of Knowing the Past and Present.
This project aims to explore how Indigenous Australian worldviews can transform archaeological practice and understandings of the past. Archaeological research practice has typically relied on Western science, theories and interpretive frameworks. As an alternative approach, we will develop a new epistemological conceptualisation for how archaeology can be practiced. Based on surveys and interviews with six Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and using Indigenous theories and concepts, the project will identify and explore how Aboriginal ways of knowing (epistemology), being (ontology) and doing (axiology) can be integrated into a new model for archaeological research that we call “Indigenist Archaeology”. $1,752,795.00


LIEF

The Australian National University

LE220100083 - Professor Penelope King; Professor Dorrit Jacob; Professor Ian Williams; Dr Rachel Wood; Professor John Mavrogenes; Professor Tanya Smith; Associate Professor Lynley Wallis; Dr Jillian Huntley; Professor Stephen Foley; Dr Michael Foerster; Dr Charles Magee; Dr Carsten Laukamp
Integrated volatile-mineral-isotope micro-analysis of Earth environments.
This project aims to build an innovative facility for small-scale spectral maps of volatiles (e.g., carbon, oxygen, hydrogen) and minerals that is linked to micro-isotopic analysis. The facility should significantly improve methods to trace the history of natural materials that have been exposed to different environments (e.g., liquids, gases, temperature, or biology). This capability underpins cross-disciplinary research in "hot" topics such as critical mineral and ore exploration, climate change, volcanic eruptions, biomineral formation, and cultural history. The project will likely benefit homegrown infrastructure in universities, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, and leverage Australian expertise in geoscience and archaeology. $344,864.00


The University of Adelaide

LE220100144 - Associate Professor Carl Spandler; Professor Alan Collins; Professor Bronwyn Gillanders; Associate Professor Justin Payne; Dr Laura Morrissey; Professor Nigel Cook; Dr Zoe Doubleday; Dr Thomas Zack; Dr Sarah Gilbert; Professor Chris Clark; Professor Christopher Kirkland
Mass spectrometry for mass geochronology.
This project aims to establish a new facility for developing and applying novel geochronological and geo/biochemical techniques to a diverse range of rock and mineral samples. The new facility consists of a laser ablation micro-sampling unit coupled with the latest generation reaction-cell quadruple ICP mass spectrometer that will allow for rapid and cost-effective collection of elemental and isotopic data. Expected outcomes of the project are an enhanced understanding of Earth evolution over geological time, improved tracing of marine ecosystems, and increased knowledge of the formation and localisation of metal-rich ore bodies needed for modern society. $389,526.00


The University of Melbourne

LE220100010 - Associate Professor Nicholas Thieberger; Professor John Hajek; Dr Amanda Harris; Professor Jane Simpson; Dr Danielle Barth; Professor Linda Barwick; Associate Professor Stephen Morey; Professor Nicholas Enfield; Associate Professor Myfany Turpin; Professor Nicholas Evans; Associate Professor Bill Palmer; Professor Steven Bird; Associate Professor Sally Treloyn
Modularised cultural heritage archives – future-proofing PARADISEC.
This project will build an innovative modularised infrastructure to implement standards of data governance for cultural heritage records. This new infrastructure aims to build on the award-winning Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures collection and to capitalise on new technologies for metadata harvesting, temporal mapping, crowdsourced metadata, and automated transcription. The project expects to promote national and international research collaboration with Australian archiving communities and to build capacity in Pacific cultural institutions. The project will benefit research data communities across the sector as well as community custodians of cultural heritage collections. $620,000.00