Research Projects
Gold Mineralisation Styles in the Alice River Gold Field, FNQ (Old ID 23601)
Paul Dirks
01 Aug 2017 - 31 Mar 2018
The deposits along Alice River, including the Alice Queen mine are aligned along a lineament, interpreted as the Alice River Shear zone. The GSQ (Geological Survey of Queensland), in a recently completed study of the geology of Cape York Peninsula has interpreted the deposits as orogenic gold deposits based on outcrop patterns and limited field data. In spite of this interpretation, the age, mineral association, associated intrusives and structural styles of the deposits remains unknown and they have not been studied in details. Spitfire Materials is interested to know the age and style of mineralisation as this will assist future exploration.
Cost-benefit analysis of latent tuberculosis treatment towards elimination (Old ID 26404)
Emma McBryde
04 Feb 2019 - 30 Jun 2019
We will develop the health economic aspect of the project, and interact with and build on to the model for TB elimination in low-burden settings being developed by Monash University. This will allow estimation of the impact of the proposed Victorian TB programs. Costing the data will be included in the model in three broad ways. 1 - each disease state in the model will accrue an associated cost; and 2 - programmatic interventions will be costed separately for braod programmatic interventions; and 3 - unit costs of programmatic diagnostic and therapeutic will be incorporated into the model.
Identifying the roles of online communities in rural resilience (Old ID 26434)
Karen Carlisle
01 Jan 2020 - 31 Dec 2022
The role of online communities in helping rural people to overcome isolation and service inaccessibility, and in identifying service priorities, is the study focus. We will apply social media data analytics to study seven diverse examples of online communities, to inform what rural people discuss, where, when and in different online communities and to identify the impact of online communities in addressing rural resilience. Findings will inform workshops with online hosts to develop and test a 'best practice toolkit' to inform future online community data analy6tics. The project's outcomes will be to: extend knowledge about roles of online communities for realising rural resilience and providing data to inform service innovations.
Repair and Restoration of Priority Coastal Habitat and Wetlands (Old ID 26660)
Nathan Waltham
01 Oct 2019 - 31 Jan 2022
Coastal wetlands are under threat from a range of past land use changes. Efforts to restore the value back into wetlands is underway in many places, and demonstrating the success of these efforts requires access to scientific data. Here we will partner with Greening Australia to complete a range of wetland surveys to evaluate the restoration success. Field work will include water quality, aquatic flora and fauna and hydrology (water balance) calculations. These data will assist Greening Australia demonstrate program success, while also educating local communities around the value of coastal wetlands.
Australian Defence Force Heat Tolerance Testing (Old ID 20420)
Melissa Crowe
01 Jun 2012 - 01 Jun 2017
This agreement will enable Dr Melissa Crowe and associated staff of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science at JCU to provide heat tolerance testing for member of the Australian Defence Force who may have suffered heat stroke in accordance with policy from the Australian Defence Force Joint Health Command.
Engaging with farmers and demonstrating water quality outcomes to create confidence in on-farm decision-making ("Project 25") (Old ID 22544)
Aaron Davis
01 Jan 2016 - 10 Dec 2018
Recent global experiences suggest that spatially identifying and prioritizing landscape ‘hotspots’ of pollutant generation for management intervention, and small catchment-scale water quality monitoring in collaboration with landholders linking water quality with specific management practices, are among the most promising strategies for reducing water quality pollution. This project will combine recent hotspot identification in GBR sugarcane catchment of the Russel/Mulgrave with targeted cane farmer interaction activities (related to sub-catchment and localized monitoring activities), focusing on emerging monitoring technologies (real-time water quality monitoring) to link farmer on-farm practices with feedback from sub-catchment water quality measurements. The use of both scientific and citizen science monitoring approaches will deliver robust feedback loops to enable farmers to directly link their activities with water quality conditions. The project will focus on on-farm practice improvements in highest priority catchments to achieve maximum benefits to GBR health from catchment management actions.
Abbot Point Marine Water Quality Monitoring (Old ID 23147)
Nathan Waltham
01 Apr 2017 - 30 Jun 2017
This project will provide near-surface concentrations of non-algal particulates (NAP or sediments) derived from MODIS imagery and the CSIRO bio-optical algorithms developed for the Great Barrier Reef (pixel resolution of 1km) as part of a dredging campaign at Abbot Point. These data will be used by the North Queensland Bulk Ports Cop to report against compliance conditions of approval for this activity. The MODIS imagery will be assessed for the entire dredging activities.
Health system governance and tuberculosis control in the Torres Strait: an institutional analysis (Old ID 26306)
Steph Topp
01 Jan 2020 - 30 Dec 2024
Using institutional analysis, the project will address a gap in knowledge regarding the nature and robustness of health system governance for tuberculosis (TB) control in the Torres Strait Protected Zone. The Torres Strait Protected Zone is an area of strategic public health importance due to high rates of TB and multi-drug resistant TB and proximity to Papua New Guinea where the disease is endemic. The project will identify and characterise the role(s) of different stakeholders and evaluate the formal and informal rules that drive TB-related decisions in this unique cross-border region. In doing so, it will deliver critical insights into the resilience and adaptive capacity of health system responses to TB, and produce recommendations to strengthen governance capabilities to counter existing and emerging communicable disease threats.
Deriving ecologically relevant targets to meet desired ecosystem condition for the Great Barrier Reef: a case study for seagrass meadows in the Burdekin region (Old ID 26473)
Catherine Collier
01 Jan 2019 - 10 Dec 2020
This project will derive ecologically relevant targets (ERTs) for water quality and sediment loads for the Burdekin basin and provide the ecological targets required to revise ERTs across the GBR by: 1) defining seagrass desired state targets for the GBR: 2) calculating water quality guidelines (light); and 3) calculating ERTs for te3rrestrially sourced sediment loads, using Cleveland Bay as a case study. Historical and new data collections will be compiled and used to derive ERTs via statistical models and eReefs (RECOM), and the seagrass sub-model in eReefs will be used to test ERTs.
Improving Kava production efficiency through genetics (Old ID 26574)
Darren Crayn
01 Jul 2019 - 30 Jun 2020
This project aims to improve the efficiency of kava (Piper methysticum) production by helping develop a test to distinguish between ‘noble’ and ‘two-day’ kava varieties. We will assess genetic diversity in wild and cultivated samples from across Vanuatu, and look for genetic markers that are unique to one variety or the other. This will improve the ability of kava growers and processors to produce consistently high quality product to help meet growing demand internationally.