Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Can The Financialised Atmosphere Be Effectively Regulated And Accounted For?, Patty Mcnicholas, Carolyn Windsor

Carolyn Windsor

Purpose – This paper aims to carry out a critical analysis of the proposed Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) as a complex market solution to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). Specifically it seeks to examine the financial regulatory infrastructure that will more than likely oversee the Australian ETS, the same regulatory infrastructure which failed to prevent the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approach – A critical examination of the financialisation of the atmosphere that follows the growth of the financialisation of capitalism when economic activity shifted from production and service sectors to finance. Financialisation of capitalism is supported by capitalist regulation influenced by neo-liberal …

Climate Change In The Dead Heart Of Australia, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Timothy J. Cohen, Brian G. Jones, John D. Jansen, Jan-Hendrik May

Timothy Cohen

Despite the absence of large-scale glaciation, the Australian continent has experienced substantial environmental change throughout the Quaternary period. This is especially pronounced in central Australia, where one seventh of the continent is drained internally to the depocentre, and lowest point in Australia, Lake Eyre (Figure 1). Research has shown that at one time, large sandy braided and meandering rivers carried water through dunefields to a large freshwater lake system. Today, the rivers are hostage to the dunefield, and floodwaters might only reach Lake Eyre once every ten years or so. In order to understand the development of this arid desert …

An Approach To Plan And Evaluate The Location Of Radiotherapy Services And Its Application In The New South Wales, Australia, Nagesh Shukla, Rohan Wickramasuriya, Andrew Alexis Miller, Pascal Perez

Nagesh Shukla

No abstract provided.

2014-15 Central West State Of The Environment Report, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

Population Accessibility To Radiotherapy Services In New South Wales Region Of Australia: A Methodological Contribution, Nagesh Shukla, Rohan Wickramasuriya, Andrew Miller, Pascal Perez

Nagesh Shukla

No abstract provided.

Evidence Of Enso Mega-Drought Triggered Collapse Of Prehistory Aboriginal Society In Northwest Australia, Hamish Mcgowan, Samuel K. Marx, P Moss, Andrew Hammond

Samuel K Marx

The Kimberley region of northwest Australia contains one of the World's largest collections of rock art characterised by two distinct art forms; the fine featured anthropomorphic figures of the Gwion Gwion or Bradshaw paintings, and broad stroke Wandjina figures. Luminescence dating of mud wasp nests overlying Gwion Gwion paintings has confirmed an age of at least 17,000 yrs B.P. with the most recent dates for these paintings from around the mid-Holocene (5000 to 7000 yrs B.P.). Radiocarbon dating indicates that the Wandjina rock art then emerged around 3800 to 4000 yrs B.P. following a hiatus of at least 1200 yrs. …

Evidence Of Solar And Tropical-Ocean Forcing Of Hydroclimate Cycles In Southeastern Australia For The Past 6500 Years, Hamish A. Mcgowan, Samuel K. Marx, Joshua Soderholm, John Denholm

Samuel K Marx

Evidence of solar and tropical‐ocean forcing of climate cycles has been found in numerous palaeoclimate records. Numerical modelling studies show physical mechanisms by which direct and indirect solar forcing may affect climate, while there is mounting evidence of solar forcing of tropical ocean‐atmosphere teleconnections. This study has developed a 6500 year record of dust deposition, a proxy for regional hydroclimate variability for the Snowy Mountains region of Australia. Spectral analysis of the record provides evidence of statistically significant cycles in dust deposition of 35–43 years, 62–73 years, 161 years and 2200 years. These correlate with variability in solar irradiance and …

Marine Park Planning And Recreational Fishing: Is The Science Lost At Sea? Case Studies From Australia, Daryl Mcphee

Daryl McPhee

“No take” marine parks are widely advocated and increasingly utilised as a tool aimed at protecting marine biodiversity, and they may also be used as a fisheries management tool. In Australia a national system of no-take marine parks is being established to protect marine biodiversity. The creation of this network of no-take marine parks that exclude the public from recreational fishing in large areas of the ocean is extremely contentious. Nearly one quarter of the Australian population goes recreational fishing at least once a year, and it is a $2 billion industry. The motivations for, and aspirations of these recreational …

Recovery From The Impact Of Light Reduction On The Seagrass Amphibolis Griffithii, Insights For Dredging Management, Kathryn Mcmahon, Paul Lavery, Michael Mulligan

Kathryn McMahon

A large-scale, manipulative experiment was conducted to examine the extent and rate of recovery of meadows of the temperate Australian seagrass, Amphibolis griffithii to different light-reduction scenarios typical of dredging operations, and to identify potential indicators of recovery from light reduction stress. Shade cloth was used to mimic different intensities, durations and start times of light reduction, and then was removed to assess the recovery. The meadow could recover from 3 months of light stress (5–18% ambient) following 10 months re-exposure to ambient light, even when up to 72% of leaf biomass was lost, much faster recovery rates than has …

The Geomorphological Evolution Of A Wave-Dominated Barrier Estuary: Burrill Lake, New South Wales, Australia, Brian G. Jones, Craig R. Sloss, David M. Price, C.E. Mcclennen, John De Carli

B. G. Jones

The geomorphological evolution of the Holocene wave-dominated barrier estuary at Burrill Lake on the New South Wales coast, Australia, has been delineated using a combination of seismic stratigraphy and the lithostratigraphic analysis of vibracores collected from the back-barrier estuarine environment. A combination of radiocarbon and aspartic acid racemisation-derived ages obtained on Holocene fossil molluscs, and the thermoluminescent signal in remnant Last Interglacial barrier sediments provides the chronological framework for this investigation. Results from this paper show that the barrier estuary occupies a relatively narrow (<1.5 km wide) and shallow (<40 m deep) incised bedrock valley formed during sea-level …

Cyclicity In The Nearshore Marine To Coastal, Lower Permian, Pebbley Beach Formation, Southern Sydney Basin, Australia: A Record Of Relative Sea-Level Fluctuations At The Close Of The Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan Ice Age, Brian G. Jones, Stuart C. Tye, James A. Maceachern, Kerrie L. Bann, Christopher R. Fielding

B. G. Jones

The Lower Permian (Artinskian to Sakmarian) Pebbley Beach Formation of the southernmost Sydney Basin in New South Wales, Australia, records sediment accumulation in shallow marine to coastal environments at the close of the Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan ice age. This paper presents a sequence stratigraphic re-evaluation of the upper half of the unit based on the integration of sedimentology and ichnology. Ten facies are recognized, separated into two facies associations. Facies Association A (7 facies) comprises variably bioturbated siltstones and sandstones with marine body fossils, interpreted to record sediment accumulation in open marine environments ranging from lower offshore to middle shoreface …

Aeolian-Fluvial Interaction: Evidence For Late Quaternary Channel Change And Wind-Rift Linear Dune Formation In The Northwestern Simpson Desert, Australia, Gerald C. Nanson, Brian G. Jones, David M. Price, Tim Pietsch, C Bristow, Cameron B. Hollands

B. G. Jones

In central Australia the most easterly extent of the MacDonnell Ranges borders the northwestern Simpson Desert where widely spaced strike ridges intercept the regional linear dunefield. Topographic basins have disrupted regional drainage lines and isolated dune sets from the main dunefield. In the western part of Camel Flat basin large, red coloured linear dunes of fine sand, ~ 74 ka and older, are oriented almost due north. Through gaps in the ranges the Todd River traversed the eastern part of the basin until ~25 ka when it apparently avulsed ~25 km eastwards to its present position. Subsequently, linear dunes, smaller, …

Climate Change In The Dead Heart Of Australia, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Timothy J. Cohen, Brian G. Jones, John D. Jansen, Jan-Hendrik May

B. G. Jones

Despite the absence of large-scale glaciation, the Australian continent has experienced substantial environmental change throughout the Quaternary period. This is especially pronounced in central Australia, where one seventh of the continent is drained internally to the depocentre, and lowest point in Australia, Lake Eyre (Figure 1). Research has shown that at one time, large sandy braided and meandering rivers carried water through dunefields to a large freshwater lake system. Today, the rivers are hostage to the dunefield, and floodwaters might only reach Lake Eyre once every ten years or so. In order to understand the development of this arid desert …

Continental Aridification And The Vanishing Of Australia's Megalakes, Timothy J. Cohen, Gerald C. Nanson, John D. Jansen, B. G. Jones, Zenobia Jacobs, P Treble, David M. Price, Jan-Hendrik May, A Smith, Linda K. Ayliffe, John C. Hellstrom

B. G. Jones

The nature of the Australian climate at about the time of rapid megafaunal extinctions and humans arriving in Australia is poorly understood and is an important element in the contentious debate as to whether humans or climate caused the extinctions. Here we present a new paleoshoreline chronology that extends over the past 100 k.y. for Lake Mega-Frome, the coalescence of Lakes Frome, Blanche, Callabonna and Gregory, in the southern latitudes of central Australia. We show that Lake Mega-Frome was connected for the last time to adjacent Lake Eyre at 50-47 ka, forming the largest remaining interconnected system of paleolakes on …

Alluvial Evidence For Major Climate And Flow Regime Changes During The Middle And Late Quaternary For Eastern Central Australia, Gerald C. Nanson, David M. Price, B. G. Jones, Jerry C. Maroulis, Maria Coleman, Hugo Bowman, Timothy J. Cohen, Tim Pietsch, Joshua R. Larsen

B. G. Jones

As a low-gradient arid region spanning the tropics to the temperate zone, the Lake Eyre basin has undergone gentle late Cenozoic crustal warping leading to substantial alluvial deposition, thereby forming repositories of evidence for palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological changes from the Late Tertiary to the Holocene. Auger holes and bank exposures at five locations along the lower 500 km of Cooper Creek, a major contributor to Lake Eyre in the eastern part of the basin, yielded 85 luminescence dates (TL and OSL) that, combined wit a further 142 luminescence dates from northeastern Australia, have established a chronology of multiple episodes of …

A Communications Policy Perspective On Ctc Sustainability In Regional Australia: Normative Assumptions, Commercial Viability And Social Good, William Tibben

Dr William Tibben

This paper investigates the influence of the normative assumptions that can be associated with the Community Technology Centers (CTCs) scheme in New South Wales, Australia during the period 2000-2005 (CTC@NSW). It does this by developing an analytical framework based on Australian communications policy to assess case study accounts of selected CTCs. In drawing conclusions about the normative assumptions that guided the implementation of the CTC@NSW scheme, the sufficiency of market based development strategies are questioned when challenging economic circumstances suggest the need for ongoing strategic assistance from government.

Assessing The Impact Of Increased Air Conditioner Load On Power Quality In Australia, Lianne Mollier, D A. Robinson, Sarath Perera, Victor J. Gosbell, Frank Bucca

Dr Duane Robinson

Measurements of performance of existing technology air conditioner systems with regards to their impact on power quality in LV distribution systems are presented. Three types of split-phase air conditioners are studied including direct on line starting, soft starter and inverter fed units. Results of testing and subsequent calculations illustrate that the direct on line and soft starter units do not meet compliance requirements of the relevant standard, and as penetration of air conditioners increases, voltage fluctuations may become a significant problem in some LV distribution systems in Australia.

Issues Affecting Power Engineering Undergraduate Education In Australia, D A. Robinson, Victor J. Gosbell

Dr Duane Robinson

Recent changes to the electric power industry through deregulation and restructuring have had a considerable effect on power engineering education internationally. A number of Australian universities have also noticed a decline in the number of students interested in power engineering subjects, leading to the fewer graduates with power engineering knowledge. With a reduction in graduates and a perception of an aging workforce a shortage of suitably qualified power engineers for industry may be imminent. This paper provides discussion on the current status of university power engineering education within Australia and includes results from a recent Australia-wide survey of the university …

The Application Of Iec 61000-3-6 To Mv Systems In Australia, Victor J. Gosbell, D A. Robinson, Sarath Perera, Alex Baitch

Dr Duane Robinson

IEC 61000-3-6 [1] comprises a number of stages and tests to determine harmonic emission allowances for customers connected to MV or HV networks. Of particular importance is the section concerning loads distributed along a feeder, each having a different fault level. Although a common situation, the treatment given in the IEC standard is poorly described, being largely illustrated by one atypical example. This allows simplifying assumptions to be made which are invalid in practical cases. This paper outlines a more general approach that is relatively easy to apply.

Predicting Avian Distributions To Evaluate Spatiotemporal Overlap With Locust Control Operations In Eastern Australia, Judit K. Szabo, Pamela J. Davy, Michael Hooper, Lee Astheimer

Dr Pamela Davy

Locusts and grasshoppers cause considerable economic damage to agriculture worldwide. The Australian Plague Locust Commission uses multiple pesticides to control locusts in eastern Australia. Avian exposure to agricultural pesticides is of conservation concern, especially in the case of rare and threatened species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probability of pesticide exposure of native avian species during operational locust control based on knowledge of species occurrence in areas and times of application. Using presence-absence data provided by the Birds Australia Atlas for 1998 to 2002, we developed a series of generalized linear models to predict avian occurrences …

Aged Care It In Australia-The Past, Present And Future, Ping Yu

Dr Ping Yu

This paper reviews the development of aged care IT innovations in Australia in the past decade. It starts with a brief description of the establishment of the Aged Care eConnect project by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing to promote aged care IT. This is followed by a snapshot of the aged care associations' and research groups' promotional activities. The roles of government, industry peak bodies, aged care providers, aged care IT application providers and researchers for the diffusion of aged care IT innovations are analysed.

Potential Reduction In Energy Use From A High Speed Rail Network In Australia, Philip Laird

Dr Philip Laird

High Speed Rail or HSR with electric passenger trains using steel wheels on steel rails with maximum operating speeds of 250km/h or more is now operational in 12 countries. It is now under review in Australia. The paper considers energy use on the 10 top routes of the Melbourne-Sydney and Sydney-Brisbane corridors and finds that HSR was in place by 2020, HSR could reduce the use of aviation fuel by over 450 million litres each year. External costs and Sydney airport issues are also noted.

Assessing The Impact Of Increased Air Conditioner Load On Power Quality In Australia, Lianne Mollier, D A. Robinson, Sarath Perera, Victor J. Gosbell, Frank Bucca

Associate Professor Sarath Perera

Measurements of performance of existing technology air conditioner systems with regards to their impact on power quality in LV distribution systems are presented. Three types of split-phase air conditioners are studied including direct on line starting, soft starter and inverter fed units. Results of testing and subsequent calculations illustrate that the direct on line and soft starter units do not meet compliance requirements of the relevant standard, and as penetration of air conditioners increases, voltage fluctuations may become a significant problem in some LV distribution systems in Australia.

The Application Of Iec 61000-3-6 To Mv Systems In Australia, Victor J. Gosbell, D A. Robinson, Sarath Perera, Alex Baitch

Associate Professor Sarath Perera

IEC 61000-3-6 [1] comprises a number of stages and tests to determine harmonic emission allowances for customers connected to MV or HV networks. Of particular importance is the section concerning loads distributed along a feeder, each having a different fault level. Although a common situation, the treatment given in the IEC standard is poorly described, being largely illustrated by one atypical example. This allows simplifying assumptions to be made which are invalid in practical cases. This paper outlines a more general approach that is relatively easy to apply.

The Acceptance Of A Clinical It Innovation By The Care Givers In Residential Aged Care 11-Weeks After The Software Implementation In Australia, Ping Yu, Hui Yu, Yi Mu

Professor Yi Mu

End user acceptance and satisfaction with a new IT innovation is the pre-requisite for the successful introduction of this IT solutino into an organization. More than 70 per cent of health IT projects have failed to a certain extent because of its failure to satisfy the functional or non-functional requirements of the end users and thus were not accepted by them. To date, there is no sound evidence to suggest that clinical IT solutions will bring in benefits for a residential aged care facility. This is a real concern for aged care management in investment in clinical IT solutions in …

Fractionation Of Sedimentary Arsenic From Port Kembla Harbour, Nsw, Australia, Glennys A. O'Brien, William E. Price, Bryan E. Chenhall, Muhammad Damris

William E. Price

The binding of arsenic in sediments of the heavily industrialised Port Kembla Harbour, NSW, Australia, has been investigated. Both dredge and core samples have been used to develop a sieving/sequential extraction (SE) procedure. Dredge samples included oxic surficial and deeper anoxic sediment. The main core sample analysed was 18 cm deep, sliced at 2 cm intervals. Sediment was sieved to three size ranges (250 microm) and each of these was then subjected to a four step SE, sequentially solubilizing arsenic as ion exchangeable, 1 M HCl soluble, NH(2)OH.HCl soluble, and strong oxidising acid soluble. Concentrations of 50-500 mg As kg(-1) …

Book Review: "Troubled Waters: Confronting The Water Crisis In Australia's Cities" By Patrick Troy (Ed.), Leah M. Gibbs

Leah Maree Gibbs

Troubled Waters is a collection of essays edited by Patrick Troy, Emeritus Professor and Visiting Fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. The papers are contributed by a multidisciplinary group of authors, from the fields of economics, history, geography, environmental and social policy and law. As a result, the book does not present a single theoretical or methodological approach and in this regard it is refreshing. The book is published by the ANU E Press; a publisher that makes academic output from the ANU freely available from its website, as well as for purchase through …

Using Lidar To Assess The Effect Of Fire And Floods On Upland Peat Bogs, Waterfall Gully, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Javier Leon Patino, Solomon Buckman, Robert P. Bourman, Rowena Morris, Katherine C. Brownlie

Solomon Buckman Dr.

A flood exceeding the 100 year average recurrence interval in November 2005 led to the failure of an upland peat bog in Waterfall Gully. The area is prone to severe bushfire and flood events and the control dam at the base of First Falls was filled with sediment sourced from Wilson Bog. A resistant quartzite bar at Fourth Falls has formed a natural constriction point against which burnt logs and debris have collected following previous fire events forming a natural dam resulting in sediment/peat accumulation upstream. The failure of the bog was inevitable as the vegetative material in the log-jam …

Age And Origin Of Alluvial Sediments Within And Flanking The Mt Lofty Ranges, Southern South Australia: A Late Quaternary Archive Of Climate And Environmental Change, D Banerjee, N F. Alley, R P. Bourman, S Buckman, J R. Prescott

Solomon Buckman Dr.

No abstract provided.

Current State Of Smes Work At The University Of Wollongong, Australia, R L Thompson, Christopher J. Hawley, Christopher David Cook, Steve Gower, Frank Darmann

Christopher Cook

The University of Wollongong (UoW) has received funding for the research and development of a high transition temperature (HTS) superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) device designed to operate at 40 K. This paper provides an update on work previously reported at AUPEC (2001) and summarises progress in the areas of computer assisted modelling, electromagnetic and thermal coil design, electronic control system, current leads and the cryogenic system. The proposed coil design for the SMES will be evaluated and discussed with respect to its advantages and limitations.