Earth Sciences
Research
Research is considered a critical adjunct to teaching and our research relates directly to the teaching and learning experience of staff within the discipline. Academic staff, post-graduate research affiliates and conjoint staff have international reputations and recognised expertise within the discipline.
The Earth Sciences discipline offers a number of research opportunities to prospective research students and provides supervision for students enrolling in the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Information on each staff members' research interests is available on their web pages (including a link to their full Researcher Report), or via searching the University Research Expertise Database. Staff are actively involved in the following research projects:
- Climate history
- Solid and liquid waste disposal and environmental impacts
- Contaminant tracking in soils and groundwaters
- Tectonics and earth resources
- Structural geology
- Origin and characteristics of fuel deposits
- Development of the Earth's crust
- Fluvial, coastal and marine processes
- Karst geochemistry
- Soil carbon fluxes
- Groundwater geochemistry
- Environmental geoscience
- Mine site and contaminated land rehabilitation and restoration
Research Groups
Academic staff in the Discipline are involved in a number of research groups within the School and across the Faculty. Research groups within the Discipline can offer a number of possible research topics to prospective students. These groups are listed below, although prospective students should also consult the information on each staff members' research interests which is available on their web pages or via searching the University Research Expertise Database.
Earth and Ocean Science Research Group
This group specialises in research on sediments, sedimentary rocks and sediment processes in marine, coastal and terrestrial environments. It looks at seabed mapping and characterisation, GIS, continental margin and coastal studies and 3D computer landscape modelling and visualisation.
Environmental and Climate Change Research Group
This group specialises in palaeoclimatology and earth surface processes and is undertaking research on palaeoclimate reconstruction, the environmental impacts of climate change, and the modeling of landscape, climate, hydrosphere or biosphere systems.
Tectonics and Earth Resources Research Group
In broadest terms, this group examines the lithospheric processes that form the physical environment in which we live. This research is achieved within a plate tectonic framework that focuses on the formation and dispersal of continents.
Other Research Areas
Integrated Water Cycle Science Research
This research draws on the specialist skills and knowledge in water and wastewater systems, environmental impacts of wastewater infrastructure, catchment water quality, soil processes, and monitoring strategies to further evaluate the impact of contaminant presence in sensitive waters. Work has been undertaken on the environmental impacts associated with the treatment and disposal of domestic and agricultural wastewaters, and stormwaters, the movement and fate of contaminants in soils and groundwaters, the performance of small-scale treatment systems such as sand filters and constructed wetland systems, effluent transport through vadose zone and tracer applications microbial/pathogen source tracking in catchments. Examples of recent projects include:
- stormwater quality entering Lake Macquarie, NSW
- performance of stormwater quality improvement devices - SQIDs
- microbial quality of rainwater tank systems
- distinguishing wastewater contamination sources in mixed land use watersheds
- rainwater harvesting and wastewater reuse
- centralised and decentralised water infrastructure
- contaminant transport in surface and groundwaters from wastewater systems in coastal catchments
Web Links to recent research:
http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/files/60689/File/TilligerryMicrobialStudyFinalReportJune2007.pdf
For more information please contact the Head of Discipline
