Dr. Barrie Bolton

Supervisor: Barrie Bolton & Mike Grace
Field of Study: Environmental Geoscience
Support Offered: Field work; analytical costs (pending)
Collaborating Organisation: Water Studies Centre, Department of Chemistry, West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority
Preferred Program: Honours (1-2 projects)

Acid sulphate soils pose a significant environmental, social and economic risk to many low-lying areas of coastal Victoria, including parts of southern Gippsland to the east of Melbourne. Acid Sulphate Soils (ASS) are soils that contain iron sulphides that may, when exposed to the air, produce sulphuric acid which may in turn lead to the release of toxic quantities of iron, aluminium and heavy metals. ASS are often found associated with mangrove swamps, salt marshes, floodplains, wetlands, estuaries and brackish or tidal lakes. Once the processes of acid generation are underway, usually following ground disturbance brought about by such things as housing, agricultural or industrial developments, the toxic solutions produced can lead to fish kills, loss of habitat and biodiversity, conflicts between farmers, aquaculuralists and developers, and expensive rehabilitation works. The proposed project will involve fieldwork and follow-up laboratory studies aimed at mapping the extent of ASS in parts of Gippsland, characterising their geochemistry and providing an assessment of environmental risk. For further details contact: Barrie Bolton.
 

Supervisor: Barrie Bolton
Field of Study: Environmental Geoscience
Support Offered: Analytical costs (pending)
Collaborating Organisation: Ok Tedi Mining Limited
Preferred Program: Honours (1 project)

The Fly River delta is one of the largest delta systems in the Australasian region. It has a classic funnel shape geometry typical of a tide-dominated system, and receives an estimated 85 Mt of sediment each year; much of it very fine grained. This sediment is mainly sourced from the rapidly eroding mountains of the central PNG cordillera via two large river systems, the Fly River to the west and its much larger tributary in the east, the Strickland River. Since 1984, large amounts of mine overburden and tailings have also been released into the river system from large mining operations close to the headwaters of these rivers. Since the beginning of mining operations there has been concern that mine wastes have impacted on the deltas geomorphology and geochemistry that has in turn lead to detrimental impacts on the plants, animals and people of the delta region. The proposed study will aim to characterise the texture (grainsize and shape), and composition of recently deposited benthic sediment collected from the distributary channels of the Fly River delta and to compare these results with similar studies undertaken before the start of mining.
For further details contact: Barrie Bolton.