Dr. Adam Kessler Honours Projects
Nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in Victoria’s Estuaries
Supervisor: Adam Kessler
Field of Study: Biogeochemistry (field and/or lab and/or modelling)
Support Offered: Lab, field & technical costs
Collaborating Organisation: : potential collaboration with Schools of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, EPA, Melbourne Water, DELWP
Many biogeochemical cycles are changing in natural environments. One such environment is estuaries - the active and dynamic zones where rivers meet the sea. But because estuaries are so complex, we don't fully understand under what conditions natural processes occur, such as nitrogen removal (denitrification), greenhouse gas production (e.g. nitrous oxide, methane) or other nutrient cycling processes. You will use field, laboratory and/or numerical modelling techniques to measure rates of nutrient processing in our estuaries produce and the conditions and circumstances that control rates. This will be both an important contribution to the field of biogeochemistry, and also a practical resource that would be of great interest to agencies.
Is the beach dissolving?
Supervisor: Adam Kessler
Field of Study: Biogeochemistry (modelling/lab)
Support Offered: Lab, field & technical costs
Collaborating Organisation: School of Chemistry
Recently, we have shown that due to ocean acidification (OA), the bright white tropical sands that form (e.g.) the Great Barrier Reef are beginning to dissolve. That's right, it's not just the coral or the crustaceans at risk from OA, but the islands themselves! The worse news is, we suspect that this might also apply to the sandy beaches that form our coasts, even right here in Victoria! This project aims to estimate the current and future contribution of dissolution to coastal erosion.
At the moment I conceive of this as a modelling study, but there is scope for lab and field experiments, too if you prefer.
Prior modelling experience is handy, but absolutely not required. I can teach you.
Promise!
Understanding curious pipe-like features in sedimentary rocks at Diamond Bay
Supervisor(s): Adam Kessler; Anja Slim; Sandy Cruden
Field of study: : Sedimentary geology, geological mapping, petrology/mineralogy, numerical modelling
Projects available: Projects available: Up to 2 projects available
Diamond Bay, on the Mornington Peninsula, is characterised by a stunning cliff exposure of sandstones. This site has been studied as a record of sedimentation since the last glacial maximum, and is also a key feature of the EAE1011 field trip. Yet research interpreting the age, composition and formation of many of the features at this site is conflicting, with no agreement on the formation mechanism of curious pipe-like structures within the outcrop, traditionally interpreted as fossil tree trunks. Projects are available to sample and describe the stratigraphy at the site, the 3D geometry of the pipes, their mineralogical and geochemical characteristics (e.g. via petrography, XRF, XRD, geochemistry) and modelling their formation as either tree trunks or solution pipes.
Comparing longitudinal memorability of tertiary earth science units before, during, and after the COVID transition
Supervisors: Sophia Tsang & Adam Kessler
Field of study: Earth science education
Support offered: All project costs
Even in the most effective of classrooms, students only remember limited content presented (e.g., Pawl et al. 2012). Numerous external factors influence what students recall (e.g., Herbert & Burt 2004), and most studies concerned with the longitudinal stability of knowledge have been conducted before the shift to online and hybrid teaching (e.g., Nutall 2010) and/or were not longitudinal (e.g., Pawl et al. 2012). The COVID-19 pandemic forced the most substantial changes in tertiary education in centuries, and many of the changes implemented are continuing today. Thus, it is important to know what students retain from a unit and for how long in a post-COVID-19
educational setting. This project will use a qualitative methodology to understand which concepts and skills recent alumni remember of their tertiary earth system classes.
How do anoxia-tolerant worms change nutrient cycles?
Field of Study: Biogeochemistry (lab/field)
Support Offered: Lab, field & technical costs
Collaborating Organisation: School of Chemistry
Burrowing polychaetes (worms) pump overlying water into their burrows to keep them oxygenated, and pore water from in and around their deep burrows is flushed to the overlying water, termed ‘bioirrigation’. In doing so, they often transport large amounts of
oxidised species – such as O2, nitrate, iron oxides – around the sediment. Recently, we have shown that many of these worm species are tolerant of very low oxygen concentrations, and can even survive for some time without any oxygen. This means that they are able to transport large amounts of reduced solutes – such as Fe2+ or ammonium.
This is a panacea project that will give you experience in a wide range of skills and disciplines. You will do field work and laboratory incubation experiments where oxygen is carefully controlled and the underlying biogeochemistry is measured. You will use oxygen imaging techniques and a combination of micro-sensors and nutrient analysis to measure changes in sediment biogeochemistry. There is also some scope for numerical modelling, if you like. This model has already been created, so you would mostly be performing simulations, and little-to-no coding experience would be needed.
For more information – contact Adam Kessler