Research for planet and people
Griffith researchers are tackling the complex environmental challenges that must be solved to move our global community towards a sustainable future.
Zeotech research partnership to develop agronomic products for carbon markets
Griffith University and ASX-listed mineral processing technology company Zeotech have established a research program aimed at developing agricultural product applications for carbon markets and nutrient management.
The research partnership has been established following a successful nine-month pilot project by Griffith on behalf of Zeotech and will underpin agronomic opportunities for Zeotech products.
The University is carrying out two concurrent streams of agricultural product development , one to enhance soil carbon storage and climate mitigation in agricultural landscapes and the other for products to improve agricultural nutrient management.
The research has the potential to extend carbon market solutions to rural communities to aid the transition required in meeting Australia’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.
Lead researchers: Dr Chris Pratt
Griffith institute: Australian Rivers Institute
Working with government to improve water quality on the Great Barrier Reef
A Griffith researcher has teamed with the Department of Environment and Science on novel research testing the role wetlands play in improving the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Fernanda Adame, from Griffith’s Australian Rivers Institute, began working with the Wetlands Team at the Department of Environment and Sciences in 2017 to address the reef’s long-term health.
Their work focused on catchment deforestation and agriculture intensification that’s increased nutrient and sediment runoff into the reef, causing degradation of seagrass and coral reefs due to excess algal growth, low light penetration and sedimentation.
Griffith’s discoveries have directly influenced agricultural best practice and government, with wetland management now included in Queensland Government policy for improving the Great Barrier Reef’s health.
Lead researcher: Dr Fernanda Adame Vivanco
Griffith institute: Australian Rivers Institute
Griffith launches multi-disciplinary Climate Action research program
Griffith’s new Climate Action research program is a multi-disciplinary initiative to develop the knowledge, leadership, capacity and responses to enable effective and just climate action throughout society.
The program is based on a partnership approach that recognises the importance of both interdisciplinary research and cross-sectoral practice collaborations in defining and achieving collective climate action.
As part of the Climate Action research program, an alliance of business leaders, industry and community groups has committed to a five-year collaboration to plan and deliver a sustainable economic transformation for the nation—Climate Ready Australia 2030.
Engineers Australia, the Planning Institute of Australia, the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council are among the first to join the alliance.
Lead researcher: Professor Brendan Mackey
Griffith institute: Griffith climate action beacon
Understanding nutrient runoff to protect waterways
Griffith University researchers have partnered with a diverse group of industry stakeholders to develop a nutrient runoff indicator essential for the function of accurate nutrient trading schemes.
The wastewater treatment industry partners include Sydney Water and Urban Utilities, Healthy Land and Water, environmental consultancy Alluvium and the Queensland Government, all bodies with a strong interest in making nutrient offsetting work.
The new nutrient equivalency indicator under development by Griffith’s Australian Rivers Institute will provide government and industry crucial information about levels of nutrients entering waterways.
This project delivers the knowledge needed for efficient nutrient trading schemes, a market-based mechanism that allows industry to restore water catchments as a way of offsetting their nutrient waste.
Lead researcher: Professor Michele Burford
Griffith institute: Australian Rivers Institute
FishID: transforming environmental monitoring of aquatic ecosystems
Griffith university researchers led the team developing sophisticated video software designed to—through deep learning detection—gather richer data from aquatic ecosystem monitoring.
The FishID platform automates the identification and count of fish species via underwater cameras, overcoming the cost associated with manually processing and extracting data from underwater vision.
FishID delivers an intuitive, user-friendly system for researchers, industry and government to annotate imagery, as well as train and evaluate deep learning models to accurately detect, identify and count species of interest across coastal and marine ecosystems.
The project will improve outcomes for marine environmental monitoring, river health monitoring, aquatic habitat restoration, education and enhancement of tourism experiences.
Lead researcher: Professor Rod Connolly
Griffith building catchment resilience with support from Australian Water Technologies and QUT
Griffith researchers have developed a multi-objective investment tool that creates and visualises waterway catchment rehabilitation scenarios.
Many catchment areas in Australia and throughout the world are in poor condition, requiring investment in nature-based solutions to restore their natural capacity to mitigate extreme weather events and human impacts.
Griffith’s world-leading Building Catchment Resilience tool provides the interdisciplinary assessment required by industry and government to increase certainty and incentivisation in green infrastructure investments.
Industry partner Australian Water Technologies aided development of the tool by providing flood modelling and QUT’s VISER lab contributed output visualisation.
Lead researcher: David Hamilton
Griffith institute: Australian Rivers Institute
Partnering with the City of Gold Coast to safeguard Australia’s golden beaches
Griffith is a key stakeholder in the development of research and beach management technologies implemented on the Gold Coast to safeguard one of Australia's most valuable tourism assets.
Since the early 2000s, Griffith’s strategic research partnership with the City of Gold Coast has contributed to the tourism hub’s reputation as a world leader in coastal management practices.
Among the collaborative projects undertaken is the Gold Coast Shoreline Management Plan, a long-term strategy (now a formal part of the City's Ocean Beaches Strategy) focusing on coastal physical and ecological processes, economic and community values, and beach management.
Current research incorporates urban catchment, floodplain and water resource management to enhance coastal engineering expertise and capacity in the region, and contribute to a sustainable management plan for the city’s beaches over the next five decades.
Griffith institute: Coastal and Marine Research Centre and Cities Research Institute
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