Synopsis
Fire regimes are a function of climate, vegetation, and human activity. Climate change is projected to intensify fire activity in some regions, and increased occurrence of fire weather has already been observed. Our understanding of fire regimes is largely limited to recent decades, but fire proxy archives (such as sediment cores, tree cores, ice cores, and speleothems) can be used to reconstruct past fires. This is typically at annual or greater resolution. The seasonal timing of fires impacts seed germination and survival, and so being able to determine the timing of past fires at a seasonal level will help us understand how to best manage fires in the ecosystem. Speleothem sulphur varies seasonally, and by comparing fire events reconstructed from speleothem geochemistry and the sulphur signal, the seasonal timing of past fires may be determined. The conceptual model attached shows how this may work. This will inform best practices for fire management.Ìý
Aims
To determine the seasonality of past fires during the last ~250 years in Yanchep National Park, WA.Ìý
Student benefits
You will join an established team of researchers on an Australian Research Council funded project led from UNSW but with close ties to ANSTO. You will learn about palaeoclimate science, particularly palaeofire and speleothem science. You will be supported to expand your data management and data analysis toolsets (including coding and timeseries analyses), and there may be opportunities to spend time working in the lab at ANSTO if required. You will gain experience processing and analysing geochemical data within an ecological context. Students with some experience in either geochemistry or ecology are especially invited to apply. The research team is active and supportive, and you will be included in meetings and conversations about both your project and the broader aims of the team.Ìý
³§³Ü±è±ð°ù±¹¾±²õ´Ç°ù²õ:ÌýMicheline Campbell (UNSW), Andy Baker (UNSW), and Pauline Treble (ANSTO/UNSW)
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Get involved
To learn more about this project, contact:
Dr Micheline Campbell
E:
Professor Andy Baker
E: Ìýa.baker@unsw.edu.au