Science, Technology and Engineering

Environmental Geoscience

Postgraduate Projects

Postgraduate (PhD and Masters) projects in Environmental Geoscience are offered in the two main research areas: groundwater and acid mine drainage. All projects have strongly focussed outcomes, and all are developed in conjunction with external organisations, including consulting companies and government departments, who provide funding and co-supervision, and often set milestones to monitor the progress. Due to the well-defined goals resulting from this overview, all recent PhD projects have been completed within a few months of 3 years. During the course of the PhD, it is expected that all students would have the opportunity to present their results at the annual Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Sciences Conference in Melbourne, as well as appropriate national and international conferences.

Contact Dr John Webb for more information on any of the projects listed below.

Potential Projects

Influence of tree plantations on groundwater and surface water resources in western Victoria
In western Victoria there are extensive areas of tree plantations (mostly blue gums), and the effects of these on groundwater and surface water are not well understood. An area of farmland soon to be planted with blue gums will be instrumented using bores and stream gauges with data loggers, and the results compared with existing farmland and plantation sites that are already instrumented. The results of the project will be of great importance in determining the management of tree plantations in the region. The project will be co-supervised by Jon Fawcett, Department of Primary Industries, and will be carried out in co-operation with the timber companies.

Modelling of watertable fluctuations
This is an extension of the current project on the topic, which is restricted to the basalt plains of western Victoria, where landuse change has been minimal and the topography and geology is relatively consistent. The new project will undertake modelling of watertables, using the approach already developed, in an area of western Victoria with more diverse geology and topography, where there has been extensive recent landuse change (blue gum plantations). The project will be carried out in conjunction with the above project and also co-supervised by Jon Fawcett, Department of Primary Industries.

Influence of discharge on salinisation in the Goulburn Broken Dryland region of central Victoria
In this region saline discharge is the main contributor of salt as there is generally little baseflow in the creeks. The project will involve mapping and monitoring discharge sites, determining the relative contribution of groundwater from regolith and/or fractured rock, and the most appropriate works at a site to reduce discharge, in an adaptive management approach. The project will be co-supervised by Ian Oppy of Goulburn Murray Water.

Current Projects

Sarah Hagerty (2007-) - Groundwater resources and salinity associated with granites in the upper Wimmera, western Victoria.

Yohannes Yihdego (2006-) - Modeling hydrograph response to climate and land use changes and relating the impacts to groundwater salinisation and lake level/salinity in western Victoria.

Jane McLeish (2006) - Quantifying groundwater discharge into rivers systems using radon-222 as a tracer.

Recently Completed Projects

Matthias Raiber (2008) - Quantification of future changes in groundwater salinisation in the Basalt Plains of the Eastern Glenelg Hopkins CMA, using hydrogeological, chemical and isotopic techniques.

Matt Edwards (2007) - Water balance modelling and quantification of salt storage, transport and discharge in the Mount William Creek sub-catchment of the Upper Wimmera region using hydrogeological, chemical and isotopic techniques.

Danny McDonald (2006) - Chemical stability of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) treatment sludges.

Darren Bennetts (2005) - Quantification of future changes in groundwater salinisation in the basalts of the Hamilton area, using hydrogeological, chemical and isotopic techniques.

Silvana Santomartino (2004) - The chemistry of Anoxic Limestone Drains (ALD's) for the remediation of acid mine drainage.

Geology Department Theses

Download a list of postgraduate theses completed in the Department of Geology at La Trobe University since 1977.