Services
Environmental Research at ANSTO combines an international reputation for research excellence with an extensive array of isotopic and nuclear techniques, many of which are not available elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. The Institute works closely with research organisations and provides commercial services to industry.
Air
Areas of expertise include tracing the movement of air masses, pollutants, sediments and water in ocean and groundwater systems. ANSTO can identify airborne pollutants, determine their origins, track their movement across regions and continents and create comprehensive atmospheric pollution profiles.
Staff recently completed a major collaborative study of fine particles in the atmosphere above four Australian capital cities. Researchers are studying transport and exchange processes that affect pollutants, water and climate-sensitive gases in the lower atmosphere. ANSTO has the world?s best radon detectors, which are used to study global air movements.
These capabilities are particularly useful to businesses needing to demonstrate environmental compliance. For example, ANSTO has helped aluminium mining, paper and steel manufacturing companies to demonstrate their compliance with air quality requirements.
Water
Isotopic and nuclear techniques are providing valuable data to underpin effective management of groundwater, coastal and surface waters, estuarine and aquatic ecosystems and the human activities that affect them. For example, ANSTO is providing information on water sources, uses and movement within the Sydney Basin as part of a collaborative program that will help with prediction of water supplies under various water extraction and climate change scenarios.
ANSTO has undertaken commercial, government and UN agency projects, including studies of river-groundwater interactions, water gains and losses in the Murray Darling Basin, coastal aquatic ecosystem health, sewage dispersion from ocean outfalls and sand transport in coastal engineering projects. ANSTO has also developed the AQUARISK software for assessing ecological risks in aquatic environments.
Climate Change
To improve our understanding of climate change processes, nuclear techniques are also being used to analyse tree rings, glaciers, ocean sediments and ice cores for evidence of past global climate change and the role of climate-sensitive gases. Data from ANSTO's studies of the lower atmosphere will be used to help evaluate and improve numerical weather and climate models.
The OPAL research reactor will enable ANSTO to strengthen its existing capabilities as well as developing new expertise and facilities. For example, the National Deuteration Facility being established at ANSTO will enhance our ability to study structure and function in proteins and other biomolecules.