Bibliography: leaves 137-151. / xiii, 151 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Ten soils from northern New South Wales, Australia, were sampled and assessed for their capacity to sorb arsenate (Asv) in relation to soil properties. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Soil Science, 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 23, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-420).

No description available.

Thesis (MEd (Distance Ed))--University of South Australia, 1996

This study explored the experience of what it is to be a gay man and to live in a rural community. It sought to understand why gay men would want to live in places that are said to have a reputation for hostility towards them. The empirical data from the semi-structured interviews with twenty-one gay men living in fifteen small-town locations across New South Wales, Australia, was analysed using a qualitative method derived from phenomenology, ethnography and modified grounded theory. The distinctive findings of this thesis centre on these men???s desire and determination to stay in the bush. They chose to stay in rural locations and effectively employed a diverse range of strategies to both combat the difficulties of rural life and enhance its advantages. The bush was the place in which these men could find themselves, be themselves and also find others like themselves. The space and the isolation of the bush gave them the latitude and the scope to live gay lives. This is why they stayed. By staying, they were also able to live out both the homosexual and rural components of their personal and social identity. Building on a brief look at the Australian rural past, the conceptual framework utilises notions of ???the stranger??? and draws on resilience, agency and resistance theory to understand these men???s ability to live in an unwelcoming place. Resilience allowed these men to cope and deal with the difficulties they faced. Human agency, the individual's capacity to exert autonomy over his life, is used to restore prominence to resistance theory. Agency is the catalyst to resistance and resistance fuels an individual???s, and sometimes a collective, opposition to the dominant social forces that inhibits one???s agency. These men???s desire to live in a rural place can be understood through theoretical considerations of place, the freedom of place and queer theory. Their satisfaction with life can be theorised through the application of a concept new to theory in gay literature - thriving. This thesis documents a largely unreported aptitude and proficiency by rural gay men to live in the bush. It suggests that their close affinity with place gives them a sense of belonging that, when combined with their concept of a gay lifestyle, effectively queers the places in which they live. That gay men can live fulfilled lives in the very places they are said to have fled evokes an innovative perspective together with an appreciation of what it is to be gay in the bush.

Emergent spatial signals which may be interpreted in the context of fluvial sediment transport processes are detected through the use of reflectance spectroscopy in the sand-sized sediments of the Towamba River, southeastern New South Wales. Reflectance spectroscopy of sufficiently fine spectral resolution represents a technique for mineral composition analysis which is complementary to X-ray diffraction, with advantages in terms of ease of sample preparation and rapidity of measurement. Instrumentation is available allowing high-quality spectrum acquisition in the field and from airborne and satellite-borne instruments. The former allows mineral analyses to more easily be incorporated into sediment tracing studies as an additional variable. The latter offers large scale, repeatable areal coverage of a dynamic system in which sediments are exposed to the sky. The Towamba River drains a catchment of c. 1000 km [square] in extensively altered granitic terrain along the south coast of New South Wales, and carries significant quantities of sand-sized sediment through much of the system. Pervasive but spatially variable chlorite, epidote, and sericite have been described in local and neighbouring terrain. These are spectrally active in the SWIR wavelength region in which the PIMA portable spectrometer operates. The airborne HyMap instrument is sensitive through this range as well as through the visible and near-infrared regions. Conventionally such channel sediments would represent a single class in the context of the broader landscape, and comparatively they represent a domain of restricted variance. In this study of samples of sediment were collected for analysis with the PIMA, the results of which supported the efficacy of such an exercise in a conventional tracing context and supported analysis of HyMap imagery. Although issues related to reduction of HyMap-detected radiance to reflectance prevented effective analysis of the shorter wavelengths sensitive to the presence of ferrous and ferric iron, the consideration of absorption feature depths and the application of a matched filtering operator revealed gross-scale spatial patterns which were interpreted as two populations of sand in the main channel. This interpretation is consistent with bank erosion occurring during two very large magnitude flow events in the 1970s, with minor ongoing perturbation of the sediment signal in the main channel by the contribution of sediment from tributaries. The presence of a definite spatial signal having been established, routes for further investigation are suggested. A noisy signal hypothesised on the basis of imagery may be used to better direct a field sampling program for a conventional sediment tracing study. The signal to noise ratio may be improved for example through calibration of radiance to reflectance and removal of atmospheric interference and improved field sampling schemes, after which more rigorous, quantitative exercises such as geostatistical ???field??? trial or spatial series analysis may be performed. Connections to process through sediment transport models are enabled through the use of GIS.

Arsenic (As) in groundwater systems is a problem in many parts of the world owing to ever-increasing extraction of groundwater resources to meet the needs of growing populations. Surprisingly, the occurrence of elevated As concentrations in coastal sandy aquifers has only recently been published as a result of this research. Sandy aquifers are commonly used as a clean and reliable source of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial needs due to their high recharge rates and the filtering capacity of sands. Water quality monitoring in Australian sandy aquifers is usually limited to a small suite of major elements and salinity measurements to determine the quality of groundwater and to identify any potential problems from seawater intrusion as a result of over extraction. Minor and trace elements, particularly toxic elements, have largely been ignored in regular monitoring programs. Prompted by an emerging pattern of human health problems in a community reliant on groundwater, hydrogeochemical investigations of the Stuarts Point coastal sand aquifer, on the North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, identified elevated As concentrations of up to 337 ????g/L in the catchment's Pleistocene barrier sands. These concentrations are well in excess of the World Health Organisation and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council water quality criteria of 10 and 7 ????g/L respectively. From research into the Stuarts Point geology, geochemistry, geomorphology, hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry, and with the assistance of environmental isotopes, the spatial distribution, occurrence and mobilisation processes of As were determined. The presence and distribution of elevated As concentrations in the regional coastal aquifer system are sporadic and involve a series of complex hydrogeochemical processes. No single hydrogeochemical process can describe the release of As from solid phase to groundwater system on the regional scale. Processes of competitive exchange with PO43- and HCO3-, reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxides and arsenical pyrite oxidation, though not forming dominant correlations, are still evident and influence As chemistry at this scale. Detailed investigations of the hydrogeochemistry on the vertical scale have identified two main processes as causing As to be released and mobilised. The first process is associated with the oxidation of arsenical pyrite in Acid Sulphate Soils and metal hydrolysis reactions which mobilise As in the acidic environment. In the absence of dissolved oxygen (DO), NO3- acts as the oxyanion facilitating arsenical pyrite oxidation and releasing As into solution. The second process that mobilises As from the sediments is the liberation of As from metal-oxyhydroxides in the carbon-rich environment, where HCO3- originates from the dissolution of shell material in the Pleistocene barrier sands. The marine influenced depositional history and geomorphology of the aquifer provide opportunities for As to become incorporated into the aquifers matrix in a variety of mineral forms, which is an occurrence not considered to be unique to the Stuarts Point catchment. The findings presented here are amongst the first detailed studies of naturally occurring As in an Australian groundwater system as well as in the Pleistocene coastal sand aquifer environment. The understanding of As accumulation and mobilisation identified as a result of this research emphasises the need for potential As occurrences in similar groundwater systems in other coastal environments in Australia, and globally, to be considered.

The story of transport and accessibility problems in rural Australia is very similar to other wealthy countries with low rural densities and long distances such as the US and Canada ??? little or no public transport, very high levels of car ownership, and poor service provision. During the past two decades rationalisation and privatisation of services has led to the closure of many basic services in rural Australia. The withdrawal of services has necessitated longer distance travel for many rural residents ??? a problem which has been exacerbated by the rationalisation of public transport services. As a result there have emerged severe accessibility and mobility problems in rural areas, despite the presence of high levels of car ownership in such areas. In terms of rural transportation, the situation in Australia is characterised by two different features; first, poor public transport provision (or non-existence). Second; high levels of car ownership among rural residents. However, high levels of car ownership do not reflect high levels of prosperity; this is likely to indicate a situation of &quotenforced ownership&quot in response to declining levels of public transport provision. Furthermore, many rural residents neither own a car nor have access to a reliable public transport system due to socio-economic and location-based circumstances. Previous research has shown that these residents generally belong to groups who include the elderly, teenagers, students, Indigenous residents, unemployed persons and low-income households. Such groups have been termed transport-disadvantaged. The contention of this thesis, however, is that such groups are in a state of &quottransport need&quot given their range of transport related problems. This is one dimension of the accessibility problem in rural Australia, which has yet to be investigated. This thesis is concerned with the measurement of transport need through the development of several transport need indices using available census data. The key objective of this thesis is to investigate the relevance and suitability of need indices for identifying the relative spatial distribution of transport needs in rural areas. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is used for the development, analysis and visualisation of the transport need index. This thesis examines transportation needs in rural NSW simply by measuring &quotdemand&quot and &quotsupply&quot components of transport. To measure the demand index, some socio-economic characteristics of population are involved including: the elderly, no or low car owning households, Indigenous people, students, children, unemployed persons, low-income households, and accessibility. A weight has been assigned to each component based on its relative importance among the other components. Weighted values are then standardised based on 100. To measure the supply index, six components, which represent the availability of various kinds of transport in rural NSW are involved and have been calculated by assigning weights and standardising to 100. These are: CountryLink rail services, CountryLink coach and bus services, Regional Services, Community Transport Program, Wheelchair taxi services, and School Buses. The final transport need for rural NSW is calculated by dividing demand index by supply index. It simply quantifies transportation needs across the rural Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) of NSW. In addition, this thesis discusses the potential and limitations of GIS and our transport need indices to be used as input to decisions about improvements in provision of services, and coordination of existing services to better meet identified needs, for the transport disadvantaged in rural NSW. In essence, this thesis is an attempt to make Australian transport and social services planners aware of the value of a need based transport-planning methodology.

Spicers Creek catchment is located approximately 400 km west of Sydney in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. Dryland salinity has been recognised as a major environmental issue impacting soil and water resources in the Central West region of NSW for over 70 years. Due to the geological complexity of the catchment and the presence of high salt loads contained within the soils, groundwater and surface waters, the Spicers Creek catchment was identified as a large contributor of salinity to the Macquarie River catchment. Over fifty-two dryland salinity occurrences have been identified in the Spicers Creek catchment and it appears that dryland salinity is controlled by the presence of geological structures and permeability contrasts in the shallow aquifer system. Combinations of climatic, geological and agricultural factors are escalating salinity problems in the catchment. The main aim of this thesis was to identify the factors affecting salinisation processes in the Spicers Creek catchment. These include the role of geological structures, the source(s) of salts to the groundwater system and the geochemical processes influencing seepage zone development. To achieve these aims a multidisciplinary approach was untaken to understand the soils, geology, hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of the catchment. Investigative techniques employed in this project include the use of geophysics, soil chemistry, soil spectroscopy, hydrogeochemistry and environmental isotopes. Evaluation of high-resolution airborne magnetics data showed a major north-east to south-west trending shear zone. This structure dissects the catchment and several other minor faults were observed to be splays off this major structure. These structures were found to be conducive to groundwater flow and are influencing the groundwater chemistry in the fractured aquifer system. Two distinctive groundwater chemical types were identified in the catchment; the saline Na(Mg)-Cl-rich groundwaters associated with the fractured Oakdale Formation and the Na-HCO3-rich groundwaters associated with the intermediate groundwater system. The groundwater chemistry of other deep groundwaters in the catchment appears to be due to mixing between these end-member groundwaters within the fractured bedrock system. The spatial distribution of electrical conductivity, Cl-, Sr2+ and 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios showed the correlation between saline groundwaters and the location of faults. Elevated salinities were associated with the location of two crosscutting fault zones. The spatial distribution of HCO3-, K+, Li+ and ?????3CDIC highlighted the extent of Na-HCO3-rich groundwaters in the catchment and showed that these groundwaters are mixing further east than previously envisaged. These findings show that Na(Mg)-Cl-rich groundwaters are geochemically distinctive and have evolved due to extensive water-rock interaction processes within the fracture zones of the Oakdale Formation. These saline groundwaters contain elevated concentrations of trace elements such as As, V and Se, which pose a potential risk for water resources in the area. 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios indicated that the source of salinity to the Na(Mg)-Cl-rich groundwaters was not purely from marine or aerosol input. Salt is most likely contributed from various allochthonous and autochthonous sources. This research found that the main mechanism controlling the formation of dryland salinity seepage zones in the Spicers Creek catchment is due to the presence of geological structures. These groundwater seepage zones act as mixing zones for rainfall recharge and deeper groundwaters. The main sources of salt to the seepage zones are from deeper Na(Mg)-Cl-rich groundwaters and rainfall accession. The major importance of this research highlights the need for an integrated approach for the use of various geoscientific techniques in dryland salinity research within geologically complex environments.

Soil erosion has been recognised as a global threat against the sustainability of natural ecosystem. The work in this thesis has been undertaken to assist in combating this threat, and addresses the soil erosion issues associated with urban construction activities. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was employed in this research work and the parameters associated with the model were calibrated. This model was chosen for calibration, as it has been proven to be an easy to use tool yet providing reasonable results. Large scale rainfall simulators developed at UWS were used for rainfall simulation at two sites with diverse soil types: dispersive clayey soils at Penrith and highly permeable sandy soil at Somersby (Both in New South Wales, Australia). It is concluded that RUSLE can be successfully used in single storms for erosion prediction. Calibrated values of RUSLE parameters are useful in predicting soil erosion from the construction sites in NSW. It is also identified that in rolled smooth land condition, clayey soils are more erodible than sandy soil. Specific support practices such as short grass strips, gravel bags and silt fences are identified as very effective erosion control measures in reducing soil erosion from 45% to 85%. These results will be very useful in soil erosion prediction planning and conservation management in NSW. / Master of Engineering (Hons)