Soil erosion is the removal of the top layer of the soil due to some physical forces.
University of California: Effects of resource extraction
Queensland Government: Impacts of soil erosion
Queensland Government: Preventing and managing erosion
Spray Grass Australia: Mine Site Rehabilitation
Land for Wildlife QLD: Revegetation Principles
Case Study: Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory
Australian Government: Ranger Uranium Mine
Australian Government: Environmental Monitoring
Research Paper: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MINING - Erosion and Hydrology at Ranger Mine
Journal articles:
Restoration Ecology: Soil reconstruction after mining fails to restore soil function in an Australian arid woodland
Journal of Environmental Management: Evaluating the environmental and economic impact of mining for post-mined land restoration and land-use: A review
Ecological Engineering: Ecological methods and indicators for recovering and monitoring ecosystems after mining: A global literature review
Land Degradation & Development: Tropical surface gold mining: A review of ecological impacts and restoration strategies
Heliyon: Active revegetation after mining
Turbidity is the measurement of water clarity (i.e., transparency). Suspended particles – such as silt, algae, plankton, and sewage – can cause water to appear cloudy or murky. These particles scatter and absorb light rays rather than allowing light to be transmitted straight through the water.
A higher turbidity reading represents cloudier and ‘thicker’ water with more particles throughout. When water is clear, it has low turbidity levels.
Turbidity Management:
Queensland Heath: Turbidity and Critical limits for Water Management
Australian Government: Sediment basins
WSUD Engineering: Sediment basin design and principles
Turbid Water Solutions: Sediment Management on Construction Sites
Queensland Government: Sediment Ponds - Construction and Operation
Queensland Government: Treatment Wetlands - Planning and Design
Solar power is generated when energy from the sun (sunlight) is converted into electricity or used to heat air, water, or other fluids. There are two main types of solar energy technologies:
Solar thermal and PV technology can also be combined into a single system that generates both heat and electricity.
Useful websites:
Australian Academy of Science: From sunlight to electricity
QLD Government: Department of Energy and Climate
University of Houston: Solar harvesting system has potential to generate solar power 24/7
Clean Energy Council: Energy Storage
Journal articles:
Alhijazi, A. A. K., Almasri, R. A., & Alloush, A. F. (2023). A Hybrid Renewable Energy (Solar/Wind/Biomass) and Multi-Use System Principles, Types, and Applications: A Review. Sustainability, 15(24), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779344237/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=73656643
Alanazi, A., & Alanazi, M. (2023). Multicriteria Decision-Making for Evaluating Solar Energy Source of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 15(13), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A758355245/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=7fd332ec
Coban, H. H. (2023). Hydropower Planning in Combination with Batteries and Solar Energy. Sustainability, 15(13), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A758355051/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=737cb392
Tan, D., Wu, Y., Zhang, Z., Jiao, Y., Zeng, L., & Meng, Y. (2023). Assessing the Life Cycle Sustainability of Solar Energy Production Systems: A Toolkit Review in the Context of Ensuring Environmental Performance Improvements. Sustainability, 15(15), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A760617322/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=9aab70a2
Department of Energy and Climate:
We can efficiently use energy from the wind to create electricity, or wind energy. A wind farm is a collection of wind turbines that work together to generate electricity. This electricity is then transported into the grid or is stored in a large-scale battery.
Wind energy is kinetic (motion) energy that rotates wind turbine blades, which are connected to an internal rotor. As the blades spin so does the rotor, creating mechanical energy that is converted into electricity. Wind turbines have come a long way in terms of efficiency. Both the height and shape of the blades are designed to maximise the wind each turbine harnesses. Each modern turbine converts around 50% of the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity.
The cost of wind energy has on average been decreasing over recent years. Today, wind energy is one of the most affordable electricity sources, often rivalling or even undercutting fossil fuels.
Useful websites:
Clean Energy Council: Wind Energy Facts
Department of Energy: How to Wind Turbines Work?
CSIRO: Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap
Journal articles:
Cacciuttolo, C., Cano, D., Guardia, X., & Villicaña, E. (2024). Renewable Energy from Wind Farm Power Plants in Peru: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives. Sustainability, 16(4), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A784105498/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=141f71e1
Gauthier, P. (2018). The limits of renewable energy and the case for degrowth. Canadian Dimension, 52(2), 18–43. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=133819792&site=eds-live
Tong, D., Farnham, D. J., Duan, L., Zhang, Q., Lewis, N. S., Caldeira, K., & Davis, S. J. (2021). Geophysical constraints on the reliability of solar and wind power worldwide. Nature communications, 12(1), 6146. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26355-z
Yin, X., & Lei, M. (2023). Jointly improving energy efficiency and smoothing power oscillations of integrated offshore wind and photovoltaic power: a deep reinforcement learning approach. Protection and Control of Modern Power Systems, 8(1), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A751272979/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=6db76dce
Yu, H., Yang, X., Chen, H., Lou, S., & Lin, Y. (2022). Energy Storage Capacity Planning Method for Improving Offshore Wind Power Consumption. Sustainability, 14(21), NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747180460/SCIC?u=uq_bbc&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=072bf8ec
The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Birtles Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
An American website that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases about science
Breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the Internet.
Search for news articles which come from trusted news outlets, such as the Associated Press (AP) and The Atlantic, and other sources chosen for use in the classroom.
Regarded as a 'porthole' site, SciTech Daily offers the best intelligent, informed science and technology coverage and analysis you can find on a daily basis, sourcing a huge range of great writers and excellent research institutes.
Gateway to the best Science news sources.
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The world’s largest biomedical library.
Web-based medical and health news service.
Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google. Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google. It can be frustrating, as much of an article or book is missing or by purchase only. Read the article below on the advantages an disadvantages of using it.
TIP: To get PDFs only, type in 'filetype:pdf'. It's great!
Advantages / Disadvantages of Google Scholar
Google Books can be very frustrating because often much of the book is missing and you are expected to purchase it to read the full content. So after you put in your search term you are interested in (eg biodiesel), and get some results up, you should then go immediately to the search box (on the left - above 'About this box') 
and type in a particular word or term you are interested in (eg CO2 emissions OR methanol) you should get a number of pages pop up. Choose one that looks useful - you should get some good results this way!
Zotero can be set to the same Harvard AGPS (Australia) style that CiteAce uses, called 'Melbourne Polytechnic - Harvard'. Please read the instructions carefully.
Any issues - see your Library Staff
WHAT IS A RESEARCH QUESTION?
A Research Question is defined as ‘A question that directs the scientific inquiry activity. Its purpose is to focus the research investigation, inform the direction of the research, and guide all stages of inquiry, analysis, interpretation and evaluation’. It should:
1.3.1 Include measurable variables – the independent and dependent variables
1.3.2 Have a guiding word, such as what, why, would or will
1.3.3 Be phrased so that a definitive answer can be developed
1.3.4 Be able to link the guiding word to verbs such as identify, describe, compare, contrast, distinguish, analyse, evaluate or create so that a specific task can be determined
ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH QUESTION (from Dr Cam Brooks)
EXAMPLE OF A SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTION
Should patients over the age of 80 years be permitted to undergo triple bypass operations? (Too broad)
SUBSTITUTE WITH
Should triple bypass operations (independent variable) be offerered to patients over 80 (participant group) because of their poorer success rate regarding complications from pneumonia and stroke (measurable dependant variable) compared to patients under 80 (comparison/control)?
