Environment, Sustainability & Climate Change
We’re firmly in nature’s corner. With world-recognised expertise in identifying and understanding natural patterns and processes, we undertake a steady stream of successful environmental research projects with local, national and international partners.
Our findings support policy and action on habitat reclamation and rehabilitation. Our insights inform species conservation and ecosystem sustainment. For today, tomorrow and a better future for generations to come.
Impact stories
Bringing oyster reefs back from extinction
Oyster reefs carpeted thousands of kilometers of Australian coastline 200 years ago, but were dredged to near extinction within a century of colonial settlement. An ambitious nationwide restoration program now seeks to bring them back. In South Australia, the largest reef restoration in the Southern Hemisphere, Windara Reef, was constructed in 2017 to restore the ecosystem of the native mud oyster, Ostrea angasi, off the Yorke Peninsula.
Read more about Bringing oyster reefs back from extinctionBushfire and the challenge to respond to new levels of environmental risk
There have been terrible bushfires this summer across southern Australia – and they are still going. Part of the reason for this disaster is the unprecedented climatic conditions that the country has been facing, including record hot and dry conditions.
Read more about Bushfire and the challenge to respond to new levels of environmental riskPreserving culture: protecting heritage buildings against earthquakes
Our engineering researchers have developed breakthrough methods to earthquake-proof heritage buildings, advancing disaster resilience and safeguarding historic cultural sites around the globe.
Read more about protecting heritage buildings against earthquakesNew AI-powered Bushfire-fighting App NOBURN Goes Live
University of Adelaide experts from the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) developed a new AI-powered model to help predict and prevent devastating bushfires.
Read more about New AI-powered Bushfire-fighting App NOBURN Goes LiveWildlife trade threatening unprotected animals
New research from the University of Adelaide’s Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Group shows that three times as many unregulated species are being imported into the US compared to regulated species.
Read more about Wildlife trade threatening unprotected animalsOcean Warming Threatens Richest Marine Biodiversity
Creatures that make their homes in tropical waters have enjoyed mostly unchanged temperatures for the past twenty thousand years. Now, new research from the University of Adelaide suggests that these extremely biodiverse areas will be hit the hardest by climate change-induced oceanic warming – and the wildlife is not ready to adapt.
Read more about Ocean Warming Threatens Richest Marine BiodiversityStress less! Targeting the plant cargo hub to help them deal with environmental stress
Just like an international port in a big city, every individual plant cell contains its own cargo hub that responds to their import and export needs.
Read more about Stress less! Targeting the plant cargo hub to help them deal with environmental stressWho to contact
Professor Andrew Lowe is a dynamic and innovative research leader with over 10 years senior experience at the University of Adelaide, government, start-up industry and community sectors.
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