Can the annual dissipation of pesticides at the GBRCLMP sites be described mathematically?

Theme: Environmental Management

Description: 

The Queensland Government has been collecting pesticide concentrations in South-East Queensland (SEQ) and Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchments since 2009.  Pesticide runoff at the beginning of the wet season generally results in dramatic increases in pesticide concentrations in receiving waters.  These concentrations subsequently reduce, presumably because the amount of pesticide available for run off reduces as the wet season progresses. This results in a pattern of pesticide dissipation that is repeated each year. The pattern is most evident in the high-risk catchments.

Each site potentially has its own dissipation pattern and raises the question: can you describe the site-specific dissipation of pesticides using a mathematical function, and is this pattern common to different pesticides?

This project will suit a student with an interest in building mathematical models of environmental datasets

Additional Information: 

The Michael St John Warne (1962 – 2024) Memorial Scholarship is administered by the Reef Catchments Science Partnership in the School of the Environment. The purpose of the scholarship is to support UQ honours students. Up to three (3) scholarships will be awarded. Each scholarship is worth $5,000 (half paid in February 2026 and half paid on submission of thesis). A top up writing scholarship of $1,000 is available to publish one (1) journal paper from your thesis research after submission.
See https://environment.uq.edu.au/michael-st-john-warne-memorial-scholarship for more information or email rcsp.info@uq.edu.au

Contact: Assoc. Prof. Ryan Turner