title: How the Marsden Fund has failed to achieve its full potential in the ESA panel: evidence of limitations in scope, biased outcomes, and futile applications

authors: Bryan, Karin R.

abstract: We have analysed the scope of proposals funded by the ‘Earth Sciences and Astronomy’ (ESA) panel of the Marsden Fund for the period 2004 to 2013. The scope of proposals funded is very limited and does not reflect the full remit of the panel: the successful projects fail to encompass the quality and quantity of research being undertaken within the Earth sciences community in New Zealand, and a number of sub-disciplines that seek to address fundamental and important problems within the Earth sciences are largely excluded. Moreover, nearly 50% of the funded proposals for the past decade have been made to just two institutions. To address these limitations, we suggest that: (1) a review is undertaken to examine and widen the scope of the panel to encompass sub-disciplines that demonstrably are never or rarely funded; (2) the composition of panel members be examined and modified to reflect a much wider scope of sub-disciplines within the Earth sciences; and (3) a review of the wide discrepancies in funding distributions on an institutional basis be undertaken. We want to ensure that a more representative range of sub-disciplines, in keeping with modern and realistic definitions of the Earth sciences, is funded through this panel, and so we also recommend the formation of a new panel for ‘Environmental and Earth-system Sciences’ that could encompass the research involving modern-day processes so that applications in these sub-disciplines are not pointless. In addition, it is clear that a very substantial increase in funding to the Marsden Fund must be sought.

text: How the Marsden Fund has failed to achieve its full potential in the ESA panel: evidence of limitations in scope, biased outcomes, and futile applications We have analysed the scope of proposals funded by the ‘Earth Sciences and Astronomy’ (ESA) panel of the Marsden Fund for the period 2004 to 2013. The scope of proposals funded is very limited and does not reflect the full remit of the panel: the successful projects fail to encompass the quality and quantity of research being undertaken within the Earth sciences community in New Zealand, and a number of sub-disciplines that seek to address fundamental and important problems within the Earth sciences are largely excluded. Moreover, nearly 50% of the funded proposals for the past decade have been made to just two institutions. To address these limitations, we suggest that: (1) a review is undertaken to examine and widen the scope of the panel to encompass sub-disciplines that demonstrably are never or rarely funded; (2) the composition of panel members be examined and modified to reflect a much wider scope of sub-disciplines within the Earth sciences; and (3) a review of the wide discrepancies in funding distributions on an institutional basis be undertaken. We want to ensure that a more representative range of sub-disciplines, in keeping with modern and realistic definitions of the Earth sciences, is funded through this panel, and so we also recommend the formation of a new panel for ‘Environmental and Earth-system Sciences’ that could encompass the research involving modern-day processes so that applications in these sub-disciplines are not pointless. In addition, it is clear that a very substantial increase in funding to the Marsden Fund must be sought.

year: 2014

title: Why your battery meter tells lies and it's hard to fix: Effect of pauses in cycling on submillihertz battery impedance

authors: Wilson, Marcus T.

subjects: battery

abstract: Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are an increasing part of our world, found in small devices such as medical implants and mobile phones, up to much larger applications in electric vehicles and the huge battery electric storage systems (BESS) that support the modern electricity grid. But despite the advances in design and manufacturing, your battery meter still does not tell you the truth: "75% charge remaining" most likely does not mean 75% charge remaining. On a trivial scale this means your phone battery goes flat unexpectedly; less trivially your car runs out of charge before you get home, and on a cold winter's morning the electricity grid might not actually be able to provide the peak power that its operators think it can. The reason that producing an accurate meter is so challenging is that battery history matters. A battery's response to an electrical stimulus doesn't just depend on its state now, but also on its state in the past. In mathematical terms, its behaviour is described by fractional differential equations, where the order of the equation is non-integer. In this presentation, we discuss an experiment where we have looked at the effect of a long (56 day) break in battery battery charge/discharge cycling on electrical properties of the battery. On recommencement of cycling, we can discern the effect of the pause on impedance for around 30 days after the break. To see the effect we have constructed the impedance spectrum at ultra-low frequencies (10 μHz - 10 mHz) by applying wavelet methods to time-series data of voltage and current. However, if uncontrolled, other factors such as the shape of stimulating waveforms will mask much of this history effect, and thus in practice history may only matter on the scale of a few days. Nonetheless, results show that answering a simple question "what is my battery charge" does not have a simple physical answer, and thus producing a battery meter that does not lie remains a real challenge for theoretical physicists and mathematicians.

text: Why your battery meter tells lies and it's hard to fix: Effect of pauses in cycling on submillihertz battery impedance Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are an increasing part of our world, found in small devices such as medical implants and mobile phones, up to much larger applications in electric vehicles and the huge battery electric storage systems (BESS) that support the modern electricity grid. But despite the advances in design and manufacturing, your battery meter still does not tell you the truth: "75% charge remaining" most likely does not mean 75% charge remaining. On a trivial scale this means your phone battery goes flat unexpectedly; less trivially your car runs out of charge before you get home, and on a cold winter's morning the electricity grid might not actually be able to provide the peak power that its operators think it can. The reason that producing an accurate meter is so challenging is that battery history matters. A battery's response to an electrical stimulus doesn't just depend on its state now, but also on its state in the past. In mathematical terms, its behaviour is described by fractional differential equations, where the order of the equation is non-integer. In this presentation, we discuss an experiment where we have looked at the effect of a long (56 day) break in battery battery charge/discharge cycling on electrical properties of the battery. On recommencement of cycling, we can discern the effect of the pause on impedance for around 30 days after the break. To see the effect we have constructed the impedance spectrum at ultra-low frequencies (10 μHz - 10 mHz) by applying wavelet methods to time-series data of voltage and current. However, if uncontrolled, other factors such as the shape of stimulating waveforms will mask much of this history effect, and thus in practice history may only matter on the scale of a few days. Nonetheless, results show that answering a simple question "what is my battery charge" does not have a simple physical answer, and thus producing a battery meter that does not lie remains a real challenge for theoretical physicists and mathematicians.

year: 2025

title: Catchment and lake water quality modelling to assess management options for Lake Tutira

authors: McBride, Chris G.

abstract: Lake Tutira is an important ecological, historical and cultural asset to the Hawke’s Bay. It is a highly utilised trout fishery, a popular recreational destination, and is particularly significant to Ngāti Kahungunu, for its historical eel fishery and rongoa (medicinal) harakeke (flax) beds. The lake and its catchment have been substantially altered from their natural condition, including conversion of forested catchment to pasture, invasion by aquatic macrophytes such as Hydrilla sp., the introduction of grass carp (Ctenopharyngaodon idella) for weed management, and diversion of the largest stream inflow, Papakiri Stream (Sandy Creek), away from the lake and directly to the outflow (Mahiaruhe Stream) in the early 1980s. Lake Tutira’s history of poor water quality dates back decades, with Trophic Level Index (TLI; a metric of overall water quality) values from the 1960s similar to recent years, and blooms of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) recorded as early as the 1970s. Nevertheless, the years since 2010 have been characterised by very poor water quality and particularly severe blooms, sometimes resulting in near-complete loss of oxygen from surface waters and associated fish kill events. This has attracted media attention and provided impetus from community and stakeholders to assess available management options for restoring more natural conditions and improving water quality in the lake. 
This report examines the drivers of poor water quality and algal blooms the lake, and assesses various management options that have either been specifically proposed for Tutira, or have proven effective for other lakes in New Zealand and globally. Here we report on monitoring undertaken by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in the catchment (surface inflows) and lake. We also apply state-of-the-art computer models for simulating physical, chemical, and biological processes in the catchment and lake. These simulations are then used to evaluate a range of management ‘scenarios’ to provide guidance on the likely effects of management options tested with the model.

text: Catchment and lake water quality modelling to assess management options for Lake Tutira Lake Tutira is an important ecological, historical and cultural asset to the Hawke’s Bay. It is a highly utilised trout fishery, a popular recreational destination, and is particularly significant to Ngāti Kahungunu, for its historical eel fishery and rongoa (medicinal) harakeke (flax) beds. The lake and its catchment have been substantially altered from their natural condition, including conversion of forested catchment to pasture, invasion by aquatic macrophytes such as Hydrilla sp., the introduction of grass carp (Ctenopharyngaodon idella) for weed management, and diversion of the largest stream inflow, Papakiri Stream (Sandy Creek), away from the lake and directly to the outflow (Mahiaruhe Stream) in the early 1980s. Lake Tutira’s history of poor water quality dates back decades, with Trophic Level Index (TLI; a metric of overall water quality) values from the 1960s similar to recent years, and blooms of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) recorded as early as the 1970s. Nevertheless, the years since 2010 have been characterised by very poor water quality and particularly severe blooms, sometimes resulting in near-complete loss of oxygen from surface waters and associated fish kill events. This has attracted media attention and provided impetus from community and stakeholders to assess available management options for restoring more natural conditions and improving water quality in the lake. 
This report examines the drivers of poor water quality and algal blooms the lake, and assesses various management options that have either been specifically proposed for Tutira, or have proven effective for other lakes in New Zealand and globally. Here we report on monitoring undertaken by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in the catchment (surface inflows) and lake. We also apply state-of-the-art computer models for simulating physical, chemical, and biological processes in the catchment and lake. These simulations are then used to evaluate a range of management ‘scenarios’ to provide guidance on the likely effects of management options tested with the model.

year: 2017