Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a biogeochemist who studies how nutrients such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and iron move through and interact with the environment. I am particularly interested in eastuaries and near-coastal environments, and you'll ofen find me in my waders, on a boat or walking along the beach.
This is a highly inderisciplanary field of research, with aspects of environmental science, chemistry, biology, engineering and computational modelling.
Research interests
In particular, I have three major interests:
1. Fermentation in coastal sands
We have recently discovered that when oxygen is not available, microbial communities in coastal sands tend to use fermentation as their major metabolism. Here we are investigating the implications of this effect, such as reducing the ability of coral reefs to withstand ocean acidifcation.
2. Nitrogen cycling in estuarine sediments
Nitrogen contamination in estuaries from human impact such as agricultural runoff present a massive challenge to estuarine ecosystems. There are many possible fates of this nitrogen: it can be removed by natural processes, it can be recycled and accumulate in the system, it can be transported to coastal waters, or it can be converted to harful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. This work studies the environemtnal factors that control which fate(s) occur in our estuaries.
3. Response of irrigating fauna to hypoxia
Both the behaviour of burrowing animals (e.g. worms) and the chemical reactions that happen in sediments are to a large part controlled by oxygen availability, and burrowing in itself affects the transport of oxygen into the sediment. This project is investigating the interplay between these factors.
Supervision interests
I supervise graduate, Honours and undergraduate projects in the above areas of interest. Please contact me for more information.
Monash teaching commitment
I am a Senior Teaching Fellow and Education Chair in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment. I welcome contact about any aspect of the education program in our school.
I currently coordinate and teach the following units:
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Biogeochemistry
- Environmental Geochemistry
- Water Quality
- Nitrogen Cycling
- Estuaries
- Sandy sediments
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 10 Finished
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Variability of nitrate reduction in Victorian estuaries
Kessler, A., Cook, P., Warry, F. & Reich, P.
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) (Victoria)
18/05/20 → 29/01/21
Project: Research
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Identifying the history of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment using DNA archived in sediment cores
Lintern, A., Cook, P., Kessler, A., Wong, W. W., Weyrich, L., Zawadzki, A., Child, D., Hotchkiss, M. & Jacobsen, G.
1/01/20 → 30/06/20
Project: Research
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Regional cities of the future: A “deep dive” towards a novel integrated approach to futureproofing small towns
Lintern, A., Gadd, P., Kessler, A., Bach, P., Zawadzki, A., Jacobsen, G. & Farrelly, M.
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
1/01/19 → 30/06/19
Project: Research
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Molecular hydrogen in seawater supports growth of diverse marine bacteria
Lappan, R., Shelley, G., Islam, Z. F., Leung, P. M., Lockwood, S., Nauer, P. A., Jirapanjawat, T., Ni, G., Chen, Y-J., Kessler, A. J., Williams, T. J., Cavicchioli, R., Baltar, F., Cook, P. L. M., Morales, S. E. & Greening, C., 2023, In: Nature Microbiology. 8, p. 581–595 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
Constraining nitrogen sources to a seagrass-dominated coastal embayment by using an isotope mass balance approach
Russell, D. G., Kessler, A. J., Wong, W. W., Van Oevelen, D. & Cook, P. L. M., May 2022, In: Marine and Freshwater Research. 73, 5, p. 701-709 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Hydrodynamic disturbance controls microbial community assembly and biogeochemical processes in coastal sediments
Chen, Y-J., Leung, P. M., Cook, P. L. M., Wong, W. W., Hutchinson, T., Eate, V., Kessler, A. J. & Greening, C., Mar 2022, In: The ISME Journal. 16, 3, p. 750-763 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access31 Citations (Scopus) -
Molecular hydrogen is an overlooked energy source for marine bacteria
Lappan, R., Shelley, G., Islam, Z., Leung, P. M., Lockwood, S., Nauer, P. A., Jirapanjawat, T., Chen, Y-J., Kessler, A. J., Williams, T. J., Cavicchioli, R., Baltar, F., Cook, P. L. M., Morales, S. E. & Greening, C., 29 Jan 2022, 38 p. bioRxiv.Research output: Other contribution › Research
Open Access -
Recovery of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium following reoxygenation of sediments from a periodically hypoxic temperate lagoon
Roberts, K. L., Wong, W. W., Shimeta, J., Kessler, A. J. & Cook, P. L. M., Aug 2022, In: Limnology and Oceanography. 67, 8, p. 1879-1890 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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Interdisciplinary Seed Fund 2018, Faculty of Engineering-IT-Science, Monash University
Adyel, Tanveer (Recipient), Kessler, Adam (Recipient) & Abdallah, Zahraa Said Emam Ammar (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)