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 Associate
Professor Alberto D. Albani
Dott.Geol.Sc. (Florence), MSc, PhD (NSW)
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
Specialization: Coastal
environmental geology, marine ecology
(Recent Foraminifera) and marine geology.
Some of the positions held:
• Foundation Member of the Australian
Marine Science Association (Federal Association).
• Secretary of the federal Council
of the Australian Marine Science Association.
• Coordinator of the Master of Environmental
Studies (an interdisciplinary course of
the Faculty of Applied Science).
• Invited Member of a brainstorming
meeting of the United Nation University
for the development of a marine research
centre (Mediterranean Sea).
• Invited Member of the United Nation
University workshop on Marine Parks (Mediterranean
Sea).
• Member of the Southern Sydney
Catchment Management Board
Present Positions:
• Member of the Environment Institute
of Australia
• Member of the Port Hacking Advisory
Panel of the Sutherland Shire Council
Research
1. Main research interests:
- Microbenthos ecology (foraminifera,
Protozoa) and sedimentology in coastal
environments.
- Geological evolution of the coastal
zone.
Leading to:
- Applications in coastal environmental
management:
Recognition of environmental stress conditions
Establishments of stringent guidelines
for coastal developments
Short and long term environmental monitoring.
- Applications in the assessment of economic
resources
Identification of suitable marine deposits
(mainly for the building industry)
Assessment of the environmental impact
of resource exploitation
Environmental guidelines for safe resource
extraction.
2. Achievements:
- Implementation and interactive use of
diverse technologies, eg. seismic, sedimentological,
micropalaeontological and geochemical.
- Support to Government Agencies during
the critical phase of decision making
in preserving and improving a variety
of coastal environments.
3. Development of technologies:
- Establish a suitable numerical methodology
applied to microbenthos
- Establish a statistical approach intended
to reveal ecological provinces and stress
conditions
- Assessment of the sensitivity of the
methods in a variety of environments
- Application of new statistical methodology
to sedimentology and geochemistry
Present research activities
a) Sedimentological study of Botany Bay
and Cooks River. The study tends to assess
the sediment distributions and to determine
provenance, accumulation rates and its
relationship with the bottom water energies.
b) Distribution of heavy metals in the
sediments of Botany Bay, Cooks River and
adjacent wetlands. An assessment of their
concentrations will assist in the remedial
actions, if required.
c) Distribution of benthic foraminifera
(protozoa) in Botany Bay. The study of
this benthic fauna leads to establish
a series of base-line data used in short
and long term monitoring.
For the past 20 years Dr Albani has studied
the estuarine environments both along
the New South Wales coast and in selected
areas of the Mediterranean Sea.
Through his interest in foraminiferal
ecology (a group of Protozoa) and sedimentology
he has developed a numerical methodology
intended to reveal environmental stress
conditions; this leads to coastal environmental
management and the establishments of stringent
guide-lines for coastal developments with
short and long term environmental monitoring.
Such methodology has been applied overseas
with success to the Lagoon of Venice (Italy)
with sedimentological, geochemical and
ecological analysis of the Lagoon’s
sediments. This research, conducted with
the Italian Government Research Centre
(C.N.R.) has been directed towards a complete
understanding of the present day processes
acting on the lagoon. This study forms
the first stage of a complex monitoring
program. Recently, Dr.Albani has develop
a new approach to assess the environmental
changes thus making possible to establish
a coastal monitoring program.
Dr. Albani has contributed to the formation
of the Port Hacking Plan of Management
and he is an active member of the Advisory
Panel of the Sutherland Shire Council
for Port Hacking.
A detailed sedimentological, geochemical
and ecological study of the marine delta
of Port Hacking was designed to obtain
the overall energy distribution within
this important part of the Port Hacking
estuary.
Dr Albani has been a member of the Port
Hacking Catchment Management Committee
and of the Southern Sydney Catchment Management
Board
During the early 90s Dr Albani was invited
to take part to brainstorming meetings
of the United Nation University for the
development of a marine research centre
in Sardinia and to workshops on Marine
Parks planned for sectors of the Mediterranean
Sea.
Papers related to the Botany Bay
study
ALBANI, A.D., RICKWOOD, P.C., JOHNSON,
B.D., McGRATH, C.A. and TAYTON, J.W.,
1978. A Geological Investigation of the
Seaboard Area of the Sutherland Shire.
UNISEARCH Ltd., Sydney, 143 pp.
ALBANI, A.D., 1980. Pleistocene foraminifera
from Botany Bay, New South Wales. Alcheringa,
5: 147-160.
ALBANI, A.D., 1981. Sedimentary environments
and Pleistocene chronology of the Botany
Basin, N.S.W., Australia. Geo-marine Letters,
1: 163-167.
ALBANI, A.D., RICKWOOD, P.C., TAYTON,
J.W., GORDON, A. and HOFFMAN, J., 1988
- Cainozoic morphology of the inner continental
shelf near Sydney, N.S.W. Journal &
Proceedings Royal Society of N.S.W., 121:
11-28.
ALBANI, A.D.and RICKWOOD, P.C., 1998
- The Botany Basin: its bedrock morphology
and recent geological history, pp. 190-196.In
McNally, G.H and Jancowski, J, (Ed), Collected
Case Studies in Engineering Geology, Hydrogeology
and Environmental Geology, Geological
Society of Australia , 262 pp.
RICKWOOD, P.C., and ALBANI, A.D., 1998
- Movement of sandhills on the Kurnell
Peninsula, pp.205-222. In McNALLY, G.H
and Jancowski, J, (Ed), Collected Case
Studies in Engineering Geology, Hydrogeology
and Environmental Geology, Geological
Society of Australia , 262 pp.
Papers related to the methodology (a
small selection)
ALBANI, A.D., 1968. Recent Foraminiferida
from Port Hacking, New South Wales. Contribution
of the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal
Research, 19: 85-119.
ALBANI, A.D., 1970. A foraminiferal
fauna from the Eastern Continental Shelf
of Australia. Contribution of the Cushman
Foundation for Foraminiferal Research,
21: 71-77.
ALBANI, A.D., 1974. Sedimentary environments
in Broken Bay, N.S.W., Australia. Journal
of the Geological Society of Australia,
21: 277-288.
ALBANI, A.D., and JOHNSON, K.R., 1975.
Resolution of foraminiferal Biotopes in
Broken Bay, N.S.W. Journal of the Geological
Society of Australia, 22: 435-446.
ALBANI, A.D., and BROWN, G.A., 1976.
Geological Contribution to Environmental
Management of Coastal Lagoons at Gosford,
N.S.W. (Australia). Bulletin of the International
Association of Engineering Geology, 14:
84-104.
ALBANI, A.D., 1978. Recent foraminifera
of an estuarine environment in Broken
Bay, New South Wales. Australian Journal
of Marine and Freshwater Research, 29:
355-398.
ALBANI, A.D., and SERANDREI BARBERO,
R., 1982. A foraminiferal fauna from the
Lagoon of Venice. Journal of Foraminiferal
Research, 12: 234-241.
ALBANI, A.D., FAVERO, V. and SERANDREI
BARBERO, R., 1984. Benthonic foraminifera
as indicators of intertidal environments.
Geo-marine Letters . 4: 43-47
ALBANI, A.D., FAVERO, V. and SERANDREI
BARBERO, R., 1991 - The distribution and
ecological significance of Recent Foraminifera
in the Lagoon south of Venice. Revista
Espanola de Micropaleontologia, 23 (2):
129-143.
RICKWOOD, P.C., ALBANI, A.D., FAVERO,
V.M., and SERANDREI BARBERO, R., 1992
- Geochemistry of Unconsolidated Sediments
from the Gulf of Venice. UNSW Centre for
Marine Science, Technical Contribution
Series, No. 3, 54 pp.
ALBANI, A.D., 1993 - Use of benthonic
foraminifera to evaluate the environmenta
characteristics of Port Hacking: significance
for coastal engineering works and pollution;
pp. 28-37. In McNALLY, G., KNIGHT, M.
and SMITH, R, (Ed), Collected Case Studies
in Engineering Geology, Hydrogeology and
Environmental Geology, Geological Society
of Australia , 137 pp.
ALBANI, A.D., RICKWOOD, P.C., FAVERO,
V. and SERANDREI BARBERO, R., 1995 - The
geochemistry of recent sediments in the
Lagoon of Venice: environmental implications.
Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed
Arti, Atti, 153: 235-321.
ALBANI, A.D., FAVERO, V. and SERANDREI
BARBERO, R., 1998 - Distribution of Sediment
and Benthic Foraminifera in the Gulf of
Venice, Italy. Estuarine, Coastal and
Shelf Science, 46 (2): 252-265
ALBANI, A.D. and
SERANDREI BARBERO,
R., 2001. The distribution
of surface sediments
in the Lagoon of Venice
(Italy) in the 1980s.
Istituto Veneto di
Scienze, Lettere ed
Arti, Atti, 154: 363-378.
Updated 24/02/02
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