Links between bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland. This project will investigate connections between bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland under the framework that atmospheric blocking can be thought of as a common link. High resolution runs using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future projections of the energetics of high impact weather will improve climate forecasts in sensitive coastal areas of the country.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100663
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Understanding the termination of El Nino-Southern Oscillation events. Australia's climate is extreme, with significant drought and flooding events driven by cycles of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This study will improve our understanding of the termination of ENSO events and lead to better inter-seasonal climate forecasting, aiding the sectors reliant on accurate climate prediction.
Precipitation in shallow convection over the Southern Ocean. This project aims to quantify the amount of precipitation over the Southern Ocean and identify the key dynamical and microphysical processes that lead to its development. Large uncertainties exist in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, which limits the ability to model the coupled Southern Ocean climate system. Observations from the RV Investigator, an Australian marine research vessel, have revealed heavy precipitation event ....Precipitation in shallow convection over the Southern Ocean. This project aims to quantify the amount of precipitation over the Southern Ocean and identify the key dynamical and microphysical processes that lead to its development. Large uncertainties exist in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, which limits the ability to model the coupled Southern Ocean climate system. Observations from the RV Investigator, an Australian marine research vessel, have revealed heavy precipitation events within the shallow convection commonly found between fronts that have not been captured by either satellite observations or numerical models. This project will improve weather forecasts, including precipitation, and climate projections over the Southern Ocean and the adjoining Antarctic and the southern part of Australia.Read moreRead less
ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to per ....ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to permanently transform our understanding of climate systems science particularly for the Australian region. The key outcome will be a dramatic enhancement in national capacity to understand and project the scale of future regional climate change.Read moreRead less
Tropical climate change, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, and Australian climate. Tropical climate systems, especially the overturning circulations and monsoons, have undergone change in recent decades and are expected to do so over the next century. However, a full understanding of these has proved elusive. The project will employ a suite of insightful diagnostics of these tropical circulations calculated from the latest, high-quality data and the results of modelling to isolate the key phys ....Tropical climate change, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, and Australian climate. Tropical climate systems, especially the overturning circulations and monsoons, have undergone change in recent decades and are expected to do so over the next century. However, a full understanding of these has proved elusive. The project will employ a suite of insightful diagnostics of these tropical circulations calculated from the latest, high-quality data and the results of modelling to isolate the key physical mechanisms at work. The research is significant in that tropical circulations determine the precipitation and temperature over large parts of the Earth’s surface, and particularly Australia. The physical underpinning of the changes will assist in forming outlooks for future climate for the ‘wet tropics’ and the ‘dry zones’.Read moreRead less
Trends in polar sea ice and associated global atmospheric circulations. The project aims to analyse the trends in sea ice extent over the polar regions, and explain them in terms of changes in the local and remote atmospheric circulation. In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically, while increasing in the Antarctic. The resolution of this paradox is a pressing issue in climate science, as is the broad question of how sea ice influences, and is influenced by, climate conditions ....Trends in polar sea ice and associated global atmospheric circulations. The project aims to analyse the trends in sea ice extent over the polar regions, and explain them in terms of changes in the local and remote atmospheric circulation. In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically, while increasing in the Antarctic. The resolution of this paradox is a pressing issue in climate science, as is the broad question of how sea ice influences, and is influenced by, climate conditions in the mid-latitudes and tropics. Anticipated outcomes include a better understanding of the nature of links between Australian climate and Antarctic ice, and between United States climate extremes and Arctic ice.Read moreRead less
GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production fro ....GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production from one of the biggest ecosystems in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef. It is expected that the project will establish whether marine aerosol along the Queensland coast is coral-derived and show that this aerosol can affect the CCN concentration and therefore cloud formation and the hydrological cycle.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101305
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,921.00
Summary
Extratropical Cyclones and their Associated Precipitation: Understanding, Model Evaluation, and Future Projections. Storms and their associated frontal systems are responsible for producing most of the precipitation in mid-latitudes. This project will combine several powerful analysis techniques to answer some fundamental and currently unanswered questions on storm-related precipitation, including the extremes. State-of-the-art climate models, our main tool in projecting future climate changes, ....Extratropical Cyclones and their Associated Precipitation: Understanding, Model Evaluation, and Future Projections. Storms and their associated frontal systems are responsible for producing most of the precipitation in mid-latitudes. This project will combine several powerful analysis techniques to answer some fundamental and currently unanswered questions on storm-related precipitation, including the extremes. State-of-the-art climate models, our main tool in projecting future climate changes, will then be evaluated to ensure they are able to capture the essential processes of storm-related precipitation that have been elucidated. This is essential to increase confidence in the projection of storm changes and their related precipitation, thereby providing better information to water managers.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101836
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$325,111.00
Summary
Global Influence of Intraseasonal Variability in Ozonesonde Profiles. This proposal aims to better understand how tropical intraseasonal variability (periods of 40 to 60 days) influences the chemical components of the global atmosphere. The results of the research aim to improve regional air-quality forecasts on weekly and monthly timescales. The highly vertically resolved ozone concentrations from the surface up to 20 kilometres, measured by balloon-borne instruments called ozonesondes, will be ....Global Influence of Intraseasonal Variability in Ozonesonde Profiles. This proposal aims to better understand how tropical intraseasonal variability (periods of 40 to 60 days) influences the chemical components of the global atmosphere. The results of the research aim to improve regional air-quality forecasts on weekly and monthly timescales. The highly vertically resolved ozone concentrations from the surface up to 20 kilometres, measured by balloon-borne instruments called ozonesondes, will be used as a dynamical tracer. The knowledge gained from the ozonesonde data will be used to elucidate the chemical origins of the tropical variability related to biomass burning activities and convective lightning, as well as the subtropical variability related to the polar vortex dynamics.Read moreRead less
The stability and predictability of the Southern Hemisphere coupled ocean-atmosphere climate system. Our ability to adapt to and manage the effects of a changing climate is limited by our understanding of the ocean's response to changes in the atmospheric circulation. This project will establish the basis for the predictability of the climate system and provide state-of-the-art forecasts for climate adaptation.