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.
Climate change in the abandonment of islands: a high-resolution case study from the tropical Pacific. Climate change in the last 1000 years is thought to have had negative environmental and societal consequences in the Pacific, particularly in Palau through the occupation and abandonment of limestone islands. This project uses high-resolution data to establish the palaeoclimate and the cultural mechanisms used to cope with climate events.
Cyclones, storm tracks and precipitation over the globe, and their sensitivity to climate change. The project will explore in detail the intimate connection across the globe between storms, storm tracks and precipitation and the changes in these key aspects of weather and climate. Expected outcomes are an improved understanding of trends and outlooks for southern Australian and European weather and precipitation.
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
Atmospheric composition and climate change: a southern hemisphere perspective. This project addresses the science of greenhouse gases and climate change through extensive high accuracy measurements of atmospheric composition, the calibration of a new generation of satellite sensors, and the assimilation of the measured data in models of the atmosphere to elucidate the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases.
The Total Column Carbon Observing Network in the Southern Hemisphere: constraining our understanding of the carbon cycle and climate. The global carbon cycle and the distribution, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are crucial drivers of climate change. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measures the amounts of greenhouse and other trace gases in the atmosphere by solar remote sensing from the ground with unprecedented accuracy and precision. ....The Total Column Carbon Observing Network in the Southern Hemisphere: constraining our understanding of the carbon cycle and climate. The global carbon cycle and the distribution, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are crucial drivers of climate change. The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measures the amounts of greenhouse and other trace gases in the atmosphere by solar remote sensing from the ground with unprecedented accuracy and precision. TCCON data are the "gold standard" for total column measurements and an essential part of greenhouse gas science. They are used to improve knowledge of the carbon cycle and future climate change, both directly and by validating global-scale satellite measurements. This project will continue to expand TCCON in the southern hemisphere and the enhanced scientific understanding it will provide.Read moreRead less
A new strategy for design flood estimation in a nonstationary climate. Evidence suggests that global warming will result in an increase in the frequency and/or magnitude of heavy rainfall, leading to flooding with potentially devastating consequences. This study provides a renewed focus on design flood estimation that takes into account a changing climate where assumptions of stationarity are no longer tenable.
Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. T ....Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. This collaborative research project draws together a uniquely-skilled research team to develop targeted coral, ice and cave reconstructions of these climate systems and their impacts on Australian rainfall through the last millennium. This fundamental new knowledge of the drivers of Australian rainfall variability will aid improved predictability of future changes in our valuable water resources. Read moreRead less
Next-generation vegetation model based on functional traits. Global vegetation models try to answer big questions, such as the effects of climate change and carbon dioxide (CO2) on ecosystems and vice versa. But as present models are outdated and give inconsistent results, the project is planning a new, more robust model that will fully exploit recent advances in plant functional ecology and earth system science.
Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence ....Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence in our predictions of tropical cyclone incidence in a future, changed climate.Read moreRead less