Abrupt Southern Hemisphere Climate Change: The Role Of The Southern Ocean Thermohaline Circulation. Australia's climate is extreme, with harsh droughts, severe bushfire seasons, climate change, soil loss, and salinity all posing potentially enormous socio-economic challenges over the next ten-fifty years. Research into climate change and climate variability is thus highly significant for Australia, and will underpin efforts to protect our biodiversity and ensure the nation's environmental sustai ....Abrupt Southern Hemisphere Climate Change: The Role Of The Southern Ocean Thermohaline Circulation. Australia's climate is extreme, with harsh droughts, severe bushfire seasons, climate change, soil loss, and salinity all posing potentially enormous socio-economic challenges over the next ten-fifty years. Research into climate change and climate variability is thus highly significant for Australia, and will underpin efforts to protect our biodiversity and ensure the nation's environmental sustainability. We propose to launch a major new study of the stability of the Southern Ocean's thermohaline circulation and its role in global climate. This work could have significant long-term benefits for those sectors of society sensitive to shifts in climate; including agriculture, energy, freshwater supply, health, and tourism.Read moreRead less
An Investigation into Oceanic CO2 Variability and its Influence on Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations. Carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas whose observed atmospheric increase is the central cause
of climate change. The associated environmental, social and economic impacts to Australia could be
staggering via coral reef degradation, loss of agricultural production, coastal erosion and extreme climate
events. This work aims to better our understanding of how the oceans may mediate the effec ....An Investigation into Oceanic CO2 Variability and its Influence on Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations. Carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas whose observed atmospheric increase is the central cause
of climate change. The associated environmental, social and economic impacts to Australia could be
staggering via coral reef degradation, loss of agricultural production, coastal erosion and extreme climate
events. This work aims to better our understanding of how the oceans may mediate the effects of climate
change for Australia and therefore has a strong national benefit. Quantifying the importance Australia's
oceanic CO2 sink will be important for Australian policy makers within international climate negotiations
and also for better management practices to ensure the future prosperity of Australia's coral reef
ecosystem.Read moreRead less
Coupled ocean-carbon-atmosphere feedbacks in the global climate system. The capacity of the oceans to absorb and store carbon fundamentally regulates atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Climate change is altering the flux of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere, and may reduce the capacity of the oceans to store carbon. Research into climate change and the global ocean carbon cycle is of high national significance, and will underpin efforts to protect our biodiversity and ensure Australia's env ....Coupled ocean-carbon-atmosphere feedbacks in the global climate system. The capacity of the oceans to absorb and store carbon fundamentally regulates atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Climate change is altering the flux of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere, and may reduce the capacity of the oceans to store carbon. Research into climate change and the global ocean carbon cycle is of high national significance, and will underpin efforts to protect our biodiversity and ensure Australia's environmental sustainability. We propose a major new study of the nature of coupled ocean-carbon-atmosphere feedbacks operating in the global climate system. This work will quantify how the ocean's carbon storage capacity might shift in the future, guiding policy-makers in setting future CO2 emissions targets.Read moreRead less
Modes of Pacific Ocean variability and their relationship to regional Southern Hemisphere climate. This project will provide a thorough examination of the role of the major Pacific Ocean modes in forcing variability in Australian climate. Enhancing our knowledge of the mechanisms driving natural modes of variability and how they affect Australian rainfall is fundamental for improving seasonal forecasting and long-term climate prediction. Results from this research can contribute to the underpinn ....Modes of Pacific Ocean variability and their relationship to regional Southern Hemisphere climate. This project will provide a thorough examination of the role of the major Pacific Ocean modes in forcing variability in Australian climate. Enhancing our knowledge of the mechanisms driving natural modes of variability and how they affect Australian rainfall is fundamental for improving seasonal forecasting and long-term climate prediction. Results from this research can contribute to the underpinning sciences that inform on the risks associated with climate extremes and climate change. This is extremely beneficial to Australia, as it can have implications for adaptation strategies, assisting the socio-economic sectors dependant on climate forecasting, including agriculture, natural resources, bushfire control and water management.Read moreRead less
Eddy mixing and water mass formation in the Southern Ocean in a global 1/4 degree model. The next generation of ocean climate models will rely on linkages between experts in large-scale oceanography, mesoscale ocean physics and computational techniques. This project brings together such expertise. It will result in the development of better ocean models for use in climate prediction by improving the representation of eddy contributions to air/sea interactions. Australia's climate is extreme, wi ....Eddy mixing and water mass formation in the Southern Ocean in a global 1/4 degree model. The next generation of ocean climate models will rely on linkages between experts in large-scale oceanography, mesoscale ocean physics and computational techniques. This project brings together such expertise. It will result in the development of better ocean models for use in climate prediction by improving the representation of eddy contributions to air/sea interactions. Australia's climate is extreme, with harsh droughts, severe bushfire seasons, soil loss, and salinity all posing potentially enormous socio-economic challenges over the next fifty years. Improving climate models is thus highly significant for Australia, as mitigating the effects of climate change depend on reliable climate prediction systems.Read moreRead less