Southern Ocean aerosols: sources, sinks and impact on cloud properties. This project aims to provide fundamental process-level understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes over the Southern Ocean, a region that has a profound influence on the Australian and global climate and where climate models perform poorly. Comprehensive observations during 3 Southern Ocean voyages and land-based measurements will enhance our knowledge of aerosols and cloud formation in that region and provide much-needed ....Southern Ocean aerosols: sources, sinks and impact on cloud properties. This project aims to provide fundamental process-level understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes over the Southern Ocean, a region that has a profound influence on the Australian and global climate and where climate models perform poorly. Comprehensive observations during 3 Southern Ocean voyages and land-based measurements will enhance our knowledge of aerosols and cloud formation in that region and provide much-needed data for improving global climate models. Expected outcomes include more accurate seasonal and latitudinal representations of Southern Ocean aerosol populations, properties and sources. The main benefit includes improvements in weather forecasting and future climate projection for Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Influence of Cloud on the Spectral Solar Ultraviolet Radiation. Terrestrial spectral solar UV may be enhanced above that of clear sky due to certain cloud conditions. There is a major gap in the scientific knowledge of the influence of cloud on the spectral solar UV and resultant biologically damaging UV. This project will collect the only dataset of sky conditions and spectral UV for each ten minute period spanning 12 months to determine: the specific wavelengths with increase ....Understanding the Influence of Cloud on the Spectral Solar Ultraviolet Radiation. Terrestrial spectral solar UV may be enhanced above that of clear sky due to certain cloud conditions. There is a major gap in the scientific knowledge of the influence of cloud on the spectral solar UV and resultant biologically damaging UV. This project will collect the only dataset of sky conditions and spectral UV for each ten minute period spanning 12 months to determine: the specific wavelengths with increased irradiances; the amount of enhanced damaging UV; the cloud conditions that cause these enhancements and develop a predictive capability to determine when cloud cover will enhance solar UV.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. This Centre aims to transform understanding of past and present climate extremes and revolutionise Australia’s capability to predict them into the future. Climate extremes cost Australia up to $4 billion a year and will intensify over coming decades. This Centre’s blue-sky research will discover processes that explain the behaviour of present and future climate extremes. It will use its researchers, data, modelling, collaboration, graduate programme ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. This Centre aims to transform understanding of past and present climate extremes and revolutionise Australia’s capability to predict them into the future. Climate extremes cost Australia up to $4 billion a year and will intensify over coming decades. This Centre’s blue-sky research will discover processes that explain the behaviour of present and future climate extremes. It will use its researchers, data, modelling, collaboration, graduate programme and early career researcher mentoring to transform Australia’s capacity to predict climate extremes. This research is expected to make Australia more resilient to climate extremes and minimise risks from climate extremes to the Australian environment, society and economy.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100048
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,000.00
Summary
Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity. Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity: No single player in the Australian research community can make a large suite of atmospheric composition measurements, while the combined capability of the community is tremendous. Providing a platform to bring this capability together is cost effective and is expected to provide strong scientific return. This defines the requirements for Atmospheric Integrated Res ....Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity. Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity: No single player in the Australian research community can make a large suite of atmospheric composition measurements, while the combined capability of the community is tremendous. Providing a platform to bring this capability together is cost effective and is expected to provide strong scientific return. This defines the requirements for Atmospheric Integrated Research on Burdens and Oxidative capacity (AIR-BOX) to make a valuable contribution to Australian Atmospheric Science research. This project aims to provide a suite of mobile equipment including a chemical ionisation mass spectrometer, an ultraviolet-visible radiation spectrometer, a mini micropulse lidar, an in situ Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and a cloud condensation nuclei counter. It will be capable of remote and autonomous deployment, real-time data transfer and control, a wide range of tracer measurements, flexible configuration, and physical as well as tracer measurements.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
QUANTIFICATION OF INTERACTIONS DURING THE DISPERSION OF CORONA IONS AND AIRBORNE PARTICLES NEAR POWER LINES. Currently there is no method for quantification of concentration and dispersion of charged aerosols near high voltage power lines (HVPLs). However, hypothesis have been presented, but not yet proven scientifically, that residents of houses close to combustion sources such as highways or industrial plants and HVPLs may be subjected to health risk due to inhalation of charged aerosols. The ....QUANTIFICATION OF INTERACTIONS DURING THE DISPERSION OF CORONA IONS AND AIRBORNE PARTICLES NEAR POWER LINES. Currently there is no method for quantification of concentration and dispersion of charged aerosols near high voltage power lines (HVPLs). However, hypothesis have been presented, but not yet proven scientifically, that residents of houses close to combustion sources such as highways or industrial plants and HVPLs may be subjected to health risk due to inhalation of charged aerosols. The outcome of this project will be a model for quantitative assessment of the processes occurring during the transport and dispersion of corona ions and combustion aerosol, which will be a tool for predictive risk assessment and informed management of public resources in relation to power line design and maintenance.Read moreRead less
Development and validation of a model predicting charged aerosol characteristics in the proximity to high voltage powerlines. With over 780,000 km length of High Voltage Power Lines running through different parts of the country, the scientific and socio-economic benefits to Australia and worldwide include: (i) The developed novel semi-empirical model would become an important tool for research on human exposure and health effects in the vicinity of powerlines and vehicle transport routs, and fo ....Development and validation of a model predicting charged aerosol characteristics in the proximity to high voltage powerlines. With over 780,000 km length of High Voltage Power Lines running through different parts of the country, the scientific and socio-economic benefits to Australia and worldwide include: (i) The developed novel semi-empirical model would become an important tool for research on human exposure and health effects in the vicinity of powerlines and vehicle transport routs, and for developing future directions for management and control strategies for transport and land development plans; (ii) The ultimate benefit of this research will be reduction of risks and thus increase in health and well-being of Australians and reduction in health care costs. Read moreRead less
Reactivity and photochemistry of halide anions: atmospheric implications. Bromine and iodine are suspected to be responsible for most of the halogen-induced ozone loss in the stratosphere but are not currently included in atmospheric models due to a paucity of knowledge of the gas-phase chemistry and photochemistry of their anions and radicals. This project will develop and deploy advanced mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy techniques to enable precision measurements of the reactions and p ....Reactivity and photochemistry of halide anions: atmospheric implications. Bromine and iodine are suspected to be responsible for most of the halogen-induced ozone loss in the stratosphere but are not currently included in atmospheric models due to a paucity of knowledge of the gas-phase chemistry and photochemistry of their anions and radicals. This project will develop and deploy advanced mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy techniques to enable precision measurements of the reactions and photo-reactions of gas-phase iodide and bromide anions and their oxides. These state-of-the-art measurements of reaction kinetics and products will enable accurate chemical models that predict the impact of bromine and iodine chemistry on ozone levels and will inform future models for global climate.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100116
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing. This proposal aims to establish state-of-the-art stationary and mobile facilities for atmospheric wind, dust and plume measurements with unique capability to quantify the effect of climate change, surface topography and urbanisation on near-surface microclimate where humans live. To better predict microclimate, mitigate air pollution impacts and exploit local conditions for improved urban planning and agricultural yield, high qual ....Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing. This proposal aims to establish state-of-the-art stationary and mobile facilities for atmospheric wind, dust and plume measurements with unique capability to quantify the effect of climate change, surface topography and urbanisation on near-surface microclimate where humans live. To better predict microclimate, mitigate air pollution impacts and exploit local conditions for improved urban planning and agricultural yield, high quality observations of the near-surface atmosphere at fine temporal and spatial resolutions are required. The proposed Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing (FABLET) will advance Australia’s capability to make these difficult measurements of atmospheric boundary layer.Read moreRead less