Mechanisms of acclimation of coralline algae to ocean acidification. This project aims to investigate the biological and ecological mechanisms by which reef-building coralline algae may have survived past ocean acidification and warming events and may acclimate to future changes. Coralline algae play critical roles in coral reef ecology but are sensitive to human-induced ocean acidification. However, the abundant geological record coincident with past acidification events is inconsistent with th ....Mechanisms of acclimation of coralline algae to ocean acidification. This project aims to investigate the biological and ecological mechanisms by which reef-building coralline algae may have survived past ocean acidification and warming events and may acclimate to future changes. Coralline algae play critical roles in coral reef ecology but are sensitive to human-induced ocean acidification. However, the abundant geological record coincident with past acidification events is inconsistent with their sensitivity to high carbon dioxide. Acclimation and adaptation is therefore possible but in ways we do not yet understand. The project expects to provide insights to the ability of key marine organisms to acclimate to rapid environmental change and provide information critical for the conservation of valuable marine systems.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
The last glaciation maximum climate conundrum and environmental responses of the Australian continent to altered climate states. This project will show how climate systems in south east Australia responded to large scale global change the last time this happened, which was about 21,000 years ago. By determining the climate response in Australia to this change, this project will help predict future response in rainfall and temperature to human-induced and natural climate change.
Climate-driven windblown dust and flood runoff can increase marine diseases by fungal pathogens. Determination of the role of fungal pathogens in marine disease outbreaks, and their linkages to climate-driven dust and flood events, have important applications for coastal fisheries and the Great Barrier Reef. This project will develop molecular tools and plankton recorder protocols to detect fungal outbreaks and assess ecosystem resilience.
Ancient Ecology: Changes in penguin diet over ~30,000 years in Antarctica. This project proposes the first direct study of ancient ecology using a combination of second-generation DNA sequencing and targeted gene recovery. The food web of the Antarctic Ocean is a classic textbook example of energy and nutrient cycling in the marine environment. Although a great deal is known about the current status of this food web, understanding how this complex set of predator / prey relationships have change ....Ancient Ecology: Changes in penguin diet over ~30,000 years in Antarctica. This project proposes the first direct study of ancient ecology using a combination of second-generation DNA sequencing and targeted gene recovery. The food web of the Antarctic Ocean is a classic textbook example of energy and nutrient cycling in the marine environment. Although a great deal is known about the current status of this food web, understanding how this complex set of predator / prey relationships have changed over long periods of time is vital to understanding the nature of the system itself. The project intends to track changes in the diet of Adélie penguins from serially preserved ancient fecal (guano) remains dating back approximately 30,000 years. These remains are known to contain microscopic remnants of penguin prey.Read moreRead less
Future fisheries under climate change: the missing role of zooplankton. This project aims to develop the first global ecosystem model with a more realistic representation of zooplankton. Fish are the main source of protein for 3 billion people, yet fish catches are declining. Current models of future fish biomass under climate change do not consider the complex role that zooplankton play in transferring energy from phytoplankton to fish. By resolving the link between phytoplankton and fish, this ....Future fisheries under climate change: the missing role of zooplankton. This project aims to develop the first global ecosystem model with a more realistic representation of zooplankton. Fish are the main source of protein for 3 billion people, yet fish catches are declining. Current models of future fish biomass under climate change do not consider the complex role that zooplankton play in transferring energy from phytoplankton to fish. By resolving the link between phytoplankton and fish, this project will vastly improve estimates of future global fisheries production and regional variation. Such knowledge is vital for future food security in Australia and globally, and also to understand the role of zooplankton in carbon export in the ocean.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$36,000,000.00
Summary
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management ....Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management, unparalleled strategic decision-support for an effective Antarctic Treaty, and new minds to address Antarctica’s new challenges.
Anticipated benefits are the means to transform environmental forecasting and management in the Antarctic, for Australia, and to the advantage of global security.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100089
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,000.00
Summary
Connecting big data with high performance computing for climate science. Connecting big data with high performance computing for climate science: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science is a key user of the National Computational Infrastructure facility (NCI). This research requires massive data integrated with high performance computing in an operational facility. Fast disk capacity that is simultaneously connected to NCI long-term storage, cloud and high performance computing s ....Connecting big data with high performance computing for climate science. Connecting big data with high performance computing for climate science: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science is a key user of the National Computational Infrastructure facility (NCI). This research requires massive data integrated with high performance computing in an operational facility. Fast disk capacity that is simultaneously connected to NCI long-term storage, cloud and high performance computing severely limits use of the NCI. To resolve this limitation, 1.7 petabytes of storage will be installed to transform the efficiency of the facility. This will enable more ambitious science to be undertaken. This investment will be used to launch a transformation from petascale to exascale problems and communicate the lessons learned to other research communities in Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560868
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$552,475.00
Summary
SHRIMP SI - Microscale stable-isotope analysis in the Earth Sciences. Stable-isotope variations of elements such as oxygen, carbon, and sulphur, preserve the most profound records of environmental conditions during the geological, biological, and climatic evolution of Earth and planets. We will build a stable isotope ion microprobe (SHRIMP SI) to examine extraterrestrial and terrestrial systems in unprecedented detail. In terrestrial applications, the main issue is accuracy at the 0.01 percent ....SHRIMP SI - Microscale stable-isotope analysis in the Earth Sciences. Stable-isotope variations of elements such as oxygen, carbon, and sulphur, preserve the most profound records of environmental conditions during the geological, biological, and climatic evolution of Earth and planets. We will build a stable isotope ion microprobe (SHRIMP SI) to examine extraterrestrial and terrestrial systems in unprecedented detail. In terrestrial applications, the main issue is accuracy at the 0.01 percent level for 20-micron spots, which we can apply to studies of development of life on Earth, climatic records, weathering, and formation of ore bodies. Sample return missions of solar wind and comets will provide unique samples related to the formation of our solar system.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100203
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,000.00
Summary
Autonomous benthic observing system. This project seeks to improve our ability to monitor marine habitats and characterise their variability by enhancing the Integrated Marine Observing system (IMOS) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility. The new AUV infrastructure will reduce operating costs, increase robustness of the sampling effort and insure continued operation for the next decade.