Iron in the Antarctic sea ice zone and its role in the past and future climate. The Antarctic sea ice environment has remained poorly investigated for decades as it is difficult to access. Recent scientific advances have revealed that melting sea ice may provide a significant amount of the plant micro-nutrient iron to the Southern Ocean. Given that polar waters are iron-deficient and seasonal sea ice affects ~14 million square kilometres of ocean, the importance of iron fertilisation from deca ....Iron in the Antarctic sea ice zone and its role in the past and future climate. The Antarctic sea ice environment has remained poorly investigated for decades as it is difficult to access. Recent scientific advances have revealed that melting sea ice may provide a significant amount of the plant micro-nutrient iron to the Southern Ocean. Given that polar waters are iron-deficient and seasonal sea ice affects ~14 million square kilometres of ocean, the importance of iron fertilisation from decaying sea ice and its effect on global climate urgently need to be evaluated. This proposal aims at improving our understanding of Earth's complex system, and will inform future climate change policy in Australia.
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Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data an ....Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data and numerical geophysical modelling advances. The project contributes to the quantitative characterisation of the complex interactions between ice-sheets, oceans and solid earth within the climate system. Outcomes have implications for geophysics, glaciology, geomorphology, climate, and past and future sea-level change.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0232306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,000.00
Summary
GPS receivers and support equipment for geophysical observatories in Antarctica. Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and supporting electronics systems are required for monitoring of the uplift of the Earth's crust near the Lambert Glacier. This will lead to fundamental insights into the past and present-day mass-balance changes of the Antarctic
ice sheet. This research will provide critical data on the changes in the Antarctic ice sheet, a region where scientific information is currently ....GPS receivers and support equipment for geophysical observatories in Antarctica. Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and supporting electronics systems are required for monitoring of the uplift of the Earth's crust near the Lambert Glacier. This will lead to fundamental insights into the past and present-day mass-balance changes of the Antarctic
ice sheet. This research will provide critical data on the changes in the Antarctic ice sheet, a region where scientific information is currently poorly defined or lacking altogther. Combined with other geophysical data, the results of this project will produce, for the first time, constraints on the contribution of Antarctica to global ice and sea-level models.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The role of Antarctic sea ice as a natural ocean fertiliser. This project will assess the importance of sea ice as a natural fertiliser in the climatically important polar region. The knowledge gained will aid climate modellers and Governmental policy-makers concerned with the commercial use of ocean iron fertilisation as an attempt to reduce human-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide and gain carbon credits.
Ocean fertilisation: a positive effect from Antarctica’s great thaw? This project will evaluate how the Antarctica's great thaw may fertilise the Southern Ocean with iron and help mitigate carbon dioxide emissions now and in the future. The Southern Ocean is anaemic, meaning that the iron levels are too low to sustain photosynthesis, a pathway by which the oceans transform carbon dioxide into carbon-rich sediments. There is evidence that melting ice may supply substantial amount of iron, capable ....Ocean fertilisation: a positive effect from Antarctica’s great thaw? This project will evaluate how the Antarctica's great thaw may fertilise the Southern Ocean with iron and help mitigate carbon dioxide emissions now and in the future. The Southern Ocean is anaemic, meaning that the iron levels are too low to sustain photosynthesis, a pathway by which the oceans transform carbon dioxide into carbon-rich sediments. There is evidence that melting ice may supply substantial amount of iron, capable of boosting marine life and removing carbon dioxide. As polar regions show the earliest and most severe impacts of anthropogenic activity, studying ice-ocean interactions is central to supporting national and international policy development that can effectively limit the worst impacts of climate change globally. Read moreRead less
Improving models of West Antarctic glacial isostatic adjustment through a new surface velocity field. This project seeks to "fix the scales" being used to weigh changes in the Antarctic ice sheet. Present measurements are biased by a failure to accurately account for mass changes beneath the ice and within the Earth itself. This project seeks to use new measurements of the changes in the shape of the Earth to calibrate out that bias.