Transition to a clean energy future: the role of climate change litigation in shaping our regulatory path. As the world seeks a clean energy future, courts in Australia and other key fossil fuel-producing nations, like the United States, are increasingly hearing cases seeking to block the use of coal due to its climate change effects. This project critically assesses the role such climate litigation plays in generating regulatory momentum to address climate change.
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
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
Coupling tropical cyclone and climate physics with ocean waves. It is argued that without accounting for the wave effects directly, the physics of large-scale air-sea interactions is inaccurate and incomplete. The project will introduce explicit coupling of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic phenomena with the physics of surface waves which should lead to improved predictions of tropical cyclones and climate.
Past climate and environmental impacts on Great Barrier Reef paleoecology. This project aims to investigate the interconnected processes that led to past reef growth and demise. The iconic Great Barrier Reef and reefs globally are under threat. Yet reefs appear to have undergone cycles of death and recovery, though the causes are poorly understood. This project will reconstruct past climate, rainfall, water quality, coral bleaching and reef ecology feedbacks across Great Barrier Reef death event ....Past climate and environmental impacts on Great Barrier Reef paleoecology. This project aims to investigate the interconnected processes that led to past reef growth and demise. The iconic Great Barrier Reef and reefs globally are under threat. Yet reefs appear to have undergone cycles of death and recovery, though the causes are poorly understood. This project will reconstruct past climate, rainfall, water quality, coral bleaching and reef ecology feedbacks across Great Barrier Reef death events to establish which environmental stressors and paleoclimate variations are most critical for reef health. The outcomes will better constrain long term coral reef dynamics and provide significant benefits to those who manage reefs globally, since the Great Barrier Reef covers the full range of reef environments.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
Millennial climate change in southern Australia during the Last Glacial. Abrupt warming and cooling events were a persistent feature of Earth's most recent climate cycle. Surprisingly, little is known of how these events affected the climate of Australia. This project will produce precisely dated reconstructions of rainfall and temperature trends in southern Australia during these events. These new terrestrial and ocean data will be compared with model simulations to determine how rapidly abrupt ....Millennial climate change in southern Australia during the Last Glacial. Abrupt warming and cooling events were a persistent feature of Earth's most recent climate cycle. Surprisingly, little is known of how these events affected the climate of Australia. This project will produce precisely dated reconstructions of rainfall and temperature trends in southern Australia during these events. These new terrestrial and ocean data will be compared with model simulations to determine how rapidly abrupt climate perturbations in the Northern Hemisphere reached our region, and the processes by which this occurred. The results will advance theory on how abrupt climate change propagates globally and provide a long-awaited climatic context for capstone events in Australia's natural history.Read moreRead less
A Changing Climate on the Great Barrier Reef: Present and Future Implications. The Great Barrier Reef is fundamental to the economy of Australia. This national and international icon needs to be preserved in the face of a changing world to ensure on-going sustainability of our marine resources. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures, increased freshwater disrupt the sensitive symbiotic association of corals the major structure building organisms of reefs. Understanding how these enviro ....A Changing Climate on the Great Barrier Reef: Present and Future Implications. The Great Barrier Reef is fundamental to the economy of Australia. This national and international icon needs to be preserved in the face of a changing world to ensure on-going sustainability of our marine resources. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures, increased freshwater disrupt the sensitive symbiotic association of corals the major structure building organisms of reefs. Understanding how these environmental stressors result in the decrease in coral health is fundamental to prevent loss of our coral reefs and an important step towards preserving them for future generations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100115
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Confocal microscope for high-resolution microtopographic analysis of surfaces in historical, forensic and polymer sciences. High-resolution analyses of microscopic patterns on surfaces using confocal microscopy can provide vital clues into the nature of ancient diets and environments, adaptive evolution, weapons used in crimes, and properties of polymers. This instrument will heighten Australia’s capacity for world-leading research in areas of major national importance.
Integrating climate adaptation into rainforest restoration plantings. This project aims to investigate the impact of within species adaptation to climate on restoratoin success in the Australian Wet Tropics. For a suite of six species of tropical tree frequently employed in rainforest restoration plantings in northeast Queensland, this project aims to test the hypothesis that collecting seed from populations in similar ecoclimatic settings to the planting site will result in superior seedling gr ....Integrating climate adaptation into rainforest restoration plantings. This project aims to investigate the impact of within species adaptation to climate on restoratoin success in the Australian Wet Tropics. For a suite of six species of tropical tree frequently employed in rainforest restoration plantings in northeast Queensland, this project aims to test the hypothesis that collecting seed from populations in similar ecoclimatic settings to the planting site will result in superior seedling growth and survival. The expected outcome is to provide practical advice to restoration practitioners about the importance of matching the provenance of seed source to planting sites, and opportunities for selecting provenances pre-adapted to predicted future climatic conditions at planting sites.Read moreRead less