When the ice melts: a new perspective on the causes of Quaternary glacial terminations. The project will assemble an unprecedented palaeoclimate time series extending back to 1.2 million years ago that will allow marine and ice core records to be placed onto an absolute time scale. This will allow testing of fundamental hypotheses on why the Earth's climate shifts from glacial to interglacial states, with flow-on effects to climate models.
Quantifying and mitigating changes in Australia’s rainfall belts. This project aims to understand how past climate changes affected Australia’s rainfall belts, and to reverse recent changes in rainfall belts. Australia’s climate belts are moving, but it is unclear if the effects on tropical and temperate rainfall will be permanent. This project will use past climate records and palaeoclimate databases to assess how natural and human-induced changes during the past millennium affected Australia’s ....Quantifying and mitigating changes in Australia’s rainfall belts. This project aims to understand how past climate changes affected Australia’s rainfall belts, and to reverse recent changes in rainfall belts. Australia’s climate belts are moving, but it is unclear if the effects on tropical and temperate rainfall will be permanent. This project will use past climate records and palaeoclimate databases to assess how natural and human-induced changes during the past millennium affected Australia’s rainfall zones, and specialised climate model simulations to determine whether greenhouse gas reduction could mitigate future rainfall changes. The outcomes are expected to inform policy and mitigation strategies to secure Australia’s precious water resources.Read moreRead less
Comparative Paleogenomics of the Arctic Tundra Ecosystem: the genetic response of plants and animals to climate change. This project will use DNA from deep-frozen seeds and bones 100,000 years old to record how species respond to climate change - by adapting and surviving or by shifting ranges and moving. Very large numbers of genes will be examined to identify changes across the genomes of four plant and two animal species, and contrast the responses to major climatic shifts.
Quantitative reconstructions of Australian climates since the last Interglacial. A crucial test of the models used to project future climate is how well they reproduce past climates. The project will reconstruct Australian regional climates, from vegetation, fire and runoff records, and use these for climate-model evaluation - helping to provide a more solid basis for management of Australian resources in the future.
Understanding interglacial diversity. This project intends to improve our understanding of interglacial processes. Interglacials, the relatively brief warm intervals of Quaternary ice-age cycles, have varied significantly over the last 800 000 years in terms of their duration, timing, intensity and complexity. The reason for such diversity has eluded palaeoclimatologists for decades. This is because of the difficulty of dating marine and ice records, which best preserve interglacial histories. T ....Understanding interglacial diversity. This project intends to improve our understanding of interglacial processes. Interglacials, the relatively brief warm intervals of Quaternary ice-age cycles, have varied significantly over the last 800 000 years in terms of their duration, timing, intensity and complexity. The reason for such diversity has eluded palaeoclimatologists for decades. This is because of the difficulty of dating marine and ice records, which best preserve interglacial histories. The projects plans to compile precisely dated time series of past interglacials that can be linked directly to these records, allowing robust comparisons between interglacial properties and changes in Earth's astronomical parameters. This would advance palaeoclimate theory and provide a new perspective on the future evolution of the climate system.Read moreRead less
Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. T ....Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. This collaborative research project draws together a uniquely-skilled research team to develop targeted coral, ice and cave reconstructions of these climate systems and their impacts on Australian rainfall through the last millennium. This fundamental new knowledge of the drivers of Australian rainfall variability will aid improved predictability of future changes in our valuable water resources. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100295
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,679.00
Summary
Forecasting the future of flood and drought in Australia using multi-century tree-ring and isotope chronologies from the tropics. The effects of El Nino on Australian floods and droughts in a globally changing climate is unclear because we lack long climate records from the past. This project will measure tree-ring and isotope records using kauri pine to advance our understanding of El Nino's effects on the frequency and intensity of drought and floods in Australia.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100045
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
A mass spectrometer to analyse carbonate isotope records of Australia's climate, soil and groundwater history. Water is a critical resource in Australia, yet there is a fundamental lack of knowledge about the causes and timing of groundwater recharge in the past. This facility will allow researchers to better understand climate and groundwater interactions through high resolution isotope analysis of deposits, such as cave stalagmites and marine corals.
Reconstructing changes in atmospheric circulation over the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the past 3000 years. The climate of the mid-latitudes of the southern hemisphere is of global significance and yet past changes have proved difficult to reconstruct due to the dearth of records. Working across the Southern Ocean region using tree rings, lake sediments and ice cores, the project will produce the first comprehensive reconstruction spanning the last 3000 years.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100218
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$254,078.00
Summary
A world-class rock magnetic facility to support Australian palaeomagnetic and environmental research. Magnetic properties of rocks and environmental particles provide information about a vast range of geological and environmental processes. We propose to develop a facility that will enable detection and interpretation of these magnetic signals to aid understanding of climate change, mineral exploration, and the geological development of Australia.