Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explan ....Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explanation is confirmed, then for the first time in over 30 years of intense research it will be possible to determine the long-term severity of global warming by examining the present-day atmosphere. The expected outcome of this research is to clarify how and why low clouds change in altered climates.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL150100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,765,281.00
Summary
Revisiting the physics of clouds. Revisiting the physics of clouds: This fellowship project aims to bring new rigour to climate modelling by improving our understanding of key phenomena like clouds and storms. Earth’s climate has taken a number of turns in the recent and geologic past that so far cannot be reproduced in models. Clouds and atmospheric turbulence are also a problem for weather and climate prediction, the conceptual understanding of which now has evident flaws. The hypothesis of th ....Revisiting the physics of clouds. Revisiting the physics of clouds: This fellowship project aims to bring new rigour to climate modelling by improving our understanding of key phenomena like clouds and storms. Earth’s climate has taken a number of turns in the recent and geologic past that so far cannot be reproduced in models. Clouds and atmospheric turbulence are also a problem for weather and climate prediction, the conceptual understanding of which now has evident flaws. The hypothesis of this project is that these two problems are strongly linked, and that this link may be exploited to solve problems across disciplines. This project aims to systematically re-evaluate our conceptual understanding of cloud physics, and investigate how this affects our understanding of climate phenomena in Earth’s past and future.Read moreRead less
How does orography enhance precipitation in Australian wintertime storms? This project aims to employ targeted field observations, numerical simulations and new satellite capabilities to identify the dynamical and microphysical mechanisms that enhance and redistribute precipitation across the alpine regions of south eastern Australia and Tasmania. These observations will be used to evaluate operational numerical weather simulations specifically focusing on quantitative precipitation forecasts an ....How does orography enhance precipitation in Australian wintertime storms? This project aims to employ targeted field observations, numerical simulations and new satellite capabilities to identify the dynamical and microphysical mechanisms that enhance and redistribute precipitation across the alpine regions of south eastern Australia and Tasmania. These observations will be used to evaluate operational numerical weather simulations specifically focusing on quantitative precipitation forecasts and estimates. The observations will also be used to extend known biases in the national gridded precipitation analysis that are a result of the complex mountain terrain. This identification of the physical processes that enhance and redistribute precipitation over the alpine regions across south east Australia and Tasmania will lead to better precipitation estimates and forecasts and better water management.Read moreRead less
Cloud-climate interaction over the Great Barrier Reef and Southwest Pacific. This project aims to investigate cloud-climate interactions of the Southwest Pacific trade wind region from the regional scale to local forcing over the Great Barrier Reef. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the nature and variability of the trade wind clouds, including their impact on the surface radiative budget, ocean temperatures and coral bleaching events. Potential changes of these clouds due to glob ....Cloud-climate interaction over the Great Barrier Reef and Southwest Pacific. This project aims to investigate cloud-climate interactions of the Southwest Pacific trade wind region from the regional scale to local forcing over the Great Barrier Reef. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the nature and variability of the trade wind clouds, including their impact on the surface radiative budget, ocean temperatures and coral bleaching events. Potential changes of these clouds due to global warming and ensuing impacts on the environment will be studied. Expected outcomes include better modelling of the Great Barrier Reef environment and improved estimates of low-cloud feedback. This should provide significant benefits in developing warning systems for bleaching events, and regional land and water management. 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
Adaptive and Ubiquitous Trust Framework for Internet of Things interactions. The aim of the project is to address the Trust challenges in Internet of Things (IoT) environments, thus enabling the wide deployment of potentially billions of IoT devices. This project will generate new knowledge in the area of IoT Trust by developing novel techniques to establish trust in highly dynamic crowdsourcing IoT environments. The project's main outcomes include the development of a ubiquitous and adaptive mu ....Adaptive and Ubiquitous Trust Framework for Internet of Things interactions. The aim of the project is to address the Trust challenges in Internet of Things (IoT) environments, thus enabling the wide deployment of potentially billions of IoT devices. This project will generate new knowledge in the area of IoT Trust by developing novel techniques to establish trust in highly dynamic crowdsourcing IoT environments. The project's main outcomes include the development of a ubiquitous and adaptive multi-component trust framework reflecting trust perspectives. The developed solutions will allow the establishment of trusted interactions among crowdsourced IoT devices and wider deployment of convenient and just-in-time services, thus enabling the development of novel applications, such as the crowdsourcing of green energy.Read moreRead less
Multi-resolution situation recognition for urban-aware smart assistant. This project aims to develop a situation recognition framework to recognise and anticipate unforeseen emerging situations, such as schedule changes, incidents, and disruptions in an urban environment. The project will address a significant knowledge gap by capturing and modelling unpredictability in human mobility and work routines. The outcome will be a situation recognition framework that can be applied at the individual, ....Multi-resolution situation recognition for urban-aware smart assistant. This project aims to develop a situation recognition framework to recognise and anticipate unforeseen emerging situations, such as schedule changes, incidents, and disruptions in an urban environment. The project will address a significant knowledge gap by capturing and modelling unpredictability in human mobility and work routines. The outcome will be a situation recognition framework that can be applied at the individual, social group, and urban level, and at multiple locations and time scales. This should provide users with timely notifications and recommendations to resume their activities and routines. The expected benefits will be far-ranging and adaptable to many domains, from personal smart assistants to trip planning and emergency services.Read moreRead less
A mmWave Sensor Network for Hand Gesture Monitoring. This project aims to realise a world-first mmWave radar-based sensor network for device-free ubiquitous hand gesture monitoring. By harnessing recent radar technology breakthrough in mmWave, hand gesture may be monitored in a non-privacy intrusive manner. Pilot studies show different handrub gestures can be sensed and recognised by analysing the radio signal variations in the receiver. Given the many social, economic and health advantages of ....A mmWave Sensor Network for Hand Gesture Monitoring. This project aims to realise a world-first mmWave radar-based sensor network for device-free ubiquitous hand gesture monitoring. By harnessing recent radar technology breakthrough in mmWave, hand gesture may be monitored in a non-privacy intrusive manner. Pilot studies show different handrub gestures can be sensed and recognised by analysing the radio signal variations in the receiver. Given the many social, economic and health advantages of low-cost and non-privacy intrusive hand gesture sensing --- including enabling interactions and communications with smart environments (e.g., homes and offices) in a natural way --- the proposed research promises multiple benefits while positioning Australia as smart buildings innovator.Read moreRead less
Energy-Efficient Human-Sensing with Photovoltaic Internet-of-Things. This project aims to realise a world-first photovoltaic (PV)-based system for device free ubiquitous human monitoring. By harnessing next generation flexible organic PV cells, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices may be powered using only indoor lighting. Pilot studies show different activities can, in turn, be sensed and recognised by analysing the variations in the energy harvesting patterns in the PV-powered IoT. Given the many ....Energy-Efficient Human-Sensing with Photovoltaic Internet-of-Things. This project aims to realise a world-first photovoltaic (PV)-based system for device free ubiquitous human monitoring. By harnessing next generation flexible organic PV cells, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices may be powered using only indoor lighting. Pilot studies show different activities can, in turn, be sensed and recognised by analysing the variations in the energy harvesting patterns in the PV-powered IoT. Given the many social, economic and environmental advantages of cost and energy-efficient sensing – including falls detection for the elderly and power savings in smart building – the proposed research promises multiple benefits while positioning Australia as an IoT innovator.
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