A New Era for Australian Exoplanetary Science. There are few areas of learning that engage the public in cutting-edge science and technology more than astronomy – and few areas of astronomy that engage and fascinate as thoroughly as the study of planets and astrobiology. This research program will not only discover new rocky and gas giant planets orbiting other stars, but tell us about how those planets formed – allowing us to answer the key question for current exoplanetary research – “Are ther ....A New Era for Australian Exoplanetary Science. There are few areas of learning that engage the public in cutting-edge science and technology more than astronomy – and few areas of astronomy that engage and fascinate as thoroughly as the study of planets and astrobiology. This research program will not only discover new rocky and gas giant planets orbiting other stars, but tell us about how those planets formed – allowing us to answer the key question for current exoplanetary research – “Are there other Earths in the Universe?”Read moreRead less
Space Science and Astronomy: Dissecting the Galaxy with High Resolution Multi-Object Echelle Spectrograph (HERMES) II: Decisive Observations. Australia has long been a world leader in wide-field astronomical surveys, and the new High Resolution Multi-Object Echelle Spectrograph (HERMES) being built for the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) will enhance that leadership position. Through a combination of Australian technological and scientific advances, the surveys we conduct with HERMES will allow ....Space Science and Astronomy: Dissecting the Galaxy with High Resolution Multi-Object Echelle Spectrograph (HERMES) II: Decisive Observations. Australia has long been a world leader in wide-field astronomical surveys, and the new High Resolution Multi-Object Echelle Spectrograph (HERMES) being built for the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) will enhance that leadership position. Through a combination of Australian technological and scientific advances, the surveys we conduct with HERMES will allow us to study galaxy formation and stellar astrophysics in unprecedented detail. There are powerful synergies between HERMES and Skymapper, another Australian astronomical survey, as well as with Gaia, the billion-dollar European space mission for studying the Galaxy; HERMES will thus promote both national and international research collaboration. In this proposal we lay the observational groundwork for maximising the scientific return from HERMES.Read moreRead less
Towards operational monitoring of key climate parameters from synthetic aperture radar. Agricultural productivity is a major contributor to the Australian economy, but is experiencing significant stress in response to climate change. Moreover, soil moisture controls vegetation dynamics that contribute to carbon storage, atmospheric processes leading to severe weather, and runoff generation processes leading to floods and runoff yield from urban water storage catchments. Consequently, high reso ....Towards operational monitoring of key climate parameters from synthetic aperture radar. Agricultural productivity is a major contributor to the Australian economy, but is experiencing significant stress in response to climate change. Moreover, soil moisture controls vegetation dynamics that contribute to carbon storage, atmospheric processes leading to severe weather, and runoff generation processes leading to floods and runoff yield from urban water storage catchments. Consequently, high resolution time-series information on soil moisture and vegetation status from space represents a powerful tool for understanding climate change impacts on Australia. It is therefore imperative that products be developed specifically for the Australian environment to take full advantage of radar data from satellites.Read moreRead less
Space science and astronomy: New eyes on old stars: Decoding late-stage stellar evolution. Planetary nebulae, the extended shrouds of dying stars, are a fascinating, brief period in the life of most stars. Our Sun will eventually go through this phase engulfing the earth. Planetary nebulae are unique celestial laboratories thanks to their rich emission line spectra. They are amongst the most beautiful and mysterious of objects, whose startling images act as a photogenic magnet for public interes ....Space science and astronomy: New eyes on old stars: Decoding late-stage stellar evolution. Planetary nebulae, the extended shrouds of dying stars, are a fascinating, brief period in the life of most stars. Our Sun will eventually go through this phase engulfing the earth. Planetary nebulae are unique celestial laboratories thanks to their rich emission line spectra. They are amongst the most beautiful and mysterious of objects, whose startling images act as a photogenic magnet for public interest. Behind their beauty hides the mystery of how stars return carbon, one of life's essential building blocks - to interstellar space. This project will constitute the next major breakthrough in understanding these processes and addresses several significant astrophysical problems in the field via unique Australian data and instrumentation.Read moreRead less
A changing climate for calcification on the Great Barrier Reef: past, present and future. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a national and international icon, recognised through its inscription as a World Heritage Area and economic and social value to Australians. Maintenance of the GBR as we know it is now compromised by a rapidly changing climate. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures and increased freshwater will progressively be detrimental to the fundamental reef-building process ....A changing climate for calcification on the Great Barrier Reef: past, present and future. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a national and international icon, recognised through its inscription as a World Heritage Area and economic and social value to Australians. Maintenance of the GBR as we know it is now compromised by a rapidly changing climate. Ocean acidification, warming water temperatures and increased freshwater will progressively be detrimental to the fundamental reef-building process of calcification. Informed policy and management strategies in a rapidly changing physical environment require determination, for short and long time frames, of the regional consequences and impacts of changing reef-building capacity.Read moreRead less
Indian Ocean Climate Change: Ningaloo Reef, a litmus test for the survival of coral reefs. Coral reefs are at the frontline from the effects of rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide that is causing both global warming and oceans to become more acid-like. Our research program will determine how the survival of one of the World’s most pristine and best preserved coral reefs, Ningaloo Reef, is linked to the response of Australia’s Indian Ocean to climate change. For the first time, we will simula ....Indian Ocean Climate Change: Ningaloo Reef, a litmus test for the survival of coral reefs. Coral reefs are at the frontline from the effects of rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide that is causing both global warming and oceans to become more acid-like. Our research program will determine how the survival of one of the World’s most pristine and best preserved coral reefs, Ningaloo Reef, is linked to the response of Australia’s Indian Ocean to climate change. For the first time, we will simulate realistic ‘future’ conditions and see how actual coral reef systems respond. This will provide a ‘yardstick’ against which the best-case survival potential of the world’s coral reefs can be assessed, critical for underpinning the urgently needed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we are to ensure the survival of coral reefs.Read moreRead less
Treading water in a changing climate: The vulnerability of Australia’s tropical islands to sea level rise. This project will directly benefit the people and businesses associated with 1,174 tropical islands found in Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait waters. By bringing together a multi-disciplinary team and training young Australian researchers, this project will establish an integrated research program that will outline the challenges, and develop the solutions, that will be needed for Aust ....Treading water in a changing climate: The vulnerability of Australia’s tropical islands to sea level rise. This project will directly benefit the people and businesses associated with 1,174 tropical islands found in Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait waters. By bringing together a multi-disciplinary team and training young Australian researchers, this project will establish an integrated research program that will outline the challenges, and develop the solutions, that will be needed for Australians to cope with rising sea levels. While the initial focus is the highly exposed tropical islands, the results of this integrated research program will have a wide applicability across Australia in terms of the geomorphological, natural and human challenges associated with rapid pathogenic sea level rise.Read moreRead less
Machine Assisted, Multi-scale Spatial and Temporal Observation and Modeling of Marine Benthic Habitats. The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) science plans include sampling campaigns reliant on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility data and designed to address the issues of marine biodiversity quantification and assurance. The proposed research will directly enhance the effectiveness of these programs by speeding labour-intensive analyses, aggregating the results, and searching f ....Machine Assisted, Multi-scale Spatial and Temporal Observation and Modeling of Marine Benthic Habitats. The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) science plans include sampling campaigns reliant on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility data and designed to address the issues of marine biodiversity quantification and assurance. The proposed research will directly enhance the effectiveness of these programs by speeding labour-intensive analyses, aggregating the results, and searching for ecological patterns on a national scale that would be difficult to identify using traditional approaches tuned to process-scale studies. Australian society stands to benefit by virtue of improved large-scale models of ecosystem function and reduced cost for conducting marine ecosystem investigations.Read moreRead less
Multi-model predictions of ecosystem flux under climate change based on novel genetic and image analysis methods. Improving the forecasts of ecosystem shifts must be a key focus of future ecological research if we are to preserve our unique Australian landscapes. Our proposal is of clear benefit to Australia because of the urgent need for integrated methods to predict the cumulative impact of shifts in climate and land use. We will also contribute innovative tools involving genetic and image ana ....Multi-model predictions of ecosystem flux under climate change based on novel genetic and image analysis methods. Improving the forecasts of ecosystem shifts must be a key focus of future ecological research if we are to preserve our unique Australian landscapes. Our proposal is of clear benefit to Australia because of the urgent need for integrated methods to predict the cumulative impact of shifts in climate and land use. We will also contribute innovative tools involving genetic and image analysis, and state-of-the-art modelling. The damage modern human societies are inflicting on global environments has led to a great demand for logistically feasible and cost-effective ways to prevent biodiversity loss.Read moreRead less
Pelagic ecosystem linkages in a changing Southern Ocean. Our study, which aims to better describe and understand the ecology of the vast Ocean to the south of Australia, will provide the information that will assist in managing this region in an era of change. Many species are of significant conservation concern, others are recovering from previous harvesting, some are being harvested and all will be affected by a changing climate. Understanding the ecosystem linkages and the way in which the p ....Pelagic ecosystem linkages in a changing Southern Ocean. Our study, which aims to better describe and understand the ecology of the vast Ocean to the south of Australia, will provide the information that will assist in managing this region in an era of change. Many species are of significant conservation concern, others are recovering from previous harvesting, some are being harvested and all will be affected by a changing climate. Understanding the ecosystem linkages and the way in which the physical environment affects the distribution and abundance of key ecosystem components will allow us to better manage the system and to predict the effects of future climate change. Read moreRead less