Flow structures and transport: predictability and control. Moving flow structures (the boundary of an eddy, the flow interface between two fluids) are crucial in fluid mixing and in the transport of heat, pollutants and nutrients. This project will analyse their roles in improving predictions of spreading extents and rates for geophysical-scale problems, and in controlling transport at the micro-scale. Inaccuracies in currently available numerical diagnostics for transport prediction will be com ....Flow structures and transport: predictability and control. Moving flow structures (the boundary of an eddy, the flow interface between two fluids) are crucial in fluid mixing and in the transport of heat, pollutants and nutrients. This project will analyse their roles in improving predictions of spreading extents and rates for geophysical-scale problems, and in controlling transport at the micro-scale. Inaccuracies in currently available numerical diagnostics for transport prediction will be comprehensively evaluated via comparison with recent exact models. Analytical methods for quantifying transport under unsteady flow protocols will be developed, and used to answer questions on controlling transport in microfluidic applications in conjunction with experimentalists.Read moreRead less
Transport barriers in complex turbulent flows: formation, detection and characterization. Barriers to transport in complex fluid flows are ubiquitous in nature, yet mathematical and numerical approaches have so far been unable to solve this problem in the presence of turbulence. This project aims to undertake the first systematic laboratory study of transport barrier generation, control and interactions to reveal the role of turbulence in the stochastic transport in fluids. It will develop new m ....Transport barriers in complex turbulent flows: formation, detection and characterization. Barriers to transport in complex fluid flows are ubiquitous in nature, yet mathematical and numerical approaches have so far been unable to solve this problem in the presence of turbulence. This project aims to undertake the first systematic laboratory study of transport barrier generation, control and interactions to reveal the role of turbulence in the stochastic transport in fluids. It will develop new methods of transport barrier modelling which will equip specialists dealing with Lagrangian transport with new tools for the transport barrier modelling and characterisation.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100166
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$637,800.00
Summary
Four-dimensional coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research. This project aims to enhance understanding of multi-scale fluid flows in engineering, geophysics and biomedicine by delivering a facility for high temporal and spatial resolution, three-dimensional velocity measurements. The four-dimensional, coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research is aimed at addressing limitations of commercially available imaging systems. It is expected to provide ....Four-dimensional coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research. This project aims to enhance understanding of multi-scale fluid flows in engineering, geophysics and biomedicine by delivering a facility for high temporal and spatial resolution, three-dimensional velocity measurements. The four-dimensional, coherent imaging velocimetry facility for fluid mechanics research is aimed at addressing limitations of commercially available imaging systems. It is expected to provide unprecedented measurement capabilities with significant benefit to the design, control and modelling of complex fluid flows found in many areas. Applications include the jets used for heating, cooling, mixing, and drug delivery in engineering and pharmacy to the kinematics of sperm and micro-organisms in bio-medicine, and wave-particle flows in geo-physics.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of fire whirls and dust devils. The project aims to develop fundamental understanding and models to inform the development of more accurate computer models of fire front propagation. Fire whirls and dust devils are strongly swirling localised vortex flows that result from an interplay of circulation and buoyancy, may extend hundreds of metres into the air. By projecting firebrands well away from the ground strike, fire whirls can initiate spot fires well beyond a fire front, advancing f ....Dynamics of fire whirls and dust devils. The project aims to develop fundamental understanding and models to inform the development of more accurate computer models of fire front propagation. Fire whirls and dust devils are strongly swirling localised vortex flows that result from an interplay of circulation and buoyancy, may extend hundreds of metres into the air. By projecting firebrands well away from the ground strike, fire whirls can initiate spot fires well beyond a fire front, advancing fronts at much higher speeds than most fire spread models predict. The project aims to improve understanding of the sets of local conditions that produce and stabilise these flows, using computational fluid dynamics matched to laboratory experiments and dimensional analysis of results.Read moreRead less
The Cenozoic tectonic evolution of East and Southeast Asia: interplay between the India-Eurasia collision and the Pacific and Sunda subduction zones. This project investigates how the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates have interacted with the Eurasian plate to form the largest continental deformation zone on Earth in East Asia, stretching from the Himalayas to Indonesia and eastern Siberia. This is important for understanding how mountain ranges form and how continents are torn apart.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,075.00
Summary
Internal wave breaking and mixing in the ocean. This project aims to quantify turbulent mixing in the ocean using ultra-high-resolution numerical modelling. Turbulent mixing is caused by internal waves which transport energy from the ocean boundaries into the interior, where they drive mixing of cold, deep water with warmer water above. This mixing is crucial to the ocean circulation which controls the storage of heat and carbon in the ocean, but is inadequately represented in current climate mo ....Internal wave breaking and mixing in the ocean. This project aims to quantify turbulent mixing in the ocean using ultra-high-resolution numerical modelling. Turbulent mixing is caused by internal waves which transport energy from the ocean boundaries into the interior, where they drive mixing of cold, deep water with warmer water above. This mixing is crucial to the ocean circulation which controls the storage of heat and carbon in the ocean, but is inadequately represented in current climate models. The anticipated outcome of the project is an enhanced, global-ocean model incorporating an accurate description of turbulent mixing. This should provide significant benefits to the Australian community by improving the accuracy of future climate predictions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100076
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,585.00
Summary
Mixing hot spots in the Southern Ocean: processes, parameterisations and climate impacts. The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in the uptake of heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the deep ocean. This uptake depends strongly on mixing processes due to ocean eddies, which are especially important in regions of steep topography, leading to localised mixing hot spots. These ocean eddies have scales of 10-100km and therefore can not be resolved in current global climate models. This ....Mixing hot spots in the Southern Ocean: processes, parameterisations and climate impacts. The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in the uptake of heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the deep ocean. This uptake depends strongly on mixing processes due to ocean eddies, which are especially important in regions of steep topography, leading to localised mixing hot spots. These ocean eddies have scales of 10-100km and therefore can not be resolved in current global climate models. This project will examine these mixing processes using a combination of observations and innovative modelling approaches. This knowledge will be used to improve the representation of eddy processes in state-of-the-art climate models, which will ultimately allow Australia to more effectively respond to the challenge of climate change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100937
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,484.00
Summary
Turbulent mixing in the deep Southern Ocean. Mixing in the Southern Ocean strongly affects the transport and storage of heat, carbon, and nutrients in the global ocean and hence climate itself. Yet processes generating mixing in the Southern Ocean remain poorly understood and inadequately represented in present ocean and climate models. This project aims to: understand mixing processes based on an innovative approach combining sparse observations and computer simulations; and to implement this u ....Turbulent mixing in the deep Southern Ocean. Mixing in the Southern Ocean strongly affects the transport and storage of heat, carbon, and nutrients in the global ocean and hence climate itself. Yet processes generating mixing in the Southern Ocean remain poorly understood and inadequately represented in present ocean and climate models. This project aims to: understand mixing processes based on an innovative approach combining sparse observations and computer simulations; and to implement this understanding into a state-of-the-art climate model to study mixing impacts on the ocean circulation and climate. This project aims to produce substantial improvements in climate models and allow Australia to predict and respond more effectively to climate change.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Southern Ocean overturning circulation and its sensitivity to climate variability. Our ability to understand and ultimately predict climate is critically dependent on understanding the Southern Ocean circulation and its sensitivity to atmospheric variability. The project will use a combination of observations and high-resolution numerical models to provide insights into the dynamics of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100326
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$338,266.00
Summary
The role of subduction initiation in the evolution of Earth’s oceans. An outstanding question in plate tectonics is how do oceans start to close? The Wilson Cycle describes the life of an ocean in three phases: opening and spreading, foundering of its passive margins and development of new subduction zones, and consumption and closure. It has been suggested that new subduction zones are difficult to form and thereby they are more likely to spread from ocean to ocean like a sort of invasive mecha ....The role of subduction initiation in the evolution of Earth’s oceans. An outstanding question in plate tectonics is how do oceans start to close? The Wilson Cycle describes the life of an ocean in three phases: opening and spreading, foundering of its passive margins and development of new subduction zones, and consumption and closure. It has been suggested that new subduction zones are difficult to form and thereby they are more likely to spread from ocean to ocean like a sort of invasive mechanism. This project aims to make use of laboratory models and plate kinematic modelling to understand how subduction zones are initiating and propagating in the Atlantic. The project aims to provide clues on how ancient oceans may have closed and whether the Atlantic is already in its turning point.Read moreRead less