Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data an ....Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data and numerical geophysical modelling advances. The project contributes to the quantitative characterisation of the complex interactions between ice-sheets, oceans and solid earth within the climate system. Outcomes have implications for geophysics, glaciology, geomorphology, climate, and past and future sea-level change.Read moreRead less
PAST EAST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET AND GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL VARIATIONS. Unique fossil-bearing, open marine sediments occur inland from the modern Antarctic coastline. These were deposited when a now-glaciated Antarctic basin became a marine embayment, during intervals of significantly reduced ice sheet volume and elevated global sea-level in the past. Urgent palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical research on these sediments are vital to provide: directly datable in situ evidence for major i ....PAST EAST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET AND GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL VARIATIONS. Unique fossil-bearing, open marine sediments occur inland from the modern Antarctic coastline. These were deposited when a now-glaciated Antarctic basin became a marine embayment, during intervals of significantly reduced ice sheet volume and elevated global sea-level in the past. Urgent palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical research on these sediments are vital to provide: directly datable in situ evidence for major ice sheet retreat and global sea-level rise in the past; and quantifiable data concerning the environment during such events; an innovative opportunity to improve predictions of Antarctica's response to global warming and answer international debate about past Antarctic Ice Sheet stability.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0232306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,000.00
Summary
GPS receivers and support equipment for geophysical observatories in Antarctica. Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and supporting electronics systems are required for monitoring of the uplift of the Earth's crust near the Lambert Glacier. This will lead to fundamental insights into the past and present-day mass-balance changes of the Antarctic
ice sheet. This research will provide critical data on the changes in the Antarctic ice sheet, a region where scientific information is currently ....GPS receivers and support equipment for geophysical observatories in Antarctica. Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and supporting electronics systems are required for monitoring of the uplift of the Earth's crust near the Lambert Glacier. This will lead to fundamental insights into the past and present-day mass-balance changes of the Antarctic
ice sheet. This research will provide critical data on the changes in the Antarctic ice sheet, a region where scientific information is currently poorly defined or lacking altogther. Combined with other geophysical data, the results of this project will produce, for the first time, constraints on the contribution of Antarctica to global ice and sea-level models.
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Ecosystem level impacts of climate change on a temperate grassland. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity, both of which have been shown to change in response to climate change. The aims of this project are to elucidate what impact these changes have on the ecosystem propertie ....Ecosystem level impacts of climate change on a temperate grassland. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity, both of which have been shown to change in response to climate change. The aims of this project are to elucidate what impact these changes have on the ecosystem properties of a native pasture. This is important, as it will allow likely problems caused by global climate change to be predicted by increasing the understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as improving the management of grasslands in an environmentally sustainable way. Read moreRead less
Iron in the Antarctic sea ice zone and its role in the past and future climate. The Antarctic sea ice environment has remained poorly investigated for decades as it is difficult to access. Recent scientific advances have revealed that melting sea ice may provide a significant amount of the plant micro-nutrient iron to the Southern Ocean. Given that polar waters are iron-deficient and seasonal sea ice affects ~14 million square kilometres of ocean, the importance of iron fertilisation from deca ....Iron in the Antarctic sea ice zone and its role in the past and future climate. The Antarctic sea ice environment has remained poorly investigated for decades as it is difficult to access. Recent scientific advances have revealed that melting sea ice may provide a significant amount of the plant micro-nutrient iron to the Southern Ocean. Given that polar waters are iron-deficient and seasonal sea ice affects ~14 million square kilometres of ocean, the importance of iron fertilisation from decaying sea ice and its effect on global climate urgently need to be evaluated. This proposal aims at improving our understanding of Earth's complex system, and will inform future climate change policy in Australia.
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Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species ....Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species composition, productivity and nutritional quality of a grazed native pasture. This is important, as it will allow us to predict likely problems caused by global climate change and increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these changes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775533
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
A New Generation Noble Gas Mass Spectrometer Facility for Advanced Research in the Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences. The current proposal, to establish a new Noble Gas Analytical Consortium for noble gas chronological and geochemical analyses, will generate new knowledge on the evolution of the Earth, with profound implications for past climate change, landscape evolution, formation of ore bodies, and terrestrial geodynamics. Consequently, the facility will conform to the National Res ....A New Generation Noble Gas Mass Spectrometer Facility for Advanced Research in the Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences. The current proposal, to establish a new Noble Gas Analytical Consortium for noble gas chronological and geochemical analyses, will generate new knowledge on the evolution of the Earth, with profound implications for past climate change, landscape evolution, formation of ore bodies, and terrestrial geodynamics. Consequently, the facility will conform to the National Research Priority of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia'. The new facility will ensure that Australian research remains at the forefront of international science development and will also provide essential training for the next generation of Australian scientists.Read moreRead less
Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have change ....Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have changed. Our results will inform management and policy debates about (i) rainforest conservation (ii) the role of fire in forest management (iii) the likely impact of increased CO2 ('fertiliser effect') of forest productivity (iv) national carbon accounting and (v) the consequences of climate change on forest ecosystems, particularly the respective wetting and drying trends in the north and south of Australia.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions ar ....Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions are critical if human adaptation to effects of climate change are to be proactive and not reactive. We will also test a basic assumption of most bio-climate envelope models that are the basis of many current predictions of the effect of climate change on species distributions. The project will provide the basis for training of two PhD students.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality c ....High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality changes, pollution histories, recent geomorphological change, land-use change, introduction of invasive species and the occurrence of bushfires. A better understanding of the occurrence and timing of these major environmental issues is of national and regional importance.Read moreRead less