Unraveling ocean mixing and air-sea forcing along the Indo-Pacific exchange. This project aims to collect unprecedented observations and develop high resolution model simulations to examine changes in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) north of Australia. This project expects to develop new knowledge of ocean-atmosphere interactions along the path of the ITF from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, which are the powerhouse that drives changes in winds and rainfall around Australia and the entire Indo ....Unraveling ocean mixing and air-sea forcing along the Indo-Pacific exchange. This project aims to collect unprecedented observations and develop high resolution model simulations to examine changes in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) north of Australia. This project expects to develop new knowledge of ocean-atmosphere interactions along the path of the ITF from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, which are the powerhouse that drives changes in winds and rainfall around Australia and the entire Indo-Pacific region. Expected outcomes include a 1000-fold increase in the observations of mixing in the Indonesian seas and new understanding of the ocean-atmosphere processes that control water property change along the ITF. This should lead to strong improvement in the skill of climate forecast models in the Australian region.Read moreRead less
Coupling tropical cyclone and climate physics with ocean waves. It is argued that without accounting for the wave effects directly, the physics of large-scale air-sea interactions is inaccurate and incomplete. The project will introduce explicit coupling of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic phenomena with the physics of surface waves which should lead to improved predictions of tropical cyclones and climate.
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.
Remote forcing of Pacific Ocean variability and impacts on global climate. Variability in the Pacific Ocean has a profound impact on global climate. Recent unprecedented decadal variability in the Pacific has been linked to global temperature trends and extremes, yet little is known about what drives this variability or its impact on regional climate. This project will combine observations, advanced coupled climate models and ocean-atmosphere dynamical theory to quantify remote drivers of Pacifi ....Remote forcing of Pacific Ocean variability and impacts on global climate. Variability in the Pacific Ocean has a profound impact on global climate. Recent unprecedented decadal variability in the Pacific has been linked to global temperature trends and extremes, yet little is known about what drives this variability or its impact on regional climate. This project will combine observations, advanced coupled climate models and ocean-atmosphere dynamical theory to quantify remote drivers of Pacific Ocean variability on interannual-decadal time-scales. This project aims to enhance our understanding of the modes of variability operating in this region and their impact on global and Australian climate. This will have significant benefits for the many sectors of society reliant on interseasonal-decadal climate prediction.Read moreRead less
Wave dynamics in topographically-complex coastal reef systems. Both tropical coral and temperate rocky reefs are abundant features of Australia's coastline, yet their hydrodynamics (waves, currents and water levels) are poorly understood relative to other coastal environments such as beaches. This project will elucidate the complex hydrodynamic processes when waves interact with the steep-slopes and large bottom roughness of reefs, by establishing an international research program combining labo ....Wave dynamics in topographically-complex coastal reef systems. Both tropical coral and temperate rocky reefs are abundant features of Australia's coastline, yet their hydrodynamics (waves, currents and water levels) are poorly understood relative to other coastal environments such as beaches. This project will elucidate the complex hydrodynamic processes when waves interact with the steep-slopes and large bottom roughness of reefs, by establishing an international research program combining laboratory and field measurements with numerical modelling. The improved process-understanding of reef hydrodynamics developed through this project will lead to significant advances in our ability to predict the impacts of extreme events (for example, storms and tsunamis) and climate change on coasts, both here and abroad.Read moreRead less
An ensemble approach to studying the ocean's role in climate change. Using a newly-developed ocean model that harnesses the power of graphical processing units (GPUs) instead of the common central processing units (CPUs) we can run global ocean simulations at 1/50th the cost. Utilising this speed up, we aim to pioneer a modelling framework to perform ensembles of eddy-resolving global ocean simulations under various climate-change scenarios. This ensemble approach will enable us to separate the ....An ensemble approach to studying the ocean's role in climate change. Using a newly-developed ocean model that harnesses the power of graphical processing units (GPUs) instead of the common central processing units (CPUs) we can run global ocean simulations at 1/50th the cost. Utilising this speed up, we aim to pioneer a modelling framework to perform ensembles of eddy-resolving global ocean simulations under various climate-change scenarios. This ensemble approach will enable us to separate the changes we see in future projections that are due to climate change from the changes that occur in the due to the natural variations of the climate system. The project's outcomes will increase our confidence in future climate change projections, including ocean heat uptake, and sea level rise.Read moreRead less
Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and ....Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and past Antarctic Bottom Water formation under different climate states (warmer and colder than present), to determine if there are climate tipping points for the shut down of Antarctic Bottom Water formation. The anticipated benefits include a better understanding of future climate change on this important water mass.Read moreRead less
Melting and circulation in Antarctic ice shelf cavities. This project will explore and model the mechanisms causing the observed increased rate of melting of Antarctica’s ice shelves. This understanding is essential for accurate predictions of sea level rise and global thermohaline circulation over the next century, so that their impact on society can be planned for and mitigated.
A new energy budget for the global circulation of the oceans. The energy sources and sinks that govern the global circulation of the oceans will be re-evaluated, building a new picture of the energy budget of the oceans. This will lead to new knowledge of the circulation of the deep oceans, to better ocean and climate-prediction models, and ultimately to more reliable estimates of future climate change.