ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to per ....ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to permanently transform our understanding of climate systems science particularly for the Australian region. The key outcome will be a dramatic enhancement in national capacity to understand and project the scale of future regional climate change.Read moreRead less
Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. T ....Equator to Pole: Reconstructing tropical and Antarctic climate variability over the last millennium and their impacts on southern Australian rainfall. Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems, which affect moisture availability and transport pathways. This collaborative research project draws together a uniquely-skilled research team to develop targeted coral, ice and cave reconstructions of these climate systems and their impacts on Australian rainfall through the last millennium. This fundamental new knowledge of the drivers of Australian rainfall variability will aid improved predictability of future changes in our valuable water resources. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100414
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,266.00
Summary
Ocean mixing under Antarctic sea ice: a missing climate link. The 2016 sudden decline of Antarctic sea ice after decades of growth took the research community by surprise. Leveraging international collaborations, this interdisciplinary project aims to solve the puzzle of Antarctic sea ice, by assessing the ocean's role using key observations collected with state-of-the-art technology. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of why Antarctic sea ice is changing, impacts on sea ice ecosys ....Ocean mixing under Antarctic sea ice: a missing climate link. The 2016 sudden decline of Antarctic sea ice after decades of growth took the research community by surprise. Leveraging international collaborations, this interdisciplinary project aims to solve the puzzle of Antarctic sea ice, by assessing the ocean's role using key observations collected with state-of-the-art technology. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of why Antarctic sea ice is changing, impacts on sea ice ecosystems, and improved predictions of future changes. This project addresses knowledge gaps identified by the global climate community. It will strategically position Australia with new expertise and essential context to understand changing dynamics in a region that regulates global weather and climate.Read moreRead less
The Antarctic Slope Current in a warming climate. Melting Antarctic ice sheets are responsible for 28% of global sea level rise in recent decades, and can contribute more than 1 metre of sea level rise by year 2100, and a staggering 15 metres by 2500. Increased glacial melt rates are best understood by studying changes in the circulation of water around the Antarctic coastline. The combination of physical processes that must be resolved in this region places a high demand on ocean observations a ....The Antarctic Slope Current in a warming climate. Melting Antarctic ice sheets are responsible for 28% of global sea level rise in recent decades, and can contribute more than 1 metre of sea level rise by year 2100, and a staggering 15 metres by 2500. Increased glacial melt rates are best understood by studying changes in the circulation of water around the Antarctic coastline. The combination of physical processes that must be resolved in this region places a high demand on ocean observations and modelling systems. This project uses a series of high-resolution ocean and ice experiments, cross-validated with observations, to provide a deeper understanding of how waters at the Antarctic margin respond to both anthropogenic and natural climate forcing.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. This Centre aims to transform understanding of past and present climate extremes and revolutionise Australia’s capability to predict them into the future. Climate extremes cost Australia up to $4 billion a year and will intensify over coming decades. This Centre’s blue-sky research will discover processes that explain the behaviour of present and future climate extremes. It will use its researchers, data, modelling, collaboration, graduate programme ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. This Centre aims to transform understanding of past and present climate extremes and revolutionise Australia’s capability to predict them into the future. Climate extremes cost Australia up to $4 billion a year and will intensify over coming decades. This Centre’s blue-sky research will discover processes that explain the behaviour of present and future climate extremes. It will use its researchers, data, modelling, collaboration, graduate programme and early career researcher mentoring to transform Australia’s capacity to predict climate extremes. This research is expected to make Australia more resilient to climate extremes and minimise risks from climate extremes to the Australian environment, society and economy.Read moreRead less
How topography brakes the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This project aims to observe and simulate the mechanisms that slow the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Southern Ocean winds have increased over the last two decades while the transport of the world’s largest current remains steady or slightly decreasing. A possible explanation is negative feedback mechanisms between the winds and transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This project will observe how eddies carry momentum from the ....How topography brakes the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This project aims to observe and simulate the mechanisms that slow the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The Southern Ocean winds have increased over the last two decades while the transport of the world’s largest current remains steady or slightly decreasing. A possible explanation is negative feedback mechanisms between the winds and transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This project will observe how eddies carry momentum from the wind down to the sea floor and accelerate the deep currents that drag against the rough bottom to put the brakes on this current. Since this current affects Australian rainfall patterns and agricultural output, findings could inform public policy.Read moreRead less
Distribution of ocean heat uptake and its implications for sea level and climate change. Increasing sea levels and ocean temperatures provide critical evidence of long term warming of the climate system. This project will investigate geographical changes in the vertical distribution of heat uptake by the ocean and contribution to sea level changes, including understanding of physical mechanisms and the role of human activity and other natural external and internal factors. The expected outcomes ....Distribution of ocean heat uptake and its implications for sea level and climate change. Increasing sea levels and ocean temperatures provide critical evidence of long term warming of the climate system. This project will investigate geographical changes in the vertical distribution of heat uptake by the ocean and contribution to sea level changes, including understanding of physical mechanisms and the role of human activity and other natural external and internal factors. The expected outcomes will contribute to place more rigorous constraints on the likelihood of future warming and sea level rise projections, and are aligned with scientific deliverables required to address key questions in support of Australia’s climate change policy.Read moreRead less
Understanding spread in sea level rise projections. This project aims to investigate changes in water properties and ocean circulation mechanisms leading to intermodel spread in sea-level projections. Sea-level rise projections for this 21st century largely disagree in magnitude and spatial changes between climate models, particularly in hotspots. The expected outcomes will contribute towards more rigorous constraints on the likelihood of future warming and sea-level rise projections, and are al ....Understanding spread in sea level rise projections. This project aims to investigate changes in water properties and ocean circulation mechanisms leading to intermodel spread in sea-level projections. Sea-level rise projections for this 21st century largely disagree in magnitude and spatial changes between climate models, particularly in hotspots. The expected outcomes will contribute towards more rigorous constraints on the likelihood of future warming and sea-level rise projections, and are aligned with scientific deliverables required to address key questions in support of Australia’s climate change policy. They are also aligned with international scientific deliverables in support of the World Climate Research Programme Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level Change and Coastal Impacts.Read moreRead less
Autonomous platforms and biotagging data: new approaches for understanding variability and change across the Antarctic ocean/sea-ice climate system. This project aims to advance our ability to assess and monitor climate change across the Antarctic ocean/sea-ice system. Ocean/sea-ice interactions have a critical role in the global climate and there is an urgent need to determine how these are responding to climate change. This project will overcome gaps in existing observational datasets that cur ....Autonomous platforms and biotagging data: new approaches for understanding variability and change across the Antarctic ocean/sea-ice climate system. This project aims to advance our ability to assess and monitor climate change across the Antarctic ocean/sea-ice system. Ocean/sea-ice interactions have a critical role in the global climate and there is an urgent need to determine how these are responding to climate change. This project will overcome gaps in existing observational datasets that currently limit our understanding of spatiotemporal variability and change in ocean around Antarctica. This study will use two new approaches, biotagging and autonomous platforms, to greatly improve our capacity to model and predict the impacts of climate change on the Antarctic ocean/sea ice system and beyond.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200100008
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000,000.00
Summary
The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science. The Centre will revolutionise predictions of the future of East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Changes in the Antarctic will be profoundly costly to Australia, including sea-level and fisheries impacts; but the speed and scale of future change remains poorly understood. A new national-scale and interdisciplinary Centre is required to understand the complex interactions of the ocean, ice sheets, atmosphere and ecosystems that will gov ....The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science. The Centre will revolutionise predictions of the future of East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Changes in the Antarctic will be profoundly costly to Australia, including sea-level and fisheries impacts; but the speed and scale of future change remains poorly understood. A new national-scale and interdisciplinary Centre is required to understand the complex interactions of the ocean, ice sheets, atmosphere and ecosystems that will govern Antarctica’s future. The Centre will combine new field data with innovative models to address Australia’s Antarctic science priorities, train graduate students, develop leaders, engage the public, and enable major economic benefit as Australia adapts to climate change in the coming years and beyond.Read moreRead less