Local climate changes caused by large bushfire burnt areas. This project aims to quantify the impact on local climate produced by large burnt areas after extreme bushfires. This project expects to generate new knowledge on these previously unexplored fire-scar induced changes to local climate. It will extend an innovative approach that combines satellite based earth observation with very high resolution regional climate modelling to quantify the impacts on land-atmosphere feedbacks and local cli ....Local climate changes caused by large bushfire burnt areas. This project aims to quantify the impact on local climate produced by large burnt areas after extreme bushfires. This project expects to generate new knowledge on these previously unexplored fire-scar induced changes to local climate. It will extend an innovative approach that combines satellite based earth observation with very high resolution regional climate modelling to quantify the impacts on land-atmosphere feedbacks and local climate. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced methods to quantify local climate changes after extreme fires and their effect on vegetation recovery. This should provide significant benefits to the planning for, and management of, vegetation recovery after extreme fires.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100116
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing. This proposal aims to establish state-of-the-art stationary and mobile facilities for atmospheric wind, dust and plume measurements with unique capability to quantify the effect of climate change, surface topography and urbanisation on near-surface microclimate where humans live. To better predict microclimate, mitigate air pollution impacts and exploit local conditions for improved urban planning and agricultural yield, high qual ....Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing. This proposal aims to establish state-of-the-art stationary and mobile facilities for atmospheric wind, dust and plume measurements with unique capability to quantify the effect of climate change, surface topography and urbanisation on near-surface microclimate where humans live. To better predict microclimate, mitigate air pollution impacts and exploit local conditions for improved urban planning and agricultural yield, high quality observations of the near-surface atmosphere at fine temporal and spatial resolutions are required. The proposed Facilities for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Evaluation and Testing (FABLET) will advance Australia’s capability to make these difficult measurements of atmospheric boundary layer.Read moreRead less
Southern Ocean aerosols: sources, sinks and impact on cloud properties. This project aims to provide fundamental process-level understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes over the Southern Ocean, a region that has a profound influence on the Australian and global climate and where climate models perform poorly. Comprehensive observations during 3 Southern Ocean voyages and land-based measurements will enhance our knowledge of aerosols and cloud formation in that region and provide much-needed ....Southern Ocean aerosols: sources, sinks and impact on cloud properties. This project aims to provide fundamental process-level understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes over the Southern Ocean, a region that has a profound influence on the Australian and global climate and where climate models perform poorly. Comprehensive observations during 3 Southern Ocean voyages and land-based measurements will enhance our knowledge of aerosols and cloud formation in that region and provide much-needed data for improving global climate models. Expected outcomes include more accurate seasonal and latitudinal representations of Southern Ocean aerosol populations, properties and sources. The main benefit includes improvements in weather forecasting and future climate projection for Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.Read moreRead less
Do regional climate models rain too much? This project aims to provide a best-practice, in-depth assessment of the climate model simulations that are used to support regional climate change impact assessments. The focus will be on rainfall and the hydrological cycle as these aspects are especially impacts-relevant. Innovation comes from the application of a common benchmarking framework which includes observational uncertainty and process-based understanding to address common modelling limitatio ....Do regional climate models rain too much? This project aims to provide a best-practice, in-depth assessment of the climate model simulations that are used to support regional climate change impact assessments. The focus will be on rainfall and the hydrological cycle as these aspects are especially impacts-relevant. Innovation comes from the application of a common benchmarking framework which includes observational uncertainty and process-based understanding to address common modelling limitations. Any model failings identified will feed into model development strategies and support enhanced decision-making informed by regional climate model simulations.Read moreRead less
Will East Coast Lows change in frequency or intensity in the future? East Coast Lows, the largest storms on the south-east coast of Australia, produce both large benefits and losses for this highly populated region of the country. An urgent national priority exists to understand the driving mechanisms for these events and to quantify how the frequency and intensity of these systems will change due to climate change.
A regional coupled climate model for Australia. This project aims to implement a regional, coupled atmosphere and ocean model, to determine under what circumstance ocean-atmosphere interactions are critical. Regional high-resolution atmosphere models are routinely used to provide projections of climate at the local scales needed by decision makers. However, these tools neglect the fine-scale interactions between ocean and atmosphere that can significantly modify conditions around coastal or isla ....A regional coupled climate model for Australia. This project aims to implement a regional, coupled atmosphere and ocean model, to determine under what circumstance ocean-atmosphere interactions are critical. Regional high-resolution atmosphere models are routinely used to provide projections of climate at the local scales needed by decision makers. However, these tools neglect the fine-scale interactions between ocean and atmosphere that can significantly modify conditions around coastal or island regions. This project intends to deliver the first high-resolution projections of both ocean and atmosphere off eastern Australia to understand how small-scale ocean and atmosphere processes and their interactions affect changes in extreme rainfall, marine heat waves and ocean circulation.Read moreRead less
Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explan ....Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explanation is confirmed, then for the first time in over 30 years of intense research it will be possible to determine the long-term severity of global warming by examining the present-day atmosphere. The expected outcome of this research is to clarify how and why low clouds change in altered climates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101191
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
The future intensity of extreme East Coast Lows. This project aims to determine the environmental factors controlling the intensity of extreme East Coast Lows and how their intensity responds to global warming conditions. East Coast Lows are responsible for much of the high-impact weather affecting the east coast of Australia. Understanding the causes behind future climate changes is critical to provide confidence in future projections. This project will use high-resolution climate models that c ....The future intensity of extreme East Coast Lows. This project aims to determine the environmental factors controlling the intensity of extreme East Coast Lows and how their intensity responds to global warming conditions. East Coast Lows are responsible for much of the high-impact weather affecting the east coast of Australia. Understanding the causes behind future climate changes is critical to provide confidence in future projections. This project will use high-resolution climate models that can realistically simulate all the key dynamic processes including atmosphere-ocean interactions. Expected outcomes are adaptation strategies to mitigate the future effect of East Coast Lows on coastal fresh water resources, flooding and erosion.Read moreRead less
The changing relationship between the South Asian and Australian Monsoon in a warming world. The success or failure of the Australian and South Asian Monsoons can mean the difference between prosperity and severe hardship in the affected regions. This project will help to understand the causes of the monsoon variability, both natural and human-induced, and what the future might have in store.