Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100533
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,727.00
Summary
Paris-compliance: assessing companies and portfolios. The aim of this research project is to turn the tide on misleading corporate climate pledges and systematise the assessment of companies' climate performance by using a science-based approach. A critical strategic priority urgently called for during recent international climate negotiations, the research conducted will be translated into a global platform where corporate Paris Compliance information will be shared openly and transparently. Th ....Paris-compliance: assessing companies and portfolios. The aim of this research project is to turn the tide on misleading corporate climate pledges and systematise the assessment of companies' climate performance by using a science-based approach. A critical strategic priority urgently called for during recent international climate negotiations, the research conducted will be translated into a global platform where corporate Paris Compliance information will be shared openly and transparently. This will bolster businesses’ climate action by outlining meaningful and effective decarbonisation pathways, allowing all stakeholders to make climate-safe decisions, and guiding policy makers to enforce the required changes for any business to become Paris-compliant. Read moreRead less
Demographic consequences of Asian disasters: family dynamics, social capital and migration patterns. This study of the long term demographic consequences of Asian disasters will contribute to development of more effective governmental policies on disaster mitigation, preparedness and reconstruction/recovery, thus assisting to reduce the human and material losses from natural disasters.
A theory for the vertical structure of tropical atmospheric circulations. The vertical structure of atmospheric circulations is a key determinant of rainfall patterns and climate, but model projections do not agree on how it will change in a warmer world. This project aims to discover the processes that control the vertical structure of tropical atmospheric circulations. It will combine theory development, analysis of observations, and targeted modelling to generate new knowledge of the mechanis ....A theory for the vertical structure of tropical atmospheric circulations. The vertical structure of atmospheric circulations is a key determinant of rainfall patterns and climate, but model projections do not agree on how it will change in a warmer world. This project aims to discover the processes that control the vertical structure of tropical atmospheric circulations. It will combine theory development, analysis of observations, and targeted modelling to generate new knowledge of the mechanisms affecting atmospheric circulations as the climate changes. This will allow for process-based identification of the most reliable climate models, facilitating increased confidence in future projections. More accurate tropical climate projections will benefit decision making for resource management in northern Australia.Read moreRead less
Drying and dying in Australia: extraordinary creatures and climate change 15 million years ago. Australia's globally distinctive mammals were confronted 15 million years ago by a climate plunge from lush greenhouse to dry icehouse conditions. In northern Queensland, in the World Heritage-listed cave known as AL90, fossil-rich deposits span this interval of change. Entombed are dozens of extraordinarily well-preserved skulls and articulated skeletons including a growth series from pouch-young to ....Drying and dying in Australia: extraordinary creatures and climate change 15 million years ago. Australia's globally distinctive mammals were confronted 15 million years ago by a climate plunge from lush greenhouse to dry icehouse conditions. In northern Queensland, in the World Heritage-listed cave known as AL90, fossil-rich deposits span this interval of change. Entombed are dozens of extraordinarily well-preserved skulls and articulated skeletons including a growth series from pouch-young to adults of a rare, possibly sloth-like marsupial as well as more familiar kangaroos, thylacines and bats. Our fossil research will help align Australian records of biotic change with global palaeoclimatic events and provide a benchmark for measuring the nature and rate of environmental and biotic change that continues to transform our nation.Read moreRead less
Environmental change, carbon cycling and human impact in tropical Australia. This fellowhip will provide the fundamental science outputs required to understand the complex linkages between terrestrial ecosystems, environmental change and human impact in the tropics - in Australia and globally - thereby assisting in
(i) predicting the response of tropical ecosystems to future environmental change and respond to the impacts of tropical climate variability
(ii) developing and validating method ....Environmental change, carbon cycling and human impact in tropical Australia. This fellowhip will provide the fundamental science outputs required to understand the complex linkages between terrestrial ecosystems, environmental change and human impact in the tropics - in Australia and globally - thereby assisting in
(i) predicting the response of tropical ecosystems to future environmental change and respond to the impacts of tropical climate variability
(ii) developing and validating methodologies for improved carbon sequestration, verifiable carbon accounting and emissions trading
(iii) achieving sustainability in the utilization of the natural resource base of tropical Australia by optimizing the balance between wealth creation and environmental impact
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Deliberative democracy and climate change: building the foundations of an adaptive system. This project will find mechanisms for improving public debate regarding climate change and the ability to respond to the challenge, as well as the politics surrounding it. It will make recommendations about the approaches needed to transform the issue and at the same time achieve better democratic outcomes.
Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence ....Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence in our predictions of tropical cyclone incidence in a future, changed climate.Read moreRead less
Tropospheric ozone and air quality in Australia. Ozone is an important greenhouse gas and an air pollutant that causes adverse health effects. This research will increase our understanding of changing ozone concentrations. In addition it will improve our ability to forecast episodes of poor air quality within Australia, thereby reducing the health impacts of atmospheric pollution events.
Novel tools for dating explosive volcanic eruptions in the critical window. This project will develop novel dating methods necessary for precise reconstruction of the eruption histories of super-volcanoes in the Asia-Pacific region over the last million years. The project outcomes will provide better models for predicting super-eruptions, thereby informing global climate change research, urban planning, and transport and telecommunications infrastructure engineering. Results will also improve ex ....Novel tools for dating explosive volcanic eruptions in the critical window. This project will develop novel dating methods necessary for precise reconstruction of the eruption histories of super-volcanoes in the Asia-Pacific region over the last million years. The project outcomes will provide better models for predicting super-eruptions, thereby informing global climate change research, urban planning, and transport and telecommunications infrastructure engineering. Results will also improve existing volcanic risk models used by insurers to quantify volcanic risks and calculate expected losses from volcanic eruptions, and greatly improve our ability to use eruption deposits as time markers for important events in human evolution.Read moreRead less
Uncoupling past salinity and temperature signals in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool: implications for climate change in the Australian region. The tropical oceans and in particular the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, immediately to Australia's north, play a key role in modulating global and Australian climate through El-Niño and related phenomena. Using a new microanalysis approach to analyse individual foraminifera from deep-sea cores, we will reconstruct past salinity and temperature variability within the ....Uncoupling past salinity and temperature signals in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool: implications for climate change in the Australian region. The tropical oceans and in particular the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, immediately to Australia's north, play a key role in modulating global and Australian climate through El-Niño and related phenomena. Using a new microanalysis approach to analyse individual foraminifera from deep-sea cores, we will reconstruct past salinity and temperature variability within the Warm Pool, and determine changing rainfall patterns and, ENSO and monsoon behaviour under climate conditions that lie outside modern records. This information is vital for understanding past climate and predicting the future intensity and frequency of El-Niño related drought and wet cycles in Australia.Read moreRead less