Why is (re)development hot?: Measuring cumulative heat in Australian cities. Incremental (re)development of Australia’s residential areas occurs piecemeal, with varied planning oversight, and results in potentially harmful cumulative warming. This project aims to causally identify the warming effect of residential (re)development and investigate the impact of planning policies that control changes in the built form associated with increased heat exposure. Using large geospatial datasets and a qu ....Why is (re)development hot?: Measuring cumulative heat in Australian cities. Incremental (re)development of Australia’s residential areas occurs piecemeal, with varied planning oversight, and results in potentially harmful cumulative warming. This project aims to causally identify the warming effect of residential (re)development and investigate the impact of planning policies that control changes in the built form associated with increased heat exposure. Using large geospatial datasets and a quasi-experimental research design, warming in Australia’s suburbs over the past decade at the micro (street canyon)- and neighbourhood-scales, will be attributed to (re)development types and ‘fissures’ in policy to inform climate resilient planning. Read moreRead less
Annual rainfall variability and extreme drought over the late Holocene. This project aims to understand long-term rainfall variability for Australia by developing a network of extended, high resolution rainfall records from tree rings. How anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere have influenced changing rainfall patterns across Australia is unclear. By extracting climatic information from tree growth rings across a latitudinal gradient from the subtropical north to the south coast of western Aus ....Annual rainfall variability and extreme drought over the late Holocene. This project aims to understand long-term rainfall variability for Australia by developing a network of extended, high resolution rainfall records from tree rings. How anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere have influenced changing rainfall patterns across Australia is unclear. By extracting climatic information from tree growth rings across a latitudinal gradient from the subtropical north to the south coast of western Australia, the project will extend hydroclimatic records by several centuries, to identify the frequency and extent of extreme droughts across the continent. Outcomes are expected to provide appropriate context for evaluating and adapting to climate change, allowing climate modellers, agricultural producers and other industries to improve forecasts of likely change for risk management.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing changes in atmospheric circulation over the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the past 3000 years. The climate of the mid-latitudes of the southern hemisphere is of global significance and yet past changes have proved difficult to reconstruct due to the dearth of records. Working across the Southern Ocean region using tree rings, lake sediments and ice cores, the project will produce the first comprehensive reconstruction spanning the last 3000 years.
First use of the gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer for earth sciences in Oceania and Antarctica. The research seeks to improve satellite measurements of earth's gravitational field over the Australian region, Oceania and Antarctica. These data will be used to create a new reference surface for accurate mapping of earth's relief, geographic landmarks, sea level change as well as the currents of the encircling oceans.
Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that ....Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that informs industry decision-making, policy formulation and environmental awareness. The intended societal benefit is a new understanding of how environmental issues are communicated through popular media to large-scale publics, including how tensions in the communication of environmental change are negotiated.Read moreRead less
Behavioural resilience to climatic variability. Despite Australian biota being adapted to high natural climate variability, modern climate change is leading to population collapses and shifts into novel ecosystems. This Project, which studies a unique native mammal in the Pilbara, aims to uncover whether changes in behaviour are effective for dealing with environmental extremes and unpredictable climatic conditions. It will integrate laboratory- and field-based investigations to examine behaviou ....Behavioural resilience to climatic variability. Despite Australian biota being adapted to high natural climate variability, modern climate change is leading to population collapses and shifts into novel ecosystems. This Project, which studies a unique native mammal in the Pilbara, aims to uncover whether changes in behaviour are effective for dealing with environmental extremes and unpredictable climatic conditions. It will integrate laboratory- and field-based investigations to examine behavioural responses to climatic variability and establish how these responses influence individual fitness and future population resilience. This research will advance knowledge on climate-driven behavioural adaptation and improve understanding of how species will cope with Australia’s changing climate.Read moreRead less
Forecasting and management using imperfect models, with a focus on weather and climate. Research into complex systems is predicted to be the focus of twenty-first century science, since most of the problems of simple systems are solved. Examples include the weather and climate, economies, argriculture, ecologies, the mind and brain, genetics, biochemistry. Confidence in the reliability and usefulness of models will have significant bearing on how these models are used by decision making and how ....Forecasting and management using imperfect models, with a focus on weather and climate. Research into complex systems is predicted to be the focus of twenty-first century science, since most of the problems of simple systems are solved. Examples include the weather and climate, economies, argriculture, ecologies, the mind and brain, genetics, biochemistry. Confidence in the reliability and usefulness of models will have significant bearing on how these models are used by decision making and how the community perceives the value of this science. Specific immediate benefits of the project include better policy and management responses to climate change and servere weather events.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of dynamics, stochastics and information in forecasting and management of complex systems. Research into complex systems is predicted to be the focus of twenty-first century science, since most of the problems of simple systems are solved. Examples include the weather and climate, economies, agriculture, ecologies, the mind and brain, genetics, biochemistry. Confidence in the reliability and usefulness of models will have significant bearing on how these models are used by decision ma ....Synthesis of dynamics, stochastics and information in forecasting and management of complex systems. Research into complex systems is predicted to be the focus of twenty-first century science, since most of the problems of simple systems are solved. Examples include the weather and climate, economies, agriculture, ecologies, the mind and brain, genetics, biochemistry. Confidence in the reliability and usefulness of models will have significant bearing on how these models are used by decision making and how the community perceives the value of this science. Specific immediate benefits of the project include better policy and management responses to climate change and severe weather events.Read moreRead less
Ancient Ecology: Changes in penguin diet over ~30,000 years in Antarctica. This project proposes the first direct study of ancient ecology using a combination of second-generation DNA sequencing and targeted gene recovery. The food web of the Antarctic Ocean is a classic textbook example of energy and nutrient cycling in the marine environment. Although a great deal is known about the current status of this food web, understanding how this complex set of predator / prey relationships have change ....Ancient Ecology: Changes in penguin diet over ~30,000 years in Antarctica. This project proposes the first direct study of ancient ecology using a combination of second-generation DNA sequencing and targeted gene recovery. The food web of the Antarctic Ocean is a classic textbook example of energy and nutrient cycling in the marine environment. Although a great deal is known about the current status of this food web, understanding how this complex set of predator / prey relationships have changed over long periods of time is vital to understanding the nature of the system itself. The project intends to track changes in the diet of Adélie penguins from serially preserved ancient fecal (guano) remains dating back approximately 30,000 years. These remains are known to contain microscopic remnants of penguin prey.Read moreRead less
Why ocean deserts matter: Phytoplankton productivity in oligotrophic waters. This project aims to revisit the role of ocean deserts in the global ocean primary production. Because of their extent, these areas are paradoxically responsible for about half the global ocean carbon fixation. The project will use a unique combination of optical and biogeochemical data from a research voyage in the Indian Ocean, biogeochemical models and satellite observations, expecting to generate new knowledge on th ....Why ocean deserts matter: Phytoplankton productivity in oligotrophic waters. This project aims to revisit the role of ocean deserts in the global ocean primary production. Because of their extent, these areas are paradoxically responsible for about half the global ocean carbon fixation. The project will use a unique combination of optical and biogeochemical data from a research voyage in the Indian Ocean, biogeochemical models and satellite observations, expecting to generate new knowledge on the link between biogeochemical and optical quantities accessible to satellite remote sensing. Expected outcomes are improved estimates of phytoplankton carbon biomass and productivity, in particular in the Indian Ocean. A key benefit will be an improved end-user relevance of satellite monitoring of Australia’s oceans.Read moreRead less