Australian dust: its response to, and role in, climate change. Atmospheric dust plumes can affect global climate, but the impact of Australian dust on climate is poorly known even though it is a major dust source. This project will study the magnetism of dust deposits in marine sediments to understand how Australian dust influences climate in order to better predict the influence of humans on future climate.
High resolution warm ocean records from laminated sediment. This project will produce environmental records during ocean warming events in the geologic past to reveal processes associated with warm oceans similar to those anticipated in the coming century. New Australian technology allows investigation of sediment records at unprecedented time resolution providing insight into processes operating on societally relevant time scales of decades to centuries. This work will open an archive of climat ....High resolution warm ocean records from laminated sediment. This project will produce environmental records during ocean warming events in the geologic past to reveal processes associated with warm oceans similar to those anticipated in the coming century. New Australian technology allows investigation of sediment records at unprecedented time resolution providing insight into processes operating on societally relevant time scales of decades to centuries. This work will open an archive of climate information revealing feedback, thresholds and tipping points from past events previously inaccessible because of technical and conceptual limitations. It will provide critical inputs into models predicting future climate and to illuminate the risks and compensating feedbacks occurring with warming.
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The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sedime ....The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sediment transport, at individual reef scales. We will model the future of the GBR’s ecosystem-services, allowing for a quantum leap in the geomorphic knowledge and understanding of coral reef ecosystems. Expected outcomes include a gamechanger tool for future management of the GBR.Read moreRead less
Geomorphological development of coral reefs, southern Great Barrier Reef: an integrated record of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeoclimate from cores. Very little is known about how the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has responded or may respond to predicted environmental change and/or degradation. The project will reconstruct the recent biological and physical history of reefs in the southern GBR in order to better understand how they may react to future environmental changes.
Beach Erosion and Recovery: Quantifying the Hazard. Coastal erosion is confronting societies and the natural environment. The economic value in Australia of built assets at risk includes roads ($60 billion), commercial buildings ($81 billion) and homes ($63 billion). Hard engineering entire coastlines is rarely feasible, with beaches providing the best coastal defence along the great majority of sandy coastlines. But how wide should a buffer zone be to provide adequate protection from storms? An ....Beach Erosion and Recovery: Quantifying the Hazard. Coastal erosion is confronting societies and the natural environment. The economic value in Australia of built assets at risk includes roads ($60 billion), commercial buildings ($81 billion) and homes ($63 billion). Hard engineering entire coastlines is rarely feasible, with beaches providing the best coastal defence along the great majority of sandy coastlines. But how wide should a buffer zone be to provide adequate protection from storms? And critically, how reliable are the present modelling tools used to predict this, and can they be improved? Underpinned by innovative field observations to fill fundamental knowledge gaps, this project aims to deliver advanced understanding and the best available solution to storm erosion prediction.Read moreRead less
Pre-industrial sea-surface temperatures in the Australian region. Humanity faces an enormous challenge as there is much debate on whether the world is warming up and when this started. This project will document sea-surface temperature records over the last millennium for the Australian region and provide data of critical importance to global climatology and oceanography that precede the instrumental record.
Deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric carbon dioxide changes. This project aims to fill in a critical knowledge gap in global carbon cycle research, by generating the first high-resolution deep Atlantic carbonate ion and nutrient records for the last 150,000 years. The project will derive air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange signals, which permit straightforward evaluation of the deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric CO2 changes under various climate conditions. The intended o ....Deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric carbon dioxide changes. This project aims to fill in a critical knowledge gap in global carbon cycle research, by generating the first high-resolution deep Atlantic carbonate ion and nutrient records for the last 150,000 years. The project will derive air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange signals, which permit straightforward evaluation of the deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric CO2 changes under various climate conditions. The intended outcome of this project is to substantially improve our understanding of the mechanisms that govern the global carbon cycle. This should provide significant benefits including the assessment of models used to predict future global warming due to anthropogenic CO2.Read moreRead less
Mid-depth Atlantic circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation. The history of ocean circulation at the intermediate water depth remains controversial, limiting our understanding of the interplay of ocean circulation, climate changes, and the global carbon cycle. This project aims to generate trace elemental and isotopic records for 10 key locations in the Atlantic Ocean, which constrain physicochemical properties of water masses at unprecedented temporal resolution during the l ....Mid-depth Atlantic circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation. The history of ocean circulation at the intermediate water depth remains controversial, limiting our understanding of the interplay of ocean circulation, climate changes, and the global carbon cycle. This project aims to generate trace elemental and isotopic records for 10 key locations in the Atlantic Ocean, which constrain physicochemical properties of water masses at unprecedented temporal resolution during the last glacial maximum and the subsequent deglaciation. This multi-proxy approach will reconcile controversy and pin down the evolution of mid-depth Atlantic circulation in the past, and thereby substantially improve our understanding of the climate system.Read moreRead less
Holding coral reefs together with soluble cement. This project aims to characterise and understand cement formation in coral reefs. Coral reefs are constructed by cementing together aragonite building blocks made by corals. The main cementing agent is high-magnesium calcite, the most soluble carbonate mineral and susceptible to ocean acidification. High-magnesium calcite cements are best developed on the high energy margins of coral reefs. This project will quantify how crustose coralline algae ....Holding coral reefs together with soluble cement. This project aims to characterise and understand cement formation in coral reefs. Coral reefs are constructed by cementing together aragonite building blocks made by corals. The main cementing agent is high-magnesium calcite, the most soluble carbonate mineral and susceptible to ocean acidification. High-magnesium calcite cements are best developed on the high energy margins of coral reefs. This project will quantify how crustose coralline algae produces high-magnesium calcite and controls the dissolution and reprecipitation of high-magnesium cements. This project intends to quantify rates of reef cementation, susceptibility to ocean acidification and warming, and possible mitigating effects of alkalinity addition.Read moreRead less
Carbon sequestration by mineral surface area as a feedback to climate warming in a greenhouse ocean. The project will investigate a previously unrecognised negative feedback to global warming resulting from sequestration of carbon to marine sediments by soil-formed clay minerals. By studying the past transitions to greenhouse periods, this project will assess the likely influence of this feedback in the present transition to a warmer climate.