Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100180
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
An Australian fluid-inclusion facility for climate-change science. Understanding past temperature and rainfall changes is essential for improving climate projections. The proposed facility will generate new palaeotemperature and palaeorainfall information from cave deposits, leading to a better understanding of natural climate variability and change.
Examining the vulnerability of ocean carbon biogeochemistry in a high CO2 world. Rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere from human activity is changing the biogeochemistry of the ocean, with large potential consequences on future atmospheric CO2. This work will explore these changes and will result in a more complete understanding of how the ocean will either accelerate or delay the increase in atmospheric CO2.
Next-generation vegetation model based on functional traits. Global vegetation models try to answer big questions, such as the effects of climate change and carbon dioxide (CO2) on ecosystems and vice versa. But as present models are outdated and give inconsistent results, the project is planning a new, more robust model that will fully exploit recent advances in plant functional ecology and earth system science.
Are proposed land-based sinks for greenhouse gases resilient to climate change and natural variability? One strategy to reduce the scale of future climate change is to enhance the storage of carbon in vegetation and soils. Evidence suggests carbon stored in vegetation and soils is itself vulnerable to climate change, placing this stored carbon at risk; this project will assess this risk to advise on the reliability of using terrestrial systems as carbon sinks.
Are subterranean estuaries a source or sink of greenhouse gases? The aim of this project is to investigate the role of subterranean estuaries and submarine groundwater discharge on the marine cycle of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The expected outcome of this project is a better understanding of the role of coastal environments as a net source or sink of greenhouse gases.
Incorporating new knowledge of phytoplankton diversity and nutrient utilisation into an ocean-climate model to improve forecasts of ocean function. Phytoplankton drives ocean biogeochemical cycles and regulate Earth’s climate yet are poorly represented in ocean-climate models. This project will use advanced cell sorting and analysis techniques and innovative selection experiments to gain a deeper understanding of phytoplankton diversity and nutrient utilisation under projected climate change. Th ....Incorporating new knowledge of phytoplankton diversity and nutrient utilisation into an ocean-climate model to improve forecasts of ocean function. Phytoplankton drives ocean biogeochemical cycles and regulate Earth’s climate yet are poorly represented in ocean-climate models. This project will use advanced cell sorting and analysis techniques and innovative selection experiments to gain a deeper understanding of phytoplankton diversity and nutrient utilisation under projected climate change. This new knowledge will be used to improve the biological structure of an existing coupled ocean-climate model and reduce key uncertainties in forecasts of ocean function. This research will provide managers and industry with more accurate insight into the effects of ongoing climate change on the delivery of ecosystem services in eastern Australian waters.Read moreRead less
Remote forcing of Pacific Ocean variability and impacts on global climate. Variability in the Pacific Ocean has a profound impact on global climate. Recent unprecedented decadal variability in the Pacific has been linked to global temperature trends and extremes, yet little is known about what drives this variability or its impact on regional climate. This project will combine observations, advanced coupled climate models and ocean-atmosphere dynamical theory to quantify remote drivers of Pacifi ....Remote forcing of Pacific Ocean variability and impacts on global climate. Variability in the Pacific Ocean has a profound impact on global climate. Recent unprecedented decadal variability in the Pacific has been linked to global temperature trends and extremes, yet little is known about what drives this variability or its impact on regional climate. This project will combine observations, advanced coupled climate models and ocean-atmosphere dynamical theory to quantify remote drivers of Pacific Ocean variability on interannual-decadal time-scales. This project aims to enhance our understanding of the modes of variability operating in this region and their impact on global and Australian climate. This will have significant benefits for the many sectors of society reliant on interseasonal-decadal climate prediction.Read moreRead less
Quantitative reconstructions of Australian climates since the last Interglacial. A crucial test of the models used to project future climate is how well they reproduce past climates. The project will reconstruct Australian regional climates, from vegetation, fire and runoff records, and use these for climate-model evaluation - helping to provide a more solid basis for management of Australian resources in the future.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101305
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,921.00
Summary
Extratropical Cyclones and their Associated Precipitation: Understanding, Model Evaluation, and Future Projections. Storms and their associated frontal systems are responsible for producing most of the precipitation in mid-latitudes. This project will combine several powerful analysis techniques to answer some fundamental and currently unanswered questions on storm-related precipitation, including the extremes. State-of-the-art climate models, our main tool in projecting future climate changes, ....Extratropical Cyclones and their Associated Precipitation: Understanding, Model Evaluation, and Future Projections. Storms and their associated frontal systems are responsible for producing most of the precipitation in mid-latitudes. This project will combine several powerful analysis techniques to answer some fundamental and currently unanswered questions on storm-related precipitation, including the extremes. State-of-the-art climate models, our main tool in projecting future climate changes, will then be evaluated to ensure they are able to capture the essential processes of storm-related precipitation that have been elucidated. This is essential to increase confidence in the projection of storm changes and their related precipitation, thereby providing better information to water managers.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.