THE BASAL MELTING OF ANTARCTIC ICE SHELVES . The project aims to determine the mechanisms that govern melting of Antarctic ice shelves into the ocean. Faster basal melting of ice shelves in the warming ocean is contributing to loss of grounded ice from Antarctica and increased glacier speeds, and melting is projected to become a larger contribution to future global sea level rise. Using unique laboratory experiments, turbulence-resolving computation and theoretical analysis the project will eva ....THE BASAL MELTING OF ANTARCTIC ICE SHELVES . The project aims to determine the mechanisms that govern melting of Antarctic ice shelves into the ocean. Faster basal melting of ice shelves in the warming ocean is contributing to loss of grounded ice from Antarctica and increased glacier speeds, and melting is projected to become a larger contribution to future global sea level rise. Using unique laboratory experiments, turbulence-resolving computation and theoretical analysis the project will evaluate the roles of meltwater, ocean currents, internal wave breaking and water exchanges between the continental shelf and sub-ice cavities. The results will assist our understanding of measurements made in Antarctica and more reliable predictions of sea level rise.Read moreRead less
Marine heatwaves: subsurface structure and interactions with other extremes. Marine heatwaves routinely cause major ecosystem degradation affecting valuable industries. The aim of this project is to extend our understanding to the workings of temperature extremes hidden below the ocean surface and how other concurrent ocean and terrestrial extremes interact with these marine heatwaves. The project will generate significant new knowledge around the mechanisms driving subsurface heatwaves and how ....Marine heatwaves: subsurface structure and interactions with other extremes. Marine heatwaves routinely cause major ecosystem degradation affecting valuable industries. The aim of this project is to extend our understanding to the workings of temperature extremes hidden below the ocean surface and how other concurrent ocean and terrestrial extremes interact with these marine heatwaves. The project will generate significant new knowledge around the mechanisms driving subsurface heatwaves and how they interact with ocean acidification, oxygen and terrestrial extremes. The outcomes would include improved forecasting of ocean extremes and a quantification of the multivariate risks posed to marine species. This will help guide mitigation or adaptation strategies, benefitting exposed industries like fisheries and tourism.Read moreRead less
Connecting ocean tides to the large-scale ocean circulation. This project aims to investigate the impact of tides on the ocean circulation and future climate change by combining new theory with next-generation numerical ocean models. The expected outcomes include ocean model configurations that will improve estimates of key processes affected by tides, such as Antarctic ice shelf melt rates, ocean warming and the ocean's overturning circulation. The project is thus anticipated to provide signifi ....Connecting ocean tides to the large-scale ocean circulation. This project aims to investigate the impact of tides on the ocean circulation and future climate change by combining new theory with next-generation numerical ocean models. The expected outcomes include ocean model configurations that will improve estimates of key processes affected by tides, such as Antarctic ice shelf melt rates, ocean warming and the ocean's overturning circulation. The project is thus anticipated to provide significant benefits in predicting future climate change, sea level rise, coastal erosion and marine heatwaves. Furthermore, it will enable the Australian and global communities to better target conservation and mitigation efforts, and thus reduce the environmental, social and economic impact of climate change.Read moreRead less
Using animal-borne sensors to unravel East Antarctic coastal productivity. This project will examine the mechanisms underpinning the high productivity in Antarctic coastal polynyas, which are ice-free oases within the sea ice supporting abundant marine life. The study expects to generate essential new biochemical and biological observations using autonomous platforms to understand phytoplankton dynamics in these inaccessible habitats along Australia’s Antarctic Territory. Expected outcomes inclu ....Using animal-borne sensors to unravel East Antarctic coastal productivity. This project will examine the mechanisms underpinning the high productivity in Antarctic coastal polynyas, which are ice-free oases within the sea ice supporting abundant marine life. The study expects to generate essential new biochemical and biological observations using autonomous platforms to understand phytoplankton dynamics in these inaccessible habitats along Australia’s Antarctic Territory. Expected outcomes include novel insight into the role of iron supply from melting glaciers in supporting marine production. This should reduce the high uncertainty in prognoses for polynya activity under anthropogenic climate change, and support Australia’s international leadership in conservation and management of important Antarctic ecosystems.Read moreRead less
An ensemble approach to studying the ocean's role in climate change. Using a newly-developed ocean model that harnesses the power of graphical processing units (GPUs) instead of the common central processing units (CPUs) we can run global ocean simulations at 1/50th the cost. Utilising this speed up, we aim to pioneer a modelling framework to perform ensembles of eddy-resolving global ocean simulations under various climate-change scenarios. This ensemble approach will enable us to separate the ....An ensemble approach to studying the ocean's role in climate change. Using a newly-developed ocean model that harnesses the power of graphical processing units (GPUs) instead of the common central processing units (CPUs) we can run global ocean simulations at 1/50th the cost. Utilising this speed up, we aim to pioneer a modelling framework to perform ensembles of eddy-resolving global ocean simulations under various climate-change scenarios. This ensemble approach will enable us to separate the changes we see in future projections that are due to climate change from the changes that occur in the due to the natural variations of the climate system. The project's outcomes will increase our confidence in future climate change projections, including ocean heat uptake, and sea level rise.Read moreRead less