Understanding the effect of small-scale ocean process on tuna populations – a new tool to forecast tuna distributions for use in fisheries management. The western and central Pacific Ocean supports the world’s largest tuna fishery with catches contributing up to 40 per cent of revenue for many Pacific communities. These nations are dependent on these fisheries for livelihoods and economic development. Continued sustainable management of this valuable resource in the face of rapid population grow ....Understanding the effect of small-scale ocean process on tuna populations – a new tool to forecast tuna distributions for use in fisheries management. The western and central Pacific Ocean supports the world’s largest tuna fishery with catches contributing up to 40 per cent of revenue for many Pacific communities. These nations are dependent on these fisheries for livelihoods and economic development. Continued sustainable management of this valuable resource in the face of rapid population growth and climate variability and change is a challenge. Using observationally derived information of skipjack tuna, the project aims to develop a novel tuna behavioural model. This is intended to be integrated into a state-of-the-art biophysical model at resolutions capable of reproducing critical meso-scale processes, providing projections of tuna distributions that aim to aid in developing sustainable management practices.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
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
Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and ....Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and past Antarctic Bottom Water formation under different climate states (warmer and colder than present), to determine if there are climate tipping points for the shut down of Antarctic Bottom Water formation. The anticipated benefits include a better understanding of future climate change on this important water mass.Read moreRead less
Melting and circulation in Antarctic ice shelf cavities. This project will explore and model the mechanisms causing the observed increased rate of melting of Antarctica’s ice shelves. This understanding is essential for accurate predictions of sea level rise and global thermohaline circulation over the next century, so that their impact on society can be planned for and mitigated.
A new energy budget for the global circulation of the oceans. The energy sources and sinks that govern the global circulation of the oceans will be re-evaluated, building a new picture of the energy budget of the oceans. This will lead to new knowledge of the circulation of the deep oceans, to better ocean and climate-prediction models, and ultimately to more reliable estimates of future climate change.