Cloud-climate interaction over the Great Barrier Reef and Southwest Pacific. This project aims to investigate cloud-climate interactions of the Southwest Pacific trade wind region from the regional scale to local forcing over the Great Barrier Reef. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the nature and variability of the trade wind clouds, including their impact on the surface radiative budget, ocean temperatures and coral bleaching events. Potential changes of these clouds due to glob ....Cloud-climate interaction over the Great Barrier Reef and Southwest Pacific. This project aims to investigate cloud-climate interactions of the Southwest Pacific trade wind region from the regional scale to local forcing over the Great Barrier Reef. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the nature and variability of the trade wind clouds, including their impact on the surface radiative budget, ocean temperatures and coral bleaching events. Potential changes of these clouds due to global warming and ensuing impacts on the environment will be studied. Expected outcomes include better modelling of the Great Barrier Reef environment and improved estimates of low-cloud feedback. This should provide significant benefits in developing warning systems for bleaching events, and regional land and water management. Read moreRead less
The weather-climate connection in Australian climate change. This project aims to uncover the key links in Australia's weather-climate connection by identifying the role weather features play in influencing the slowly varying climate and how changes in one might affect changes in the other. Better describing the two-way connection between weather and climate through an innovative combination of research techniques usually applied to only one of weather or climate will allow for a more insightful ....The weather-climate connection in Australian climate change. This project aims to uncover the key links in Australia's weather-climate connection by identifying the role weather features play in influencing the slowly varying climate and how changes in one might affect changes in the other. Better describing the two-way connection between weather and climate through an innovative combination of research techniques usually applied to only one of weather or climate will allow for a more insightful assessment of climate model quality. This assessment will support the identification of the most reliable climate models and, by using them, reduce uncertainties in future predictions. Improved predictions of climate in turn will enable better decision making in all sectors of society.Read moreRead less
Tropical climate change, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, and Australian climate. Tropical climate systems, especially the overturning circulations and monsoons, have undergone change in recent decades and are expected to do so over the next century. However, a full understanding of these has proved elusive. The project will employ a suite of insightful diagnostics of these tropical circulations calculated from the latest, high-quality data and the results of modelling to isolate the key phys ....Tropical climate change, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, and Australian climate. Tropical climate systems, especially the overturning circulations and monsoons, have undergone change in recent decades and are expected to do so over the next century. However, a full understanding of these has proved elusive. The project will employ a suite of insightful diagnostics of these tropical circulations calculated from the latest, high-quality data and the results of modelling to isolate the key physical mechanisms at work. The research is significant in that tropical circulations determine the precipitation and temperature over large parts of the Earth’s surface, and particularly Australia. The physical underpinning of the changes will assist in forming outlooks for future climate for the ‘wet tropics’ and the ‘dry zones’.Read moreRead less
Trends in polar sea ice and associated global atmospheric circulations. The project aims to analyse the trends in sea ice extent over the polar regions, and explain them in terms of changes in the local and remote atmospheric circulation. In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically, while increasing in the Antarctic. The resolution of this paradox is a pressing issue in climate science, as is the broad question of how sea ice influences, and is influenced by, climate conditions ....Trends in polar sea ice and associated global atmospheric circulations. The project aims to analyse the trends in sea ice extent over the polar regions, and explain them in terms of changes in the local and remote atmospheric circulation. In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically, while increasing in the Antarctic. The resolution of this paradox is a pressing issue in climate science, as is the broad question of how sea ice influences, and is influenced by, climate conditions in the mid-latitudes and tropics. Anticipated outcomes include a better understanding of the nature of links between Australian climate and Antarctic ice, and between United States climate extremes and Arctic ice.Read moreRead less
Cloudiness over the Southern Ocean: reducing a key knowledge gap and source of climate model uncertainty. Southern Ocean clouds are key ingredients of the global climate system and yet are only poorly understood and poorly represented in climate models. Through the use of advanced observational analysis techniques this research will provide a deep understanding of key Southern Ocean cloud regimes and improve their representation in models.
Satellite measurements of ocean wave breaking. This project aims to develop a methodology for global satellite measurements of ocean wave breaking and determine global trends. Measurements of ocean wave breaking are elusive and not available at global scale, but are important for understanding ocean wave dynamics, air-sea interaction, aerosol production, gas transfer, ocean mixing, climate, and other coupled dynamics in the air-sea system, and designing and operating coastal and offshore facilit ....Satellite measurements of ocean wave breaking. This project aims to develop a methodology for global satellite measurements of ocean wave breaking and determine global trends. Measurements of ocean wave breaking are elusive and not available at global scale, but are important for understanding ocean wave dynamics, air-sea interaction, aerosol production, gas transfer, ocean mixing, climate, and other coupled dynamics in the air-sea system, and designing and operating coastal and offshore facilities. This project will produce major updates of wave and General Circulation Models which will be important for our understanding of wave, ocean and climate dynamics, the design and operation of coastal and offshore facilities and the determination of global trends. The new satellite sensing is expected to be used extensively in metocean and engineering applications, and for major updates of wave and general circulation models.Read moreRead less
Weekly cycles of atmospheric parameters over Australia and the quantification of human influences on climate. Many human activities are organised on a seven-day cycle. The consequences of this might be expected to appear in the average variations of meteorological parameters across the week. This research will investigate these intra-week variations at many locations across Australia and will provide a critical insight into the human impact on climate.
Protected Action Ballots and Protected Industrial Action under the Fair Work Act: The Impact of Ballot Procedures on Enterprise Bargaining Processes. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), lawful industrial action may be taken by employees in support of collective bargaining, provided that they have first authorised the action in a secret ballot. This research project explores the effect of the statutory process by which a bargaining representative of such employees seeks permission from the Fair W ....Protected Action Ballots and Protected Industrial Action under the Fair Work Act: The Impact of Ballot Procedures on Enterprise Bargaining Processes. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), lawful industrial action may be taken by employees in support of collective bargaining, provided that they have first authorised the action in a secret ballot. This research project explores the effect of the statutory process by which a bargaining representative of such employees seeks permission from the Fair Work Commission to conduct a ballot. It will examine the impact of the ballot requirement and statutory process on decision-making by bargaining representatives and subsequent employee access to industrial action in order to understand the effect of the regulatory scheme on enterprise bargaining behaviour. It is the first empirical study of strike ballots, analysing an important public policy area.Read moreRead less
Links between bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland. This project will investigate connections between bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland under the framework that atmospheric blocking can be thought of as a common link. High resolution runs using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future projections of the energetics of high impact weather will improve climate forecasts in sensitive coastal areas of the country.
Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence ....Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence in our predictions of tropical cyclone incidence in a future, changed climate.Read moreRead less