The Southern Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation: New observations of vertical mixing. The Southern Ocean and Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) play profound roles in Australian and global climate. However, we know little about how they will be affected by global warming. New velocity observations will tell us how the vertical mixing that contributes to the meridional overturning circulation, and ACC strength, change with the seasons and from year to year. The observations will also gi ....The Southern Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation: New observations of vertical mixing. The Southern Ocean and Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) play profound roles in Australian and global climate. However, we know little about how they will be affected by global warming. New velocity observations will tell us how the vertical mixing that contributes to the meridional overturning circulation, and ACC strength, change with the seasons and from year to year. The observations will also give us a better understanding of the oceanic and atmospheric processes that drive these changes. This new information will allow climate models to be better constrained so they can more accurately predict changes to Australian and global climate.Read moreRead less
Causes of Enhanced Warming of the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is critical to the global climate system in general, and Australian climate in particular. However, the Southern Ocean is poorly understood, poorly observed and poorly modelled by global climate models. The response of the Southern Ocean to increases in wind forcing (due to the ozone hole and global warming) will be examined. Climate impacts such as Australian rainfall trends, potential instability of the West Antarctic Ice She ....Causes of Enhanced Warming of the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is critical to the global climate system in general, and Australian climate in particular. However, the Southern Ocean is poorly understood, poorly observed and poorly modelled by global climate models. The response of the Southern Ocean to increases in wind forcing (due to the ozone hole and global warming) will be examined. Climate impacts such as Australian rainfall trends, potential instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and changes to the global overturning circulation will be quantified. Understanding these impacts will help to manage Australia's water resources and to predict the future Southern Ocean circulation.Read moreRead less
Sensitivity and Change in the Global Ocean Overturning. The dynamics of the global, deep overturning circulation in the oceans and the way this adjusts to increasing greenhouse forcing will be examined in order to improve our conceptual knowledge of the oceans and the accuracy of climate models. By understanding how the ocean responds to changing surface heat and freshwater fluxes, and particularly the global role of rapid changes in high-latitude seas, we aim to help refine estimates of climate ....Sensitivity and Change in the Global Ocean Overturning. The dynamics of the global, deep overturning circulation in the oceans and the way this adjusts to increasing greenhouse forcing will be examined in order to improve our conceptual knowledge of the oceans and the accuracy of climate models. By understanding how the ocean responds to changing surface heat and freshwater fluxes, and particularly the global role of rapid changes in high-latitude seas, we aim to help refine estimates of climate response times and the warming expected for a given increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. These two important characteristics of the climate system underlie climate change policy decisions.Read moreRead less
Nonhydrostatic waves and instabilities in rotating fluids. This project addresses a fundamental gap in our understanding of the ocean circulation. The benefits of the program will be to improve the way we model and predict the ocean circulation and the response of the ocean to climate change. The project will thereby assist National Research Priorities on global change and link with a major new ANU Marine Science Strategic Initiative.
Quantifying the role of the Southern Ocean for anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change. Climate change is likely to have dramatic economic and environmental consequences for Australia. Knowledge and understanding of the complex carbon cycle is fundamental for predicting future atmospheric CO2 levels and managing climate change. The aim of the work proposed here is to quantify and improve our understan ....Quantifying the role of the Southern Ocean for anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change. Climate change is likely to have dramatic economic and environmental consequences for Australia. Knowledge and understanding of the complex carbon cycle is fundamental for predicting future atmospheric CO2 levels and managing climate change. The aim of the work proposed here is to quantify and improve our understanding of the oceans role in controlling atmospheric CO2 levels. This will be done by combining modeling and observational expertise among UNSW and CSIRO (Marine Research) researchers. Our work will be the first to assess the extent of which the Southern Ocean (and Australian waters) acts as a carbon sink. This will reduce modeling uncertainties in predicting future atmospheric CO2 levels and will also be valuable to the federal government in future international negotiations on climate change.Read moreRead less
From The Ocean Depths To Abrupt Climate Change - Missing Processes In The Global Overturning Circulation. The overturning circulation of the oceans is a driver of large and surprisingly abrupt climate shifts. We aim to understand the factors that control the rate of overturning, and whether it might soon slow down or cease owing to global warming. We also aim to resolve one of the biggest conundrums in oceanography by reconciling theoretical and measured rates of mixing in the deep ocean. Improv ....From The Ocean Depths To Abrupt Climate Change - Missing Processes In The Global Overturning Circulation. The overturning circulation of the oceans is a driver of large and surprisingly abrupt climate shifts. We aim to understand the factors that control the rate of overturning, and whether it might soon slow down or cease owing to global warming. We also aim to resolve one of the biggest conundrums in oceanography by reconciling theoretical and measured rates of mixing in the deep ocean. Improved knowledge of deep ocean dynamics, particularly in the Southern Ocean, will help us gauge the likely nature and pace of imminent climate changes in the Australian region, an essential step in assessing the impacts on water resources, ecosystems, agriculture, and energy demands. The research will add to a major new initiative in marine science at ANU.Read moreRead less
Mixing and dissipation in the ocean: Processes for the next generation of climate models. The circulation of the oceans is a crucial factor in governing the variability and long-term change in the earth's climate. A major weakness in current ocean and climate models is a lack of knowledge of energy flow within the ocean. This project will examine the nature and role of eddy interactions with the ocean boundaries, which is a critical question for future development of more accurate high-resolutio ....Mixing and dissipation in the ocean: Processes for the next generation of climate models. The circulation of the oceans is a crucial factor in governing the variability and long-term change in the earth's climate. A major weakness in current ocean and climate models is a lack of knowledge of energy flow within the ocean. This project will examine the nature and role of eddy interactions with the ocean boundaries, which is a critical question for future development of more accurate high-resolution ocean models and improved climate predictions.Read moreRead less
Transient coastal upwelling along Western Australia: The dynamics of the Ningaloo Current system. This project will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the Ningaloo Current system that dominates the regional circulation surrounding Ningaloo Marine Park, part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas. The numerical model and field measurements will, for the first time, elucidate which physical factors drive the Ningaloo Current and the resulting spatial and ....Transient coastal upwelling along Western Australia: The dynamics of the Ningaloo Current system. This project will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the Ningaloo Current system that dominates the regional circulation surrounding Ningaloo Marine Park, part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas. The numerical model and field measurements will, for the first time, elucidate which physical factors drive the Ningaloo Current and the resulting spatial and temporal variability of upwelling. This will ultimately provide insight into how various ecological processes are linked to hydrodynamics (e.g., nutrient delivery, bleaching) and help assess how susceptible the reef ecosystem may be to changes to physical forcing resulting from climate change.Read moreRead less
Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will p ....Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will provide key information on the oceanographic mechanisms supporting Australia's coastal systems, linking nutrient supply, physical drivers and climate. By linking all these factors we will both assist in determining appropriate ecosystem management, and provide a knowledge base to support adaptation to future changes in Australia's climate.Read moreRead less
Extreme tidal forcing of a topographically complex coastal region: the Kimberley, Western Australia. This project will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the ocean circulation of the Camden Sound region of the Kimberley, Western Australia. The combination of field and laboratory observations, coupled with numerical modelling will, for the first time, elucidate the influence of the series of islands, reefs and headlands on the circulation and mixing along this coast. This will u ....Extreme tidal forcing of a topographically complex coastal region: the Kimberley, Western Australia. This project will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the ocean circulation of the Camden Sound region of the Kimberley, Western Australia. The combination of field and laboratory observations, coupled with numerical modelling will, for the first time, elucidate the influence of the series of islands, reefs and headlands on the circulation and mixing along this coast. This will ultimately provide insight into other similar systems with complex coastal topography, such as the Great Barrier Reef, and provide the frame work to understand the various physical processes that drive the marine ecology of the region.Read moreRead less