Simulation Technology for Modelling Extreme Bushfire Behaviour. Extreme fires cause immeasurable damage to communities through destruction of homes and damage to infrastructure. Large, highly intense fires reduce biodiversity, take decades for recovery, increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce carbon storage capacity. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme fire weather increasing the need for reliable fire spread prediction under extreme conditions and to reduce impa ....Simulation Technology for Modelling Extreme Bushfire Behaviour. Extreme fires cause immeasurable damage to communities through destruction of homes and damage to infrastructure. Large, highly intense fires reduce biodiversity, take decades for recovery, increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce carbon storage capacity. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme fire weather increasing the need for reliable fire spread prediction under extreme conditions and to reduce impact by preparedness and suppression. Incorporating an evidence-based fire spread model into a fire location forecasting system will give fire agencies early warning of potentially disastrous fires, enable early response to prevent fires and mitigate the consequence to life, property and the environment. 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
Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosys ....Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosystems will allow us to make better decisions when trying to establish sustainable and 'natural' mainland and island sanctuaries. Ancient DNA is well preserved in some dry environments; this project will assess DNA preservation from sites all across Australia and use the DNA sequences to discover information about extinct animals and how past climate changes effected the native biota.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