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
Determining the links between size and function in phytoplankton. Marine phytoplankton are responsible for around 50% of the carbon fixation on planet. This project will examine how phytoplankton size declines will alter marine food webs and carbon sequestration. Changes in nutrients and temperature will cause phytoplankton to be smaller but the consequences of these changes are uncertain because of a lack of knowledge regarding how changes in cell size affect function within a species. This pro ....Determining the links between size and function in phytoplankton. Marine phytoplankton are responsible for around 50% of the carbon fixation on planet. This project will examine how phytoplankton size declines will alter marine food webs and carbon sequestration. Changes in nutrients and temperature will cause phytoplankton to be smaller but the consequences of these changes are uncertain because of a lack of knowledge regarding how changes in cell size affect function within a species. This project will evolve 20 species of algae to be different sizes and estimate the consequences of these size changes for biological functions. The project will then use these data to refine global models of carbon budgets, leading to better predictions about how the global carbon pump will change. Read moreRead less
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100542
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,741.00
Summary
Microbial life in the atmosphere. This project aims to resolve the nature and basis of microbial life in the atmosphere, the largest but most unexplored potential ecosystem on Earth. The atmosphere plays a role in transporting microbes, but our understanding of resident atmospheric microbial communities and their role in global atmospheric processes is minimal. Using cutting-edge molecular and biogeochemical approaches, this project aims to identify true microbial residents of the atmosphere, un ....Microbial life in the atmosphere. This project aims to resolve the nature and basis of microbial life in the atmosphere, the largest but most unexplored potential ecosystem on Earth. The atmosphere plays a role in transporting microbes, but our understanding of resident atmospheric microbial communities and their role in global atmospheric processes is minimal. Using cutting-edge molecular and biogeochemical approaches, this project aims to identify true microbial residents of the atmosphere, understand their mechanisms for survival in this environment and explore their role in seeding newly formed environments. The anticipated outcomes include fundamental knowledge on atmospheric microbial ecosystems, and their influence on global atmospheric processes.Read moreRead less
Understanding multi-scale dynamics of eddies in the East Australian Current. This project aims to provide the first rigorous quantification of the complex dynamics of rotating eddies (the weather systems of the ocean) and fronts on scales ranging from metres to 100s of kilometres and hours to weeks in the East Australian Current System. This project is at the frontier of oceanographic research and will provide significant new understanding of the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of eddies an ....Understanding multi-scale dynamics of eddies in the East Australian Current. This project aims to provide the first rigorous quantification of the complex dynamics of rotating eddies (the weather systems of the ocean) and fronts on scales ranging from metres to 100s of kilometres and hours to weeks in the East Australian Current System. This project is at the frontier of oceanographic research and will provide significant new understanding of the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of eddies and their interactions across multiple spatio-temporal scales, revealing their impacts on productivity along Australia’s most populous coastline. This will provide significant benefits such as improved ocean forecasting and sustainable management of Australian marine industries and seafood sector, supporting economic growth. Read moreRead less
Unlocking the secret chemistry of organosulfur biodegradation. The element sulfur is essential for life. Its transformation between organic-sulfur compounds to inorganic forms is a crucial part of the biogeochemical cycle. This project will elucidate the molecular details of the final leg of the biosulfur cycle: organosulfur breakdown into mineral form. An integrated chemical and biochemical approach will be used to illuminate how the carbon-sulfur bond is broken. This project will deliver a det ....Unlocking the secret chemistry of organosulfur biodegradation. The element sulfur is essential for life. Its transformation between organic-sulfur compounds to inorganic forms is a crucial part of the biogeochemical cycle. This project will elucidate the molecular details of the final leg of the biosulfur cycle: organosulfur breakdown into mineral form. An integrated chemical and biochemical approach will be used to illuminate how the carbon-sulfur bond is broken. This project will deliver a detailed molecular understanding of organosulfur breakdown to permit organosulfur recycling. Benefits of this research include potential biotechnology applications for breaking down xenobiotic organosulfonates and sustainable approaches to reduce dependence on agricultural fertilisers.Read moreRead less
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
Southern Ocean Sea Ice – what happened and what happens next? This project will adress our lack of confidence in future projections of sea ice around Antarctica by elucidating the mechanisms controlling sea ice in the Southern Ocean.
There is low confidence is current sea ice projections, limiting our ability to predict ice shelf melt and sea level rise.
This project will lead to a detailed understanding of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean, improving our understanding of ocean dynam ....Southern Ocean Sea Ice – what happened and what happens next? This project will adress our lack of confidence in future projections of sea ice around Antarctica by elucidating the mechanisms controlling sea ice in the Southern Ocean.
There is low confidence is current sea ice projections, limiting our ability to predict ice shelf melt and sea level rise.
This project will lead to a detailed understanding of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean, improving our understanding of ocean dynamics, ice shelf melt, and sea level rise.
The results from this project will enhance projections of sea ice, and therefore also ice shelf melt and sea level rise. Improved sea level projections will aid policy decisions for coastal communities.Read moreRead less
New Insights on Modelling Time Trends with Panel Data: Theory and Practice. This project aims to tackle important challenges in time trend modelling by taking advantage of panel data structures. This project expects to propose flexible models in time trend modelling to retrieve reliable inference. The expected outcomes include innovative econometric models and methods that have a wide range of applications, and are particularly suited for empirical problems within large and complex systems. This ....New Insights on Modelling Time Trends with Panel Data: Theory and Practice. This project aims to tackle important challenges in time trend modelling by taking advantage of panel data structures. This project expects to propose flexible models in time trend modelling to retrieve reliable inference. The expected outcomes include innovative econometric models and methods that have a wide range of applications, and are particularly suited for empirical problems within large and complex systems. This will provide significant benefits to all fields in which data displays any form of trending behaviour. The proposed model is used to evaluate the economic consequences of climate change and global housing market contagion, which provide strong evidence-based insights to the environmental and economic policies in Australia.Read moreRead less
Constrained and Stable Solutions of Nonlinear and Semismooth Equations. In this project, comprehensive models for designing safe power system parameters will be proposed, efficient algorthms for solving these models will be constructed. The new models and algorithms in this project will provide efficient tools to prevent catastrophic events in power systems, which is related with national security. This project will also strengthen collaboration of Australian applied
mathematians with inter ....Constrained and Stable Solutions of Nonlinear and Semismooth Equations. In this project, comprehensive models for designing safe power system parameters will be proposed, efficient algorthms for solving these models will be constructed. The new models and algorithms in this project will provide efficient tools to prevent catastrophic events in power systems, which is related with national security. This project will also strengthen collaboration of Australian applied
mathematians with international researchers and engineering scientists. This is important for the advance of science and technology in
Australia.Read moreRead less