Examining the vulnerability of ocean carbon biogeochemistry in a high CO2 world. Rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere from human activity is changing the biogeochemistry of the ocean, with large potential consequences on future atmospheric CO2. This work will explore these changes and will result in a more complete understanding of how the ocean will either accelerate or delay the increase in atmospheric CO2.
Are proposed land-based sinks for greenhouse gases resilient to climate change and natural variability? One strategy to reduce the scale of future climate change is to enhance the storage of carbon in vegetation and soils. Evidence suggests carbon stored in vegetation and soils is itself vulnerable to climate change, placing this stored carbon at risk; this project will assess this risk to advise on the reliability of using terrestrial systems as carbon sinks.
Ocean heat content change and its impact on sea level. This project aims to improve projections of possible sea level changes. Sea level rise is among the most significant potential impacts of transient climate change around the world. Poor understanding of the way in which heat is absorbed at the sea surface and distributed by ocean circulation is a leading source of uncertainty in projections of global surface temperature and regional sea level rise by the end of this century. This project aim ....Ocean heat content change and its impact on sea level. This project aims to improve projections of possible sea level changes. Sea level rise is among the most significant potential impacts of transient climate change around the world. Poor understanding of the way in which heat is absorbed at the sea surface and distributed by ocean circulation is a leading source of uncertainty in projections of global surface temperature and regional sea level rise by the end of this century. This project aims to apply novel observational methods, complimented by numerical modelling, to quantify the drivers of recent change. This project expects to transform our ability to predict how ocean temperature and sea level will change in the future.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the weather in climate models - the relationship of dynamics and rainfall over Australia in current and future climates. Climate change will be experienced by society as a change in the day-to-day weather. This project will investigate the capabilities of modern climate models in simulating the weather with a particular focus on rainfall, and will provide guidance to the use of these models in projections of the future of Australia's climate.
Quantifying and mitigating changes in Australia’s rainfall belts. This project aims to understand how past climate changes affected Australia’s rainfall belts, and to reverse recent changes in rainfall belts. Australia’s climate belts are moving, but it is unclear if the effects on tropical and temperate rainfall will be permanent. This project will use past climate records and palaeoclimate databases to assess how natural and human-induced changes during the past millennium affected Australia’s ....Quantifying and mitigating changes in Australia’s rainfall belts. This project aims to understand how past climate changes affected Australia’s rainfall belts, and to reverse recent changes in rainfall belts. Australia’s climate belts are moving, but it is unclear if the effects on tropical and temperate rainfall will be permanent. This project will use past climate records and palaeoclimate databases to assess how natural and human-induced changes during the past millennium affected Australia’s rainfall zones, and specialised climate model simulations to determine whether greenhouse gas reduction could mitigate future rainfall changes. The outcomes are expected to inform policy and mitigation strategies to secure Australia’s precious water resources.Read moreRead less
ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to per ....ARC Centres of Excellence for Climate System Science. Our capacity to assess the threat of climate change is undermined by an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the understanding and modelling of regional climates. The Centre will undertake world-class research targeting identified weaknesses in the physical, chemical and biological components of the climate system. We will engage and nurture graduate students and postdoctoral follows through a program of graduate training and mentoring to permanently transform our understanding of climate systems science particularly for the Australian region. The key outcome will be a dramatic enhancement in national capacity to understand and project the scale of future regional climate change.Read moreRead less
The changing relationship between the South Asian and Australian Monsoon in a warming world. The success or failure of the Australian and South Asian Monsoons can mean the difference between prosperity and severe hardship in the affected regions. This project will help to understand the causes of the monsoon variability, both natural and human-induced, and what the future might have in store.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100092
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,742.00
Summary
What is extreme? Advancing insights into Australia’s variable rainfall. This project aims to address fundamental questions about the causes of Australia’s rainfall variability, providing crucial information about how changing climates affect the water cycle. Bringing together earth system data from ground-based and satellite observations, palaeoclimate reconstructions and climate model simulations, it plans to analyse the processes that cause change in Australia’s rainfall. The project aims to i ....What is extreme? Advancing insights into Australia’s variable rainfall. This project aims to address fundamental questions about the causes of Australia’s rainfall variability, providing crucial information about how changing climates affect the water cycle. Bringing together earth system data from ground-based and satellite observations, palaeoclimate reconstructions and climate model simulations, it plans to analyse the processes that cause change in Australia’s rainfall. The project aims to integrate these datasets using the novel analysis of water isotopes, an important diagnostic of the water cycle. This approach is expected to help evaluate how Australia’s rainfall responds to natural and anthropogenic drivers and identify the processes behind recently observed rainfall extremes.Read moreRead less
The capacity of forests to protect regional climate under global warming. The project plans to develop a new understanding of the capacity of forests to increase moisture recycling, which enhances cloud and precipitation processes and exerts a cooling influence on the land surface. Deforestation and climate change are major global challenges. The role of forests in the carbon cycle is well recognised. Less attention is given to their role in the energy and water cycles, and their capacity to reg ....The capacity of forests to protect regional climate under global warming. The project plans to develop a new understanding of the capacity of forests to increase moisture recycling, which enhances cloud and precipitation processes and exerts a cooling influence on the land surface. Deforestation and climate change are major global challenges. The role of forests in the carbon cycle is well recognised. Less attention is given to their role in the energy and water cycles, and their capacity to regulate regional climate. The project plans to apply an innovative land use-climate scenario modelling to quantify the impacts of deforestation and afforestation on the climate of northern Australia and south-east Asia under global warming. It also plans to evaluate the capacity of restoring forests to offset regional climate change, to inform regional land use planning and climate mitigation and adaptation.Read moreRead less
Precipitation in wintertime storms across southeast Australia, Tasmania and the Southern Ocean. The pristine conditions and strong wind-shear over the Southern Ocean affect the formation of precipitation in clouds over the region, which is vital to the water supply of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. This project will evaluate and improve the ability to simulate this precipitation, which will lead to better water resource management.