Research program: Mechanisms and attribution of past and future ocean circulation change

The ocean currents have a powerful influence on our climate. These currents govern the ocean storage of carbon and heat, and have already partially mitigated the effects of global warming. Any change to these currents can abruptly affect global climate as shown in our geological past.

This project aims to investigate these ocean processes, revealing how wind stress, heat content and salinity affect ocean currents and how the ocean in turn couples with atmospheric processes to form our climate. The project will also examine biogeochemical processes and how these interact with ocean currents to control the carbon cycle in the ocean.

The Centre’s research in this area aims to fundamentally improve our understanding of ocean physics and biogeochemical processes. Through this we can determine how climate change is affecting our oceans, thereby vastly improving the projections of climate models.

Chief Investigators

Professor Nathaniel Bindoff (University of Tasmania)
Dr Andrew Hogg (ANU)
Professor Matthew England (UNSW)
Dr Dietmar Dommenget (Monash University)
Professor David Karoly (University of Melbourne)
Dr Peter Strutton (University of Tasmania)

Partner Investigators

Dr Richard Matear (CAWCR-CSIRO)
Dr Anthony Hirst (CAWCR-CSIRO)
Dr Scott Power (CAWCR-BoM)
Dr Stephen Griffies (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, USA)

Latest news

Triple whammy: ocean warming, La Niña, and cyclone produced Queensland floods
17 May 2012
A record La Niña event coupled with tropical cyclone Tasha generated most of the record deluge of rain that devastated much of Queensland in December 2010, but a new study has found that another big culprit was also in play - record high sea-surface temperatures off northern Australia.

Air pollution may be driving expansion of tropics - black carbon and near-surface ozone most likely culprits
17 May 2012
Man-made pollutants are likely to be pushing the boundary of the tropics further polewards in the Northern Hemisphere according to new research by a team of scientists.

1000 years of climate data confirms Australia's warming
17 May 2012
In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years.

More news >>

Latest blog entries

John Allen's storm chasing: entry 1
17 May 2012
Is it time to leave yet?

Jackson Tan's Maldives research: entry 10
09 November 2011
And so here I am in the Male International Airport, waiting to board my plane back home. It was a wild ride on the 50-seater from Gan to Male, though I should've expected that from radar and satellite images revealing intense convective activity there over the past few days.

Jackson Tan's Maldives research: entry 9
03 November 2011
The radars deployed here on Gan Island run 24/7 until the end of the DYNAMO field campaign in March next year. Consequently, every day is a working day. This is the nature of fieldwork.

More blogs >>

The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers

Co-authored by Professor Steven Sherwood and Professor Matt England, this new Academy of Science report aims to summarise and clarify the current understanding of the science of climate change for non-specialist readers.

How climate scientists develop climate models

When commentators dismiss climate models as “merely models” it means they have failed to grasp how important models of all kinds have become to many parts of our daily life.

Global Warming: Science and the Message

Has science done enough to tell people what climate change actually is? UNSW's Dr Ben Newell on the psychology of global warming.

To live within Earth's limits

A recent report released by the Australian Academy of Science asserts that in order to respond effectively to the many contemporary challenges faced by the Earth’s environment, a new integrated approach to studying Earth System Science is needed.

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