CMS with the Bureau of Meteorology has set up at atmospheric simulation down to 400m over Australia. Meanwhile porting to Gadi continues and training has changed to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
It goes without saying that we find ourselves in challenging and uncertain times. One silver lining is that CLEX enters this period of change as a centre with considerable experience in remote communication and developing supportive networks. This is a time to use those networks to support each other.
CLEX Director Andy Pitman acknowledges the "impossibly challenging" nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Centre's response. He also reviews some of the successes of our researchers and highlights remarkable results published over the past few months.
The past four months have seen the Centre very active in the media as extreme heat, fires and drought start early in the season. We have also played an important role in communicating IPCC reports, examining the science behind policy and building up our Instagram feed.
Melbourne’s existing water supplies may face pressure if global warming hits the 2℃ level. The effects of drying and warming in southern Australia are expected to reduce natural water supplies. If we overshoot 2℃ of warming, even the desalination plant might not provide enough drinking water to a growing population.
This paper reviews the societal and scientific motivations, current status, and future directions of IndOOS, while also discussing the need for enhanced observations in priority areas.
This project will involve measurements in a cutting-edge global change field experiment to close this knowledge gap by examining plant growth responses to elevated CO2 during repeated drought cycles.
This project will apply a state of the art, hierarchical Bayesian modelling framework to determine how past climatic conditions influence current responses to high CO2concentrations. The project will use data from a new, specially-designed experiment, as well as results from past Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) and Open-top chamber (OTC) experiments, to close this knowledge gap.
At a recent workshop the Media and Communications Officer for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, Tim Macuga, produced this excellent video that aims to help researchers prepare for interviews.
The CLEX node at the University of NSW is offering several PhD scholarships on a competitive basis. Details of how to apply can be found on this page along with some example projects offered by our researchers.