Ocean salinity could be an indicator of major rain events before IOD or ENSO events have peaked. This raises the prospect that long term forecasts for Australia could be improved by analysing sea surface salinity in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
The drought may have finally eased over much of Australia, but it has resulted in a range of research that still continues. This research has opened new insights into how we understand the lifecycle of droughts in Australia. At the same time, continuing analyses of Australian models has produced improved configurations and even led to a new modelling framework for urban centres.
An improved Tropical Pacific Observing System that is responsive to user needs will provide for better understanding and prediction of the climate system, which will reduce climate uncertainty for society.
By employing an atmosphere-only version of ACCESS, CLEX researchers generated multiple sea surface temperature patterns of the same El Nino and La Nina events, and assessed how this influenced heatwaves over various Australian regions.
It has been a very active time for the Climate Variability and Teleconnections Research Program in terms of research and engagement activities right across the team, including two expeditions - one drilling coral cores in the tropics and another going south to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
This project will examine ‘mixed teleconnections’ using coupled climate models. In particular, we will examine how El Nino and La Nina events can affect western boundary currents in the Pacific and Indian basin. It will involve using large model and observational datasets and require a background in either MATLAB or python. Some experience with linux is desirable.
It is hoped this proposed synthesis of two ENSO structures, their interaction with each other and how they respond to external forcing, will be the catalyst for future research and practical applications for forecasting and determining the impacts of present and future ENSO events.