Research Project
Researchers:
Assoc. Prof. Andy Hogg
(Principal investigator)
,
Christopher Bull
,
David Webb
,
Dr Eric Oliver
,
Dr Laurie Menviel
View all 6 related researchers
Brief description
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.
Full description
The research goals of the Oceans Research Program can be divided into five (overlapping) themes.
Detection and Attribution of Change in the Oceans
Changing ocean indicators, such as heat content, salinity and oxygen, help us to refine our understanding of changes in climate, and consequent impacts on the ocean circulation. Using a combination of ocean observations and model simulations we examine the individual processes that have contributed to recent change in the ocean.
A High Resolution Ocean-Climate Model for Australia
We are helping to develop a high resolution ocean model which will contribute to Australia’s next generation climate model. The model is based on MOM5 and is ¼° in horizontal resolution, giving us the ability to permit ocean eddies.
The Ocean’s Meridional Overturning Circulation
The Meridional Overturning Circulation (or MOC) describes the sinking of cold, dense water near the poles, which upwell back to the surface in the interior of the ocean. This circulation controls the earth’s climate on long timescales, and we aim to reconcile our understanding of the theory these currents with observations and model analyses.
Carbon Cycle Feedbacks
The ocean absorbs anthropogenic carbon through a mixture of physical transport processes and biological uptake of CO2. We examine the processes that control carbon uptake, with specific focus on the Southern Ocean and the role of small-scale dynamics.
Oceanic Mesoscale Eddies and Their Impact on the Large Scale Circulation
Ocean eddies dominate the circulation on small scales (less than 100km), but their impact on the large scale circulation remains unclear. We use numerical models of the ocean circulation to quantify how eddies and other small-scale or time-dependent features alter the transport of heat and other tracers.
Chief Investigators
Dr Andrew Hogg (ANU)
Professor Matthew England (UNSW)
Dr Peter Strutton (University of Tasmania)
Professor Nathaniel Bindoff (University of Tasmania)
Dr Dietmar Dommenget (Monash University)
Partner Investigators
Dr Stephen Griffies (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, USA)
Dr Richard Matear (CAWCR-CSIRO)
Dr Anthony Hirst (CAWCR-CSIRO)
Dr Scott Power (CAWCR-BoM)
Dr Susan Wijffels (CAWCR-CSIRO)
Centre Researchers
Dr Will Hobbs
Dr Andreas Klocker
Dr Stephanie Downes
Dr Jennifer Ayers
Dr Maxim Nikurashin
Dr Paul Spence
Dr Stephanie Waterman
Associate Investigators
Dr Jessican Benthuysen
Dr Leela Frankcombe
Dr Michael Gagan
Prof Ross Griffiths
A/Prof Neil Holbrook
Prof Trevor McDougall
A/Prof Katrin Meissner
Dr Oleg Saenko
Dr Juan Saez
Dr Agus Santoso
Dr Alex Sen Gupta
Dr Andrea Taschetto
Dr Erik van Sebille
Prof Thomas Trull
Data time period: 07 2011 to 07 2017
