Wealth from Oceans Flagship: knowing our oceans, securing our future

CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Flagship aims to provide Australians with enduring social, environmental and economic wealth from our vast ocean territory. The Wealth from Oceans Flagship focuses on national challenges where oceans play a central role.

Engaging Tiwi Islanders in climate change science

CSIRO is working with Tiwi Islanders in the Northern Territory to increase the engagement of Tiwi people with climate change science.

Dr Asta Audzijonyte: linking evolutionary dynamics and ecosystem models in a changing world

Dr Asta Audzijonyte aims to develop quantitative models of potential evolutionary responses in marine organisms to human induced environmental changes.

Dr Ian Cresswell: Science Director, Wealth from Oceans Flagship

Dr Ian Cresswell is responsible for delivering science to help Australians access the immense resources of our ocean in a way that balances economic, social and environmental benefit.

BLUElink>: reliable ocean forecasting

A research initiative from the Wealth from Oceans Flagship offers maritime users more accurate prediction of ocean conditions.

Australia's Marine National Facility: exploring ocean ecosystems, geology and climate

The Marine National Facility supports research across Australia's vast ocean territory and adjoining oceans.

Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment

CSIRO is reappraising the water resources of the Great Artesian Basin, which underlies about one-fifth of the Australian continent.

Water vapour is the main greenhouse gas, so why worry about increases in other greenhouse gases that exist in much smaller concentrations?

While there is far more water vapour in the atmosphere than other greenhouse gases, the other greenhouse gases play an important role in influencing our climate. The increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases is largely responsible for the observed warming of 0.74 °C over the 20th century. This warming has had a ‘positive feedback’ as a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour – enhancing human induced warming by about 50 per cent.

Climate questions: Is there an inconsistency between observed and modelled patterns of warming in the lower atmosphere?

It is commonly claimed that a predicted fingerprint of climate change – a warming (or hot spot) in the lower troposphere – is missing from the measurements. Recent reanalysis of the data has established that observations are not inconsistent with the modelled patterns of warming for the troposphere. Thus there is no ‘missing’ hot spot.

Climate questions: Can the warming of the 20th century be explained by natural processes?

It is often claimed that the observed warming of the climate system results from natural climate processes rather than being human-induced. However, there are no known natural factors that can explain the observed warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds it is very likely that most of the observed global warming since the mid 20th century is due to anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases.

Climate questions: Understanding current climate change in a palaeoclimatic context

The Earth’s climate has varied naturally over hundreds of millions of years – why should we believe humans are causing current changes? Understanding past changes between glacial and interglacial periods helps us to understand how unusual the current warming is. For example, the linear warming trend over the past 50 years of 0.13 °C per decade is much more rapid than the rate of warming between ice ages and warm interglacial periods of around 0.01 °C per decade.

Dr Bruce Mapstone: Chief, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research

Dr Bruce Mapstone believes outstanding science is essential to underpin Australia’s stewardship of the world’s third largest marine estate and Australian responses to changing climate. 

Dr Andrew Ash: Director, Climate Adaptation Flagship

Dr Andrew Ash leads CSIRO's research on adapting to life in a changing climate. As the Director of the Climate Adaptation Flagship, he oversees a large and diverse portfolio of research activities across Australia.

Dr Anna Richards: understanding soil carbon sequestration in Australia’s tropical savannas

Dr Anna Richards: understanding soil carbon sequestration in Australia’s tropical savannas

Dr Karel Mokany: researching novel approaches to modelling biodiversity

Dr Karel Mokany is developing new community-level modelling approaches to predict the effects of climate change on biodiversity.

Climate Change in the Asia/Pacific Region

This 92-page consultancy report prepared for the Climate Change and Development Roundtable was written by Drs Benjamin Preston, Ramasamy Suppiah, Ian Macadam and Janice Bathols. It outlines the impacts and risks of climate change in the Asia/Pacific region.

Dr Leon Rotstayn: Researching aerosols and climate

Dr Leon Rotstayn is working to understand the effects of aerosols on climate, using climate models supported by observations.

Air, Atmosphere and Weather student workshop (New South Wales)

We complain about the weather all the time, but how does it work? Discover the facts behind the weather through the Air, Atmosphere and Weather program run by CSIRO for New South Wales students from Kindergarten to Year 6.

Dr David Drew: Understanding wood formation and variability

Dr David Drew has a focus on xylem development and annual ring formation in diverse forest species.

Ms Talia Jeanneret: exploring public perceptions of low emission energy technologies

Ms Talia Jeanneret applies a range of social research methods to explore public attitudes towards climate change and low emission energy technologies.

Dr Nina Lansbury Hall: energy use and climate change

Dr Nina Hall is a social researcher helping low-income Australians to more efficiently use energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money on their energy bills, and increase their wellbeing through more comfortable heating and cooling.

What’s in our water: the significance of trace organic compounds

CSIRO’s Discovery Centre hosted the 2nd Australian Symposium on Ecological Risk Assessment and Management of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the Australasian Environment 21-22 November 2007.

Atherton, Qld (Atherton laboratory)

CSIRO’s Atherton Laboratory is located in the heart of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in far north Queensland.

River Murray floodplain inundation model

A research and decision support tool for environmental flow management in the River Murray.

Analysis of Climate Change Impacts on the Deterioration of Concrete Infrastructure

This report documents mechanisms of deterioration in concrete structures and approaches to modelling concrete corrosion under climate change conditions.