Geophysics
GEO Projects for Casey, season 2011/12
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| Project Number | Class | Title | Program Area(s) |
Public Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 124 | Science | Concentration and isotopic measurements of radiatively important gases in the southern atmosphere [observational] | GEO, GL, MET, OC, SAS | Gases released by human activity (greenhouse and ozone depleting gases) are responsible for global change. They are long-lived and well-mixed in the atmosphere. The Antarctic regions, remote from industrial and land plant activity are ideally located to measure global changes in the gases. The CSIRO sampling network represents the most comprehensive, long-running Southern Hemisphere program. With continuing innovation in measurement and interpretive models, it is ideally positioned to detect possible climate-induced regional changes in carbon uptake, as well as monitor global changes. It also provides essential background information to the new challenge of monitoring integrated emissions from the Australian continent. |
| 760 | Science | Geoscience Australia geomagnetic and seismological observatories [observational] | GEO | Australia's geomagnetic observatories measure slow changes in Earth's magnetic field originating in the planet's core and more rapid variations caused by electric currents in the magnetosphere and ionosphere related to solar activity. The observatories are part of a global network of over 200 geomagnetic observatories worldwide. There are many practical applications of the data (see Geoscience Australia's website at http://www.ga.gov.au). Australia's seismological observatories are also part of a global network and are used for detecting and locating earthquakes and nuclear explosions. The data are used for research into Earth's interior, hazard reduction and monitoring of nuclear test ban treaties. |
| 1159 | Science | Antarctic Geodesy Program [observational] | GEO | The project will maintain and enhance the geodetic infrastructure of the Australian Antarctic Territory, and through international collaboration (GIANT) develop the geodetic infrastructure for the whole Antarctic continent. It will also provide information on the contemporary motion of the Antarctic continent for comparison with the long-term geological records, with special emphasis on the Australia-Antarctic separation and the movement of the Macquarie Ridge and the mid-ocean ridge. |
| 3054 | Science | Ecological risks from oil products used in Antarctica: characterising hydrocarbon behaviour and assessing toxicity on sensitive early life stages of Antarctic marine invertebrates | BIO, GEO, HI | This project assesses ecological risks of oil contaminants associated with fuel use in Antarctic waters by determining the behaviour and bioavailability of chemical components of fuels, and assessing their toxicity to sensitive early life stages of Antarctic marine invertebrates. Large quantities of fuels are transported and used in Antarctic shipping operations and stored for research station operations, but fuel behaviour in Antarctic waters and impacts of fuel spills on marine biota are largely unknown. This project will provide a scientific basis for better managing fuel carriage and transfer in the Antarctic and for developing spill contingency plans. |
| 3103 | Science | ICECAP - Casey/Aurora Basin Component | GEO, GL, OC | The ICECAP Project will conduct major airborne surveys in East Antarctica. The surveys will employ ice penetrating radar, laser altimeter, magnetometers and a gravity meter to study a large and relatively unexplored part of the continent. The survey extends from Casey, inland across the Aurora Subglacial Basin, which holds some of the deepest and possibly oldest ice on the continent. This will improve understanding of the ice sheet, its past, and potential future impact on sea-level, and of the underlying geology. It will also guide the search for suitable ice core sites for recovering the oldest possible ice core record. |
| 3121 | Science | Mass balance of the Totten basin in East Antarctica: Estimation and calibration from ground, air and space-based observations (TOT-Cal) | GEO, GL | Regions of Antarctica are undergoing significant change in response to the Earth's changing climate. This project will provide a state of the art contemporary insight into the changing behaviour of the Totten drainage basin in East Antarctica – an area of vital importance in understanding ice/ocean/atmosphere and climate interactions in the Australian region of Antarctica. We will estimate the contribution of the Totten Glacier drainage basin to present-day sea level rise and simultaneously provide a critical validation of the European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat-2 satellite mission over this region. |
Glossary of Program Areas
Science | ||
| AMLR | Antarctic Marine Living Resources | |
| ASTRO | Astronomy | |
| BIO | Biology | |
| GEO | Geosciences | |
| GL | Glaciology | |
| HI | Human Impacts Research | |
| MED | Human Biology and Medicine | |
| MET | Meteorology | |
| OC | Oceanography | |
| SAS | Space & Atmospheric Sciences | |
Non-Science | ||
| AF | Arts Fellowship | |
| AIR | Aviation | |
| ENG | Engineering | |
| MAP | Mapping and Surveying | |
| NGO | Non-Government Activity | |
| OTH | Other Government Activity | |
| PM | Polar Medicine | |
| SAO | Shipping | |
| SFO | Field Operations | |
| SM | Station Management | |
| STS | Science Technical Support | |
| VIP | VIPs/Special | |
