Glaciology research

Dome-A automatic weather station Photo: CHINARE

Snow and ice dominate Antarctica and the seas around it. They, in turn, are sensitive to shifts in our planet's climate and this makes them valuable indicators of long-term changes and a major contributor to these changes.

We know that Antarctic sea ice alters the salinity and temperature of the water below it and plays a big part in the circulation of heat and salinity through the world's oceans. But we don't know yet if changes to this circulation cause climate change or are the result of it. While some of the global energy is carried by ocean currents, most of it is transported in the atmosphere. How this energy transport, and associated atmospheric chemistry, is affected by human activity (such as by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations) is a major focus of Australia's research.

The overarching goal of the Ice, Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate program is to better understand and quantify the role of Antarctica and the high-latitude Southern Ocean and atmosphere in the global climate system.

The glaciology component of this program is based at, and part of the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) and is divided into four main areas of research:

• The Climate variability and change program will determine the role of the Southern Ocean in affecting the interannual variability of climate in southern Australia and in global climate.
• The Sea level rise program will estimate sea level rise this century, including increases in storm surges for coastal areas in Australia and its neighbours.
• The Ocean control of carbon dioxide program will estimate CO₂ uptake by the Southern Ocean and the risk and efficacy of proposals to enhance that uptake, for example by iron fertilisation.
• The Antarctic marine ecosystems program will examine the impact of climate warming and the loss of sea-ice on Antarctic marine ecosystems and the emerging krill fishery.

More information

Much of the research conducted in this research program is summarised in the Fact Files pages of the website under Climate Change.