Dr Andrew Klekociuk

Dr Andrew Klekociuk: BSc(Hons) PhD
Senior Research Scientist: atmospheric composition

Research interests

I grew up in Tasmania, and studied at the University of Tasmania, where I gained a PhD in physics in 1991. My research thesis in radioastronomy was entitled 'Timing Observations of the Vela Pulsar PSR0833-45'. In 1987, prior to completing my PhD, I joined the Australian Antarctic Division as a research physicist, and have remained in full time employment with the Division ever since. In 1988 I wintered at Macquarie Island, where I maintained the Upper Atmospheric Physics observatory and collected data for a research project on pulsating aurorae. Following this I was involved with three field campaigns to study pulsating aurorae and auroral energetics, which involved stints at Mawson (1990-91), Macquarie Island (1991-92) and Kotezbue, Alaska (1992).

Since 1994 I have been leading a collaborative project between the Antarctic Division and the University of Adelaide to develop and operate a sophisticated LIDAR (light detection and ranging) facility at Davis station in Antarctica, for the study of atmospheric processes and climate. The Davis LIDAR measures atmospheric density, temperature and aerosol characteristics from 5 to 95 km altitude, and my research has centred on interpretation of these measurements in the context of describing basic atmospheric processes and their relationship with global climate change. My primary interests are:

• the influence of small scale waves on stratospheric ozone and Polar Stratospheric Clouds;
• feedbacks between the ozone hole and tropospheric climate; and
• processes associated with icy aerosols at the mesopause (80-95 km altitude).

My current work has involved five summer expeditions at Davis station since 2000-01. 

Current projects

• Lidar studies of atmospheric dynamics, composition and climatology (#737)
• VHF Radar Studies of the Antarctic Mesosphere, Stratosphere and Troposphere (#2325)
• Investigations of the Antarctic Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere using satellite data (#2668)
• The influence of energetic particles on polar atmospheric chemistry and climate (#3000)
• Dynamical Variability of the Lower Atmosphere (#3140)
• Impact of Black Saturday bushfire plume and other pyrocarbon emissions on stratospheric ozone above Antarctica (#3229)

International representation/collaborations

• Co-chair SCAR Action Group PACT (Polar Atmospheric Chemistry at the Tropopause)
• Co-convenor Session T2-2 International Polar Year; Oslo Science Conference
• Contributor to IPY cluster project ORACLE-O3 sub-project LOLITA-PSC

Key outcome areas 

Goal 3 of the Australian Antarctic program: The role of Antarctica in the global climate system.

Related links

• Space and Atmospheric Research at the Australian Antarctic Division
• Bushfire smoke visible in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Magazine 16: 2009)
• First Antarctic ground-satellite view of ice aerosol clouds at the edge of space (Australian Antarctic Magazine 14: 2008)
• New laser to probe Antarctic atmosphere
• International focus on Antarctic ozone hole
• Beauty and mystery in rare Antarctic clouds
• Cosmic hole-in-one captured over Antarctica

Selected Publications

Evtushevsky, O.M., Grytsai, A.V., Klekociuk, A.R., Milinevsky, G.P. (2008) Total ozone and tropopause zonal asymmetry during the Antarctic spring. Journal of Geophysical Research 113. D00B06, doi:10.1029/2008JD009881  

Grytsai, A.V., Evtushevsky, O.M., Agapitov, O.V., Klekociuk, A.R., Milinevsky, G.P. (2007) Structure and long-term change in the zonal asymmetry in Antarctic total ozone during spring. Annales Geophysicae 25. 361-374. 

Innis, J.L., Klekociuk, A.R. (2006) Planetary wave and gravity wave influence on the occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds over Davis Station, Antarctica, seen in lidar and radiosonde observations. Journal of Geophysical Research 111. D22102, doi:10.1029/2006JD007629 (15 pp).

Innis, J.L., Klekociuk, A.R., Morris, R.J., Cunningham, A.P., Graham, A.D., Murphy, D.J. (2008) A study of the relationship between stratospheric gravity waves and polar mesospheric clouds at Davis Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research 113. D14102, doi:10.1029?2007JD009031. 

Kirkwood, S., Nilsson, H., Morris, R.J., Klekociuk, A.R., Holdsworth, D.A., Mitchell, N.J. (2008) A new height for the summer mesopause: Antarctica, December 2007. Geophysical Research Letters 35. L23810, doi:10.1029/2008GL035915. 

Klekociuk, A.R., Brown, P.G., Pack, D.W., ReVelle, D.O., Edwards, W.N., Spalding, R.E., Tagliaferri, E., Yoo, B.B., Zagari, J. (2005) Meteoric dust from the atmospheric disintegration of a large meteoroid. Nature 436. 1132-1135. 

Klekociuk, A.R. (2006) Meridional transport of low-latitude stratospheric air to the Antarctic region. BMRC Research Letters 4. 27-33. 

Klekociuk, A.R., Morris, R.J., Innis, J.L. (2008) First Southern Hemisphere common-volume measurements of PMC and PMSE. Geophysical Research Letters 35. L24804, doi:10.1029/2008GL035988. 

Morris, R.J., Klekociuk, A.R., Latteck, R., Singer, W., Holdsworth, D.A., Murphy, D.J. (2009) Inter-hemispheric asymmetry in polar mesosphere summer echoes and temperature at 69° latitude. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 71. 464-469. 

Morris, R.J., Klekociuk, A.R., Holdsworth, D.A. (2009) Low latitude 2-day planetary wave impact on austral polar mesopause temperatures: revealed by a January diminution in PMSE above Davis, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters 36. L11807, doi:10.1029/2009GL037817. 

Morris, R.J., Murphy, D.J., Vincent, R.A., Holdsworth, D.A., Klekociuk, A.R., Reid, I.M. (2006) Characteristics of the wind, temperature and PMSE field above Davis, Antarctica. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 68. 418-435. 

Morris, R.J., Murphy, D.J., Klekociuk, A.R., Holdsworth, D.A. (2007) First complete season of PMSE observations above Davis, Antarctica, and their relation to winds and temperatures. Geophysical Research Letters 34. L05805, doi:l0.l029/2006GL028641. 

Nilsson, H., Kirkwood, S., Morris, R.J., Latteck, R., Klekociuk, A.R., Murphy, D.J., Zecha, M., Belova, E. (2008) Simultaneous observations of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes at two different latitudes in Antarctica. Annales Geophysicae 26. 3783-3792.