Project information
Project aim
The Australian Antarctic Territory has contributed as much as one quarter of the total recent Antarctic ice-mass loss. Here, the Denman Glacier, which holds a potential sea level rise of 1.5 m, is one of the fastest retreating glaciers. However, the causes behind these changes remain a mystery. This project will carry out a systematic hydrographic and atmospheric survey to determine: 1) the ocean's role behind the current retreat, 2) feedbacks from environmental change to ocean circulation, its ability to exchange CO2 with the atmosphere and the marine biota, and 4) role of biological emissions on cloud and aerosol formation. The project will inform the susceptibility of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to a warming climate, and contributes to providing decision makers in government, nationally and internationally, with accurate, timely and integrated observations of the earth system to empower assessments of, and responses to, the risks posed by climate variability and change.
