The tropics provide unique research challenges.
The Northern part of Australia, together with the Archipelago stretching from Indonesia to New Guinea, forms the ‘Maritime Continent’ region, which is the rainiest part of the planet. Sandwiched between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the region is buffeted by large scale climate drivers such as the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Nino Southern Oscillation, as well as by planetary-scale waves associated with clouds and heavy rainfall.
This large scale variability, together with the steep mountains of the region form a perfect storm for intense tropical weather. The enormous amounts of heat and moisture that are transported by tropical storms in the region have a far-reaching influence on the global climate system.
Research video
This animation shows our high-resolution numerical simulations of the daily variation in clouds over the Maritime Continent. Squall lines can be seen moving from the islands towards the sea every afternoon, which is linked with the sea breeze circulation and the flows over the mountains.
This animation shows the warming and cooling caused by the daily heating of the land surface over New Guinea. The warming and cooling moves offshore every day, causing daily variation in rainfall hundreds of kilometres from the coast.
Our Researchers
- Dr Josephine Brown
josephine.brown@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 9035 4140 - Dr Yi Huang
yi.huang4@unimelb.edu.au - Dr Andrew King
andrew.king@unimelb.edu.au
+61 8344 7997 - Professor Todd Lane
tplane@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 8344 6516 - Professor Ian Simmonds
simmonds@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 8344 7216 - Dr Claire Vincent
claire.vincent@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 8344 6907 - Associate Professor Kevin Walsh
kevin.walsh@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 8344 6523