Top view of blue frothy sea surface. Shot in the open sea from above.

Climate and Fluid Physics

The Climate and Fluid Physics group carries out research on fluid dynamics and thermodynamics problems relevant to Earth.

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Callum Shakespeare

About

 

The Climate and Fluid Physics group carries out research on fluid flow problems relevant to Earth, using numerical modelling, theory, and laboratory experiments in the Climate & Fluid Physics Laboratory.

We are interested in problems ranging from large-scale ocean circulation to ice melting, from convection to waves and turbulence and from lava flows to climate dynamics. Come chat with us at the Jaeger 7 Building where we all sit.

Research topics

Below is a non-exhaustive listing of the research carried out by the Climate and Fluid Physics group. Click on the links for more information about a specific topic.

Affiliations and connections

Climate and Fluid Physics is a key contributor to the Consortium for Ocean and Sea Ice Modelling in Australia (COSIMA), which developed the ACCESS-OM2 suite of coupled global ocean and sea-ice models and is now working towards its next iteration, ACCESS-OM3. We also have strong connections with ACCESS-NRI.

Climate and Fluid Physics is a node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather.

Potential student projects

Student projects at the undergraduate, Honours, Masters and PhD levels are available in many areas related to Climate and Fluid Physics, including the research topics listed above. Below are a few examples of potential projects.

Potential student enquiries about these or other projects are always welcome. Feel free to reach out to a relevant member of our group to chat!

Visualisation galleries

Take a look at some of our modelling and laboratory flow visualisations:

GFD Lab Visualisations

 

Model Visualisations

 

Recent activity

We hold weekly group meetings. A full schedule of all our activities is available in our Google calendar.

Climate and Fluid Physics hold regular social events including dinners, annual retreats, and ski trips. A gallery of the group's social activities is here.

More information

Explore cutting-edge ocean simulations at ANU, showcasing sea temperature changes and dynamic oceanic flows, for insights into our planet's vital water systems.

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Highlighting distinguished alumni from ANU's Climate & Fluid Physics research group.

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Explore FluidsIn4K by ANU's Climate & Fluid Physics: high-quality videos showcasing fluid dynamics phenomena for educational outreach. Visit our YouTube for captivating visual content.

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This image gallery shows a series of classic flow visualisations captured in the CFP lab.

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Facilities in the CFP Laboratory include a rotating table for studies of the effects of planetary rotation on fluid flows, and extensive equipment for flow visualization and data acquisition.

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Explore the history of ANU's Climate & Fluid Physics Group, from its 1975 beginnings to current cutting-edge research in ocean dynamics and climate science.

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Some Climate & Fluid Physics social events are recorded for posterity.

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Projects

Use your skills in physics, mathematics or computational science to better understand our climate system.

The ocean is a sea of internal gravity waves. Similar to the gravity waves that propagate over the ocean surface and break along our coastlines, internal waves propagate great distances through the ocean interior. These waves are generated at the ocean surface and the seafloor by a variety of mechanisms. As the...

The Southern Ocean is a key contributor to global climate. It regulates the absorption of CO2 into the ocean, plays a key role in ocean heat uptake and most likely influenced abrupt climate variability in the past. However, the processes that limit Southern Ocean circulation occur at very fine scales,...

Status

Potential

People

Over the past decade, the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets have been loosing its mass at an alarming rate.  Antarctic ice-shelves are melting by turbulent transport of heat and salt to the ice face, predominantly under the influence of warmer Circumpolar Deep Water entering ice shelf cavities from the surrounding...

The melting of Antarctica’s marine-terminating ice sheets is controlled by heat delivered from the Southern Ocean to the Antarctic margins, and is the largest uncertainty in future sea level rise. This project will use a combination of ocean modelling, theory and observations to predict future Antarctic melt rate.

Turbulent mixing plays an important role in the oceanic circulation energy balance. Energy is input at large scales from tides and surface wind stresses, and provides the energy required to bring deep, dense water back towards the surface via mixing. Mixing can...

Members

Leader

Dr Callum Shakespeare

Senior Lecturer

Researcher

Postdoctoral Fellow

Lizzie

Postdoctoral Fellow

Director of ACCESS-NRI

Research Fellow

Research Fellow

Research/DECRA Fellow

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Senior Lecturer

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Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Fellow

Research Fellow

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research support officer

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Technical Officer

Technical officer

Student

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate

Anupiya_Ellepola

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate

Hangyu_photo2

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate

Visitor and affiliate

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Visitor
Senior Lecturer at The University of Melbourne

Emeritus Professor

ARC DECRA research fellow

Emeritus Professor

News

Dr Nicola Maher kicking off the Hackathon in Aspendale, Victoria this week. March 2024. Source: Dr Paige Martin.

Last week, researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, CSIRO and ACCESS- NRI (Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator), gathered in Aspendale Victoria, to build a community of support for the development of CMIP7.

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Dr. Nicola Maher at the Australian Parliament

Following a submission by early career researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes in late November 2023, Dr. Nicola Maher provided evidence on the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill Inquiry 2023.

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Off the coast of Antarctica, trillions of tonnes of cold salty water sink to great depths. As the water sinks, it drives the deepest flows of the “overturning” circulation – a network of strong currents spanning the world’s oceans.

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