"The Southern Ocean is a critical area of Earth-system dynamics affecting climate science," says Dr Griffies who will co-chair the CLIVAR Workshop on Ocean Model Development in Hobart next week.

"Accurately modelling this inhospitable region is central to the integrity of climate change scenarios on which government and industry base effective responses," he says.

Ocean models are developed at the world's climate research centres. In Australia these include CSIRO, the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre and the Bureau of Meteorology.

Models rely on both the quality and quantity of scientific observations of the ocean's physical and chemical properties, collected from ships or moored and drifting instruments, or from satellites. Using these observations, trends are projected � from shifts in global wind systems to variations in the strength of ocean currents and properties of the seawater such as its heat content and acidity.

Dr Griffies says Australian scientists had made a significant contribution to climate science through their leading edge work on Southern Ocean models, observations and theory.

A recent example is research published in the international science magazine Nature, identifying changes in seawater acidity in the Southern Ocean due to increases in carbon dioxide absorbtion rates. A co-author of the paper, CSIRO's Dr Richard Matear, will speak at next week's conference.

To be held from 8-11 November, the CLIVAR workshop is being coordinated through the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) which provides specialist advice on the future direction and development of models for the Southern Ocean and other regions of the World Ocean. A highlight will be a workshop from 9-10 November in which WCRP scientists will present recommendations on how to best move Southern Ocean science forward.

Related Links
CSIRO
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express