How is Australia feeling the heat, and thirst, of climate change?

Seminarium

Welcome to a seminar with Chalmers alumnus, climate scientist and hydrology researcher Dr Ben Henley from the University of Melbourne and Monash University who is visiting Gothenburg during a conference trip to Sweden.

Australia is regularly bombarded by climate extremes, including heatwaves, fires, floods, droughts and coral bleaching events. Being a flat continent surrounded by oceans leads to high interannual and decadal variability, driven by large ocean-atmosphere processes such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation. These phenomena are a key part of understanding and managing the threat of climate change. Protests in Australia in 2019 in support of Greta Thunberg¿s movement for stronger climate action were met with both appreciation and opposition. But is Australia¿s contribution to global climate change mitigation efforts in line with the Paris Agreement? What is the future for climate extremes in Australia?

In this talk, Ben will discuss these issues and recent work on quantifying the risks to major water supply systems as rainfall continues to decline in southern Australia in line with climate model projections.

11.45 Lunch wrap

12.10 Welcome by the organizers and quick presentation of participants

12.20 Introduction to the seminar theme and overview of related IPCC findings
Prof. Deliang Chen Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg

12.30 How is Australia feeling the heat, and thirst, of climate change?
Dr. Ben Henley Climate scientist and Hydrology researcher from the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

12.50 Reflections on presentation by Prof. Deliang Chen and name tbc.

13.00 - 13.30 Open discussion and questions

13.30 - 14.00 Coffee and optional time to continue discussions

The seminar will be moderated by: Malin Gustafsson Program Officer SIWI-SWH

Dr Ben Henley
Ben is a Research Fellow in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Lecturer in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University, Associate Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and a consultant to government and industry. He has worked in both academia and industry investigating hydroclimatic variability and water resource system performance, undertaking hydrological modelling underpinning major water planning decisions. Dr Henley also lectures in Palaeoclimatology and Future Climates. His research includes advances in the areas of decadal climate variability, the El Niño Southern Oscillation, the climate of the past 2000 years, evaluation of climate models, hydrological modelling, and the context and impacts of anthropogenic climate change.

Register for the seminar here!