DoctorBenoit Legresy

Project Total: $408,182; Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss is a critical driver of global sea-level rise, posing significant threats to populations worldwide, particularly for Australia and France due to shared interests in the Pacific region. The Wilkes Subglacial Basin, spanning French and Australian Antarctic territories, represents a major risk due to its vulnerability to accelerated melting. This collaborative project, supported by the Australia-France Roadmap initiative to advance joint scientific capabilities and address shared interests in the potential far-field sea level impacts of East Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss directly relevant to Australia and the Pacific. The project aims are to: Constrain sea-level rise risks for Australia and Pacific Island nations using Antarctic Ice Sheet simulations from the France-Australia-Finland collaborative Elmer/Ice software, contributing to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes projections (ISMIP7).Enhance joint sea-level monitoring capabilities, including in the Southern Ocean, to improve regional data accuracy and track sea-level changes.Facilitate planning for future Wilkes Subglacial Basin field campaigns through Australian-French-led research and stakeholder forums, promoting model development and a multi-national fieldwork plan. Provide a forum to communicate Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss risks to end-users in Australia and the Pacific, informed by stakeholder consultations to address their specific adaptation and policy needs. Outcomes will improve understanding of the impacts of East Antarctic Ice Sheet sea-level rise on Australia and Pacific Island nations, enhance policy and climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, and contribute to the delivery of the Australian Antarctic Science Decadal Strategy 20252035. Alignment with an initial workshop and stakeholder forum will be sought with the 31st Conference of Parties (COP31) proposed to be held jointly by Australia and the Pacific in November 2026, and with field planning with the International Polar Year 2032-33 The project will be led by the AAD and key researchers within AAPP to facilitate the hire of a postdoctoral researcher (UTAS level B.3) for a period of 1.5 years and arrangement and delivery of two international workshops. Funded by: Australian Antarctic Division ($408,181); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $1,312,501; Australia is a coastal nation. Changes in coastal climate, via sea-level, waves and coastal extremes (including marine heatwaves), have broad implications for a range of coastal stakeholders (e.g., marine and coastal industry, coastal infrastructure design and management, coastal environmental management, lending and insurance). Hub research conducted to date has led to improved and new information on how marine and coastal extremes are changing and projected to change in future. In this phase, we will extend this understanding, by investigating and analysing a range of coastal and near-shore variables, such as sea level trends, current and future marine heat waves, extreme sea level, waves, estimates of ocean mass increases and the effects of wind, waves, sea level rise and storm surge on sediment compartments. This project will work closely with stakeholders to ensure this research is appropriately consolidated and delivered via a readily available, coproduced range of tools and data delivery mechanisms, to facilitate better understood and managed coastal climate risks in Australia. Funded by: Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) - Grant-National Environmental Science Prgm (NESP); CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation; University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $150,111; The proposed research aims to initiate a program of observations of East Antarctic marine-terminating outlet glaciers, focussing over a three-year period on East Ranvik and Sorsdal Glaciers near Davis Station. We plan to determine to what extent processes known to enhance ice margin sensitivity to environmental forcing in Greenland and West Antarctica are at work at these two glaciers, which are logistically appealing due to their proximity to an Australian station. Funded by: Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) - Grant-Australian Antarctic Science; University of Tasmania.