Contact details

Ms Ana Redondo-Rodriguez
Centre for Marine Studies
The University of Queensland
Gehrmann Laboratories (#60)
St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia

(tel) +61 (0) 733651475
(fax) +61 (0) 733654755
(email) a.rodriguezuq.edu.au

Connections

People > Ana Redondo-Rodriguez

Position: PhD Candidate
Last update: 16-Sep-2009		Supervisors: Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Dr Scarla Weeks, Dr Ray Berkelmans, Dr Janice Lough

Research

Implications of climate change for the oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem

Understanding
 the
 oceanographic
 environment
 of
 the
 Great
 Barrier
 Reef
 (GBR)
 is
 vital
 to
 understand the
 biological
 responses,
 and
 for
 comprehending
 how
 regional
 changes
 associated
 with
 global
 climate
 change
 will
 impact
 on
 the
 marine
 ecosystem.
 Oceanographic
 dynamics
 determine
 critical
 factors
 such
 as
 water
 temperature,
 reef
 connectivity
 and
 nutrient
 availability,
 and
 any
 changes
 to
 the
 oceanic
 environment,
 whether
 human‐induced
 or
 natural,
are
 likely
 to
 significantly
 affect 
the
 coral
 reef
 ecosystem
 of 
the
 GBR.
 The
 GBR
 is
 a
 large
 and
 complex
 system
 encompassing
 a
 range
 of
 meteorological
 and
 oceanographic
 conditions
 that
 operate
 on
 different
 temporal
 and
 spatial
 scales.
 The
 complexity
 of
 these
 conditions
 increases
 from
 broad
 scale
 global
 circulation
 patterns
 to
 regional
 and
 local
 reef
 scales.
 Currently,
 understanding
 of
 the
 oceanographic
 dynamics
 of
 the
 GBR
 has
 been
 poorly
 documented
 and
 described.
 This 
project 
will 
focus 
on 
the
 dynamics 
of
 temperature,
 light, 
currents
 and
 other
 key
 environmental
 variables
 on
 the
 GBR.
 These
 variables
 underpin
 the
 major
 variability
 in
 oceanographic conditions 
related 
to 
phenomena 
such
 as 
coral 
bleaching
 events.

 
 Even
 though
 it
 is
 not 
clear 
how
 climate 
change 
will 
affect, 
it 
is
 important
 to 
know
 how
 the
 GBR
 ecosystem
 is going
 to 
respond 
to
 any
 possible
 future
 changes.
 Therefore,
this 
project
 in
 particular 
will
 explore
 the
 oceanographic 
dynamics
 and
 will
 determine
 possible
 implications 
for
 potential 
bleaching 
events 
by
 addressing 
the 
following
 questions:
 
 1.What 
are 
the 
dynamics
 of 
the 
key
 environmental 
variables 
impacting
 the
 GBR?
 2.Can
 the
 SEC
 bifurcation
 be 
identified
 consistently? 
If
 so, 
what
 is
 its 
behavior 
and
 what 
are
 the
 impacts
 on 
the
 GBR
 circulation?
 3.How
 are 
oceanographic 
patterns
 and
 variability 
linked
 to 
mass
 coral 
bleaching
 events?
 4.What
 are 
the
 enviro‐regions 
across
 the
 scale 
of
 the
 GBR 
ecosystem 
and
 how 
may
 they
 be
 influenced
 by
 climate 
change?
 5.Case
 studies 
of 
seasonal 
forecasting 
of
 summer 
conditions 
of 
the 
GBR:
 how 
well
 did 
they
 perform?
 This 
project will
 enhance
 our
 knowledge
 of the
 influence
 of
 global 
climate
 change
 on 
the 
waters 
of
 the
 GBR,
 as
 well
 as
 provide
 an
 in‐depth
 understanding
 of
 how
 these
 phenomena
 relate
 to
 biological 
responses 
such 
as 
mass
 coral 
bleaching
 events.

Keywords:

Education

BSc Marine sciences - University of Cadiz (2005)

Awards

MTSRF scholarship (2008)