National Committee for Earth System Science

The National Committee for Earth System Science (NCESS) fosters the development of an active community of Earth systems science researchers in Australia. It also provides representation and facilitation of core disciplinary components such as atmospheric and ocean sciences and supports cross-disciplinary aspects of Earth systems science.

The core objectives of the committee derive from the NCESS Plan 2010 To live within Earth’s limits: An Australian plan to develop a science of the whole Earth system. Other broad aims include communication and reporting of Earth system science, advocacy for the funding needs of the ESS community, championing the ESS agenda and promoting Australian connections to international Earth system science.

The NCESS plan encompasses the development of a broader cross-academy approach to Earth system science in Australia that meshes with the Future Earth initiative of the International Science Council (ISC).

Governance

• Terms of reference (PDF, 116 KB)

Reports and activities

• A decadal plan for Australian Earth System Science, In progress
• Michael Raupach: a celebration of his life and science, February 2017
• Submission—Review of the Bureau of Meteorology's space weather services, July 2014
• To live within Earth’s limits: an Australian plan to develop a science of the whole Earth system, published 2010

Related groups and organisations

• Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)
• World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
• Future Earth: Research for global sustainability
• Future Earth Australia

Members

• Chair: Professor Andy Pitman FAA
  • University of New South Wales, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science
  • Research expertise: Terrestrial processes in global and regional climate modelling, model evaluation and earth systems approach
• Committee member: Dr Will Howard

• Lead Scientist, Australian Climate Change Authority
• Research expertise: Earth science, climate change science, environmental science, marine biology, environmental policy.

• Committee member: Professor Julie Arblaster
  • Monash University, School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment
  • Research expertise: Climate variability, climate extremes, climate modelling, climate change, and stratospheric ozone.
• Committee member: Dr Jan David Zika
  • University of NSW, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Associate Professor
  • Research expertise: Climate change processes, physical oceanography, applied mathematics, applied statistics.
• Committee member: Dr Claire Vincent
  • The University of Melbourne, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Research expertise: Tropical variability, extreme rainfall, wind energy meterology.
• Committee member: Dr Pep Canadell
  • CSIRO Environment, Chief Research Scientist
  • Research expertise: Climate change, greenhouse gases, carbon pools, decarbonisation, ecosystem collapses, biogeochemical cycles.
• Committee member: Dr Chloe Mackallah
  • CSIRO Environment, Climate Data Scientist
  • Research expertise: Climate data engineering, data governance and infrastructure.
• Committee member: Dr Christoph Rudiger
  • Bureau of Meteroology, Team Leader
  • Research expertise: Investigating climate extremes, earth observation data, water science, developing tools for a sustainable future.
• Committee member: Dr Felicity McCormack
  • Monash University, School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment, Senior Research Fellow.
  • Research expertise: ARC DECRA Fellow in Antarctic research, Chief investigator on the ARC Special Research Initiative Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future.
• Committee member: Dr Negin Nazarian
  • University of New South Wales Sydney, Scientia Senior Lecturer
  • Research expertise: Urban climatology, leads the Climate Resilient Cities research lab.
• Committee member: Dr John Finnigan FAA

• CSIRO, Director of Centre for Complex Systems Science
• Research expertise: Climate, earth sciences, atmospheric physics, turbulance