PhD Final Seminar

Rainfall is critical for supporting and maintaining Australia’s population and economic growth. On average, the maximum total rainfall is received along Australia’s coastlines making these regions habitable and sustaining major industries. The highest population density is distributed along the coastline which is supported by this climatological rainfall pattern. Understanding changes in various characteristics of rainfall, including changes in mean and extremes, is essential for informing water management policies for the growing population of Australia.

The main goals of this thesis are twofold. Firstly, this research aims to understand the observed historical changes in various characteristics of mean and extreme rainfall in Australia. It investigates existing methods for analysing rainfall characteristics and develop novel approaches to examine changes in mean and extreme rainfall. Secondly, it investigates the relationship between rainfall characteristics for Australia and other climatic factors including large-scale modes and local-scale temperatures.