b'Education matters will undoubtedly set these students apartIts always good to see keen and up- presentations or instruments or even from those without such knowledge, andand-coming students ready to tacklecool new tech examples to show off to help them further their careers. industry challenges. A big thanks is duesmall groups of eager geoscientists, feel to the Gap Geophysics team for takingfree to contact me.I would particularly like to thank Alanvaluable time out of their day to educate Pearse (QUT), Callum Kowalski (UQ),our students. Nick Josephs Dale Harpley (UQ), Anthony CaracellaNick@Energeo.com.au(QUT) and Bodee Bignell (UQ) forLastly, if you are in the greater taking time and helping on the day.Brisbane Area and have geophysical Inaugural Dr Peter Milligan Student Award for Geophysicsthe contributions to geophysics of Drmission has since lead to the launch Peter Milligan (19512019), and especiallyof its successor, the GRACE Follow-On his contributions to the magnetic, gravity(GRACE-FO) mission in a bid to continue and radiometric maps of the Australianthe GRACE time series of time-variable continent. At the presentation of thegravity fields. Despite the undeniable award in November, Rebecca gave thesuccess of both missions, many obstacles Dr Peter Milligan Student Lecture, beinghave prevented the estimation of apresentation of her research on Antarctichighly accurate temporal gravity fields. mass loss and glacial isostatic adjustmentFor example, noise contained in the measured by space gravity missions. observations limit the resolution of the solutions, while difficulties in separating surface and sub-surface mass change Abstract of the inaugural Dr Petersignals convolute estimates of ice-sheet Milligan Student Lecture mass loss, particularly in Antarctica.Over a period of 15 years, the twinIn this lecture, estimates of mass balance Rebecca McGirr GRACE satellites mapped the Earthsin Antarctica from GRACE observations of mean and time-variable gravity fieldthe temporal gravity field are discussed. Rebecca McGirr, of the Earth Dynamicswith unprecedented accuracy. TheThis includes approaches that have taken Group at Research School of Earthsuccess of the GRACE mission has beento reduce the impact of instrumental Sciences, Australian National University,instrumental in advancing scientificnoise on estimates of the temporal has been awarded the inaugural Drunderstanding of both natural andgravity field using digital filtering Peter Milligan Student Award foranthropogenically induced variations intechniques, and a discussion of problems Geophysics.The award, given by thethe hydrological cycle, ice-sheet masswith current methods of estimating the ACT Branch of the Australian Society ofbalance, ocean dynamics and sea-levelcontribution of post-glacial adjustment Exploration Geophysicists, commemorateschange. The success of the GRACEto Antarcticas mass balance.Theses in geophysics submitted to Australian universities in 2019Australian National University,Surface and basal crevasses are deepof calving at ice fronts, but also the Australian Capital TerritoryPhDfractures in ice that are observedhistory of fracturing of the ice that led theses on the surface and the base of theto a calving event such as formation, Antarctic ice sheet/ice shelves,advection and propagation of both Veronika Emetc, Australian Nationalrespectively. They are a directsurface and basal crevasses. Towards University: Combining physics-basedprecursor of formation of rifts in iceimproving a calving parameterisation and statistics-based approaches to modelshelves and a consequent calving orin ice sheet models we constructed calving in Antarctica. breaking off of icebergs. Modelling ofa set of sub-models for predicting calving is crucial for better estimationsurface and basal fracturing, vertical of the ice mass balance in Antarcticaand horizontal propagation as well as because ice shelves act like aadvection. Combining statistics-based supporting mechanism for the inlandand physics-based approaches we ice preventing it from acceleratingdeveloped a preliminary calving model into the ocean. While there have beenthat includes the full history of rifts a number of studies that attemptedand crevasses, from their initiation to to parameterise calving, each of themthe final break off at the ice front.has limitations that do not allow to apply them to all the AntarcticSiyuan Tian, Australian National ice shelves on a large scale. A moreUniversity: Forecasting drought impacts comprehensive calving model needswith the assimilation of satellite water to include not only parameterisationcontent retrievals.DECEMBER 2019 PREVIEW 36'