The Indian Ocean Dipole, Australasian Drought, and the Great-Earthquake Cycle: Long-Term Perspectives for Improved Prediction

Climate change, drought, and catastrophic earthquakes are of great concern to Australasian society, given their environmental, economic, and social impacts. For the first time, our team will combine cutting-edge geochemical microanalysis of recently discovered corals with world-leading palaeoclimate modelling to quantify the Indian Ocean Dipole system, and mechanistic links with Australasian drought, over the past 130,000 years. The fortuitous ground-truthing of our innovative earthquake hindcasting technique with geodetic data for the 2004 Sumatra earthquake will be a first in palaeoseismology. Outcomes will advance understanding of climatic extremes, abrupt climate shifts, and the recurrence of great earthquakes in Australasia.