Dr Ann Stavert

I was awarded my PhD from the University of Wollongong, where I developed a system to quantify carbon and nitrogen cycling in an estuarine lake. Key to this project was making in situ measurements of three key greenhouse gases (GHG) - carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) - using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

After my PhD I joined CSIRO, Oceans and Atmosphere in Aspendale, first as an Office of the Chief Executive Postdoctoral Fellow and then as a Project Scientist. Here I maintained and developed the Southern Ocean CO2 monitoring network, establishing Australia's first in situ Antarctic CO2 and CH4 monitoring site at Casey station (66° 16′ 55″ S, 110° 31′ 39″ E). These measurements were made with a combination of the CSIRO-developed non dispersive infrared (NDIR) LoFlo instrument and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) systems. I also worked to examine the comparability of the measurements made within the network (through a cylinder intercomparison program) and interpreted the measurements using global atmospheric transport models to better understand trends within the Southern Ocean CO2 sink and the impact of measurement biases within the region.

From 2013 to late 2017, during a period of LWOP from CSIRO, I took up a Postdoctoral Research Associate position at the University of Bristol, working in the GAUGE project (http://www.greenhouse-gases.org.uk/projects/gauge). While at Bristol I again worked to maintain and extend an existing GHG monitoring network working with CRDS and gas chromatographic (GC) systems to measure CO2, CH4 and N2O along with carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur hexaflouride (SF6). This network of tall towers had a much smaller regional focus and was integrated with measurements from other (aircraft, shipboard and near surface) platform types. Again I worked to quantify calibration, site and instrument biases and uncertainties and examined the impact of these on flux estimates this time using regional atmospheric transport models.

In December 2017 I recommenced a Project Scientist role at CSIRO. Working within the Global Carbon Project (http://www.globalcarbonproject.org) I co-led the recent update to the global methane budget (https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/methanebudget/). Here I developed a set of new sector specific prior emission estimates for the top-down analyses while collating new and updated inventory and process model products for the bottom-up component. I then worked to synthesise these data sets, looking for common trends and potential drivers with a particular focus on regional emissions (See Stavert et al. GCB 2021). This work fed directly into the IPCC Sixth assessment report of which I am a contribution author.

More recently my focus has returned to GHG observations and interpretation as I work to support the CSIRO GHG in situ observation network. In late 2021, I established the Clayton observation site and now manage it alongside the Casey and Macquarie Island remote observation sites. I’ve also worked to develop structures, protocols and technologies to improve observational accuracy, data processing and workflow efficiency and ensure the longevity of CSIRO’s invaluable GHG observation records. Current foci include the development of an improved system for quantifying the water vapour (H2O) bias correction within Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer (CRDS) instrumentation and the re-establishment and extension of the CSIRO cylinder intercomparison program (ICP). This program is useful for quantifying calibration and instrumental biases between remote field sites. I am also working as the GHG lead on the air sampling design team for the AAD’s new ice breaker the RSV Nuyina.