Kyla Drushka

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2009 Fulbright CSIRO Postgraduate Scholar

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“Understanding our oceans is fundamental to our societal wellbeing, economy and livelihoods.”

Kyla Drushka, a PhD candidate in oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, is the winner of the inaugural Fulbright CSIRO Postgraduate Scholarship, sponsored by the CSIRO.

Kyla will undertake 12 months research in climate and oceanography at the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research at the CSIRO Marine Laboratory in Hobart, working with CSIRO Principle Research Scientist Dr Susan Wijffels.

Her research aims to increase understanding of the relationship between the Indonesian Throughflow and large-scale variations in the Indian Ocean, and the impacts that this relationship may have on the Australasian climate.

“The Indonesian Throughflow links two important oceanic ‘warm pools’ via flow through the Indonesian archipelago,” Kyla explained. “The Western Pacific and Indian Ocean warm pools and how they interact can tell us a great deal about two important modes of climate variability that greatly impact Australian and regional climate: El Niño – Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole.”

Kyla will use satellite measurements of sea surface height, temperature and chlorophyll, and combine them with data collected as part of the International Nusantara Stratification And Transport (INSTANT) project. INSTANT was a 3-year project that used moorings to measure full-depth velocity and temperature of the Indonesian Throughflow.

“The importance of the role of Indian Ocean dynamics in the global system is just being realised,” Kyla said. “Increased understanding of how all of these factors fit together in the Indian Ocean and Indonesia could lead to improved prediction of drought conditions in Australia.”

Kyla has a B.Sc in Physics and the Environment from McGill University in Canada. She has also won the NASA Earth and Space Science Graduate Research Fellowship, Fulsom Fellowship and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Research Fellowship. In addition to her academic qualifications, Kyla is a musician and a strong advocate of the arts: she has taught children interested in art, organised concerts, and released an album of her own songs.

Kyla is one of 19 American Fulbright Scholars travelling to Australia in 2009/2010.