Rachel Taylor

Rachel Taylor is a Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland's Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, focusing on Climate Extremes and Adaptation. She holds a BSc(Hons) and PhD from the Australian National University's Fenner School of the Environment & Society. Her research explores large-scale climate processes driving extreme fire weather and thermal stress impacts on northern Australian cattle industries. Key areas include evaluating climate model projections (ACCESS-S2, ACCESS-G3) for thermal stress indices and analyzing climate drivers like the Madden-Julian Oscillation and ENSO.

Education

• BSc(Hons), Australian National University
• PhD, Australian National University

Research Interests

Taylor specializes in fire weather forecasting, climate extremes mitigation, and cattle thermal stress adaptation. Her work integrates climate models to improve agricultural resilience against droughts and heatwaves. Notable projects include developing thermal stress thresholds for the northern cattle industry and analyzing historical cattle chill events in northern Australia.

Recent Work Trends

Her 2024 publications emphasize statistical modeling of fire behavior indices, climate driver impacts on fire danger, and marine heatwave dynamics. She also investigates sub-seasonal rainfall forecasts and coral bleaching risks linked to MJO-ENSO interactions. Collaborations include Meat & Livestock Australia and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Grants & Funding

Primary funding comes from Meat & Livestock Australia via the Northern Australia Climate Program (NACP), supporting development of climate adaptation tools for livestock industries.

Labs & Teams

Affiliated with the Northern Australia Climate Program (NACP) and the Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, focusing on applied climate science for regional adaptation strategies.