CSIRO's re-embracing of climate change research will be underlined on Monday when the national science agency announces a new centre partly funded by Chinese interests.

Based in Hobart, the $20 million centre will examine the role oceans will play in future climate change, including their influence on floods and drought. It will be half funded by China's Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology.

The Centre for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research will also look at the capacity of seas to keep absorbing carbon dioxide – more than 90 per cent of heat has been taken up by oceans in recent decades – and the expected impact of melting Antarctic ice shelves.

The announcement comes a year after CSIRO came under fire for a proposed restructure that involved a shift away from "science for science sake" and towards corporate partnerships and work that could be sold.