Posts – Page 68 – ECOS

Five seasons in Australia? Meet sprinter and sprummer

It’s autumn – or so you may think. But did autumn really start on 1 March? And why do we observe four seasons, each exactly three months long?

Warmer, wetter, hotter, drier? How to choose between climate futures

Some climate models show that, under high greenhouse gas emissions, Sydney could be up to 4.8C hotter and have 20% less rainfall by 2090. Others show the Harbour City could warm only by 2.3C and become 25% wetter. How do we deal with such large uncertainty?

A new website shows how global warming could change your town

What will Australia look like in 2050? Even if we significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as under an intermediate scenario, Melbourne’s annual average climate could look more like that of Adelaide’s, and Adelaide’s climate could be more like that of Griffith in New South Wales.

Paul Fraser: the Air Man of Cape Grim

Paul Fraser looks at things that aren’t there, and at invisible things. He came up with the idea of having a library of air. But it’s not because he’s a bit odd – he’s not. He’s doing these things as part of some vitally important science.

Despite decades of deforestation, the Earth is getting greener

A new investigation of satellite records reveals that the Earth is getting greener, despite ongoing deforestation in Indonesia and South America.

Biological treasures need breathing room to cope with climate

With three UNESCO World Heritage Areas under threat from climate change, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists have put forward a new approach to making iconic ecosystems more resilient—and it's not just about reducing global emissions.

Dancing to drought’s ragged tune

For most of us, the word drought conjures images of a parched landscape, stunted crops, dry waterways and dead livestock. But what about rain dancing?

Small, beautiful, new and very old: meet the Enigma moth

We recently celebrated one of the most exciting discoveries in entomology in the last 40 years – the discovery of a new family of primitive moths. It was found right in our own backyard, on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

February carbon dioxide levels average 400ppm for first time

The US government’s greenhouse gas monitoring site at Mauna Loa in Hawaii has confirmed that its average recorded carbon dioxide levels for February topped 400 parts per million (ppm) – the first time that this has been seen in a northern winter month.