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ECOS ECOS
Issue 187



Features

Giant cuttlefish conundrum
Nestled in the apex of South Australia's Spencer Gulf, Point Lowly is noteworthy for its historic lighthouse, a small sandy beach and a view of Port Bonython's hydrocarbon processing plant. Just offshore, the rocky sea floor has a very different reputation. It's where a unique population of the world's largest cuttlefish gathers to spawn.
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Raijin supercomputer cooks up a storm
Australia's most powerful supercomputer is christened Raijin, the name of the Japanese god of thunder, lightning and storms. Fittingly, its main role will be processing data for the earth and atmospheric sciences, as well as for applications in photonics, astrophysics, materials chemistry and microbiology.
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Climate change is not all disaster and uncertainty
How does newspaper coverage affect how we view climate change? A new report has estimated that 82 per cent of articles about climate change are framed in the context of ‘disaster’ and ‘uncertainty’.
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Penny Whetton: Climate change science in focus
With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about to deliver the first of its Fifth Assessment reports in Stockholm next week, ECOS talks climate science with Dr Penny Whetton, a Senior Principal Research Scientist in the Climate Projections Science Team at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Victoria, and leader of the Climate Projections for Natural Resource Management project in the Climate Adaptation Flagship.
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Bushfires can occur year round: we have to be prepared
Last week's fires in Sydney's western outskirts are a timely warning for all Australian communities. Being prepared for a bushfire is not just a summer job – communities in bushfire prone areas, and in the ever-expanding urban/rural interface surrounding our cities and major towns, need to be prepared 12 months of the year.
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Our materials footprint may be smaller, but still oversize
For some time Australians have been considered among the biggest consumers of natural resources in the world. According to previous studies, we each get through 70 tonnes of materials every year. This is way higher than other developed nations. But could something be influencing these figures?
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Science and the future of WA's black cockatoos
Black cockatoos are Western Australia's icons of the air. Flying over the landscapes of the state's southwest, their large black bodies, red-or-white panelled tails and distinctive wails can't help but command attention. But black cockatoo numbers are declining, and never more rapidly than in the last few years.
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In Brief - Round-up of sustainability news

Plastic bags and old CDs find new life in nanosphere
 
 
Biodiversity hotspots found in cool waters
 
 
Carbon banking not the only ‘fruit’ from tree planting
 
 
Rising methane 'due to mining and wetlands'
 
 
Roots of grass for tropical livestock ‘plug’ greenhouse gas from soils
 
 
Human waste to help lock up carbon in soils?
 
 
World map shows where to get best return on conservation efforts
 
 
Antarctic ice shelf melting from beneath
 
 
Rainforest canopies may lose life under warming
 
 
‘Metabolic engineering’ for sustainable sandalwood oil production in Australia
 
 
Work from home: opportunities in biodiversity research
 
 
Food waste harms climate, water, land and biodiversity: FAO
 
 
Dingo wrongly blamed for tiger and devil extinctions
 
 
Can we coax more carbon into WA’s soils?
 
 
CSIRO wins awards across science spectrum
 
 
Energy savings enhance comfort and budgets of low-income households
 
 
Are altered fire patterns threatening endangered finch?
 
 
Insurance leader, island nations highlight climate change concerns
 
 
Building bricks from carbon emissions
 
 
Largest ice sheet may be more vulnerable than we thought
 
 

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