Robots on the reef

QUT researchers have developed a robot to capture images of baby tank-grown corals destined for the Great Barrier Reef. The system will help keep the growing corals happy and healthy before they are deployed and save researchers thousands of hours of coral counting time.

The end of Eden

Mankind’s dominion over Earth is a story of monumental folly and needless greed, and now nature is suffering further fatal blows thanks to the consequences of man-made climate change.

White reef grief

The summer of 2023−24 saw substantial climate driven impacts across the Great Barrier Reef, with widespread coral bleaching, two cyclones and several severe flood events.

Bouncing back from the dead

Palaeontologists from Flinders University have identified three species of giant kangaroos from Australia and New Guinea which lived from around 5 million to 40,000 years ago before they were wiped out by man.

Park life

Mature trees and residential gardens are disappearing from our ever-denser cities and suburbs, but a study comparing the remaining urban green spaces with natural areas reveals they’re contributing a lot more to ecosystems than previously thought.

Water of life

A new book “Deep Water” is a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean. Weaving together science, history and personal experience, it offers vital new ways of understanding not just humanity’s relationship with the planet, but our past – and perhaps most importantly, our future.

The return of the megadrought

Australia’s eastern states are due for a soaking this week, but Australia could soon see megadroughts that last for more than 20 years, according to new modelling from The Australian National University (ANU) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.

Deep sea fish farms

The University of Queensland has co-led a project to design a cost effective yet robust pen to expand fish farming into deeper ocean areas to help feed the growing global population.

Brown lands and hotter skies

Reducing land clearing and regenerating the nation’s natural vegetation and soils could absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, but New Curtin University research has shown the warming climate will turn Australia’s soil into a net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) unless action is taken.

The frequency of catastrophes – why accurate language matters

The media’s misuse of the term ‘hundred year event’ gives the public a misleading impression of the true likelihood of major floods and other disasters.

Saving a third of the world

Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through ambitious law and policy reform to restore 30% of the land to its natural condition.

The curious death of the Murray-Darling

The much heralded national management plan for Australia’s once mighty Murray-Darling River continues to fail, with the river dying a slow, painful death due to massive draws on its dwindling flows by the agriculture industry.