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Australia's Marine Resource

As fertile land becomes "all used up" with increasing demand for food we will rely more on the sea for nourishment, after we experiment with eating insects of course. Marine-based industries care little about the consequences of their actions at the moment. This has to change to make the oceans a renewable resource.

Australia has the third largest controlled ocean territory in the world. This country has more responsibility than most countries. We allow nations to fish our waters but foreign fishing fleets seldom stay within the rules that are set. Overfishing is common.

The Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo are World Heritage Areas. We will have to protect and regulate more region around the coast of this vast continent. This may be selfish as we have a low population that enjoys to swim, dive, surf, sail and fish on an individual basis. However, with control comes responsibility.

Australia's marine industry will rise from about A$40 billion to A$100 billion or more by 2025, just a decade away. Although there is a lot of land here, much of it is not fertile enough for crops. The oceans are just "sitting there" waiting to be exploited. As more pressure comes upon it the health of the planet must be considered. The sea has soaked up a third of the carbon dioxide we have produced since the 18th century and 90 per cent of the extra heat from human activity in the last 50 years.

Conservation by Ty Buchanan

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Eastern Antarctic a New Danger Area to Raise Sea Level

There is a lot of research on climate change. However, countries are doing very little to reduce pollution. They are not reacting at all to the clear data pointing to damage caused to the planet by humans.

In the Antarctic the latest evidence shows some movement in the ice "plug" holding massive amounts of ice back from the ocean. If this plug fails, ice will slide into the sea raising the planet's water level by many meters, permanently. Cities on the coast around the world will be flooded.

It was thought that only the western side of the Antarctic was in danger of raising sea level. It now appears that the eastern side where the plug is situated is also at risk.

The weather in the US has been extremely erratic over the last ten years. The cost to the nation is in the billions of dollars. Insurance companies will react as they have done in Australia. Premiums have more than doubled in recent years. Some areas of Australia cannot get insurance cover at all for their homes because they are seen as low-lying or at high risk in bush fires.

Climate change is ongoing and people are at risk of losing everything in a chain of catastrophes. The world economic system will be affected. It cannot be avoided. We ignore it now at our own peril.

Conservation by Ty Buchanan

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Supermarket Bags Pollute the Ocean

Whether you use an "environmentally friendly" shopping bag or a standard one you are damaging the environment. They both take time to break down. Furthermore, the so called "safe" bags cause pollution during manufacture.

Australia's oceanic waters carry countless pieces of plastic bags, Marine creatures eat this debris and die. When plastic breaks down in sea water it becomes very tiny and is virtually invisible. These pieces gather up pollutants and become mobile destructors. The tinier the particles the more absorbent it becomes.

Researchers scooped up surface water from the ocean in coastal water all the way from Perth to Fiji and New Zealand. By observing the area of the net covered in plastic fragments they were able to codify amounts across a vast area. The average number of microplastic fragments was 4,000 per square kilometers. It went as high as 23,000 in some places. This was near highly populated cities.

Most of the items people use are made of plastic. Supermarket bags are the most prominent, followed by drink bottles. Plastic cups and discarded packaging.

Ocean currents also move the plastic into low populated sectors of the ocean. They build up "floating dustbin" regions that become permanent. Marine life is seriously affected. This will ultimately become a major problem for Mankind just as serious as climate change

Conservation by Ty Buchanan

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Northern Australia Has a New Dolphin

There are many species of dolphin. To most people they do look much alike. We know that they are very intelligent and like to be in the presence of Man, even if it is only following boats

A new species has been identified off northern Australia. It could have always been there or moved there from somewhere else. They are in the "hump" class, having a raised portion below the dorsal fin.

Scientists are treating the dolphin as a new species which makes three species of Indo-Pacific humpback. There are four kinds of humpback in total including the eastern Atlantic type, Sousa teuszil.

Apparently, naming of the "new" species is a complex process based on the previously used naming practice, behavior of the animal itself and its habitat.

Discovery of the northern Australian dolphin came about by the first intense study into the humpback genus. It involved examination of 180 skulls and 235 tissue samples.

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Evolution by Ty Buchanan

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Sea Levels Fall in Eastern Australia

It seems the Earth is trying to balance out global warming itself. There could be a natural balance level that the planet is attempting to reach. In Australia an unusual phenomenon has taken place.

We have had a lot of rain in coastal regions, while inland it remains dry. The arid regions have soaked up the excess water only gradually releasing it to the ocean, so sea levels have not increased. Indeed, sea level has fallen 7 millimeters.

Damaging floods cost Queenslanders millions of dollars. It was so bad that insurance companies refused to reinsured low-lying towns. Even the dry Northern Territory had floods. One of two very close La Ninas was the strongest ever recorded. The year 2012 was rain, rain and more rain.

This is not something that global warming critics should put forward as a natural solution. Only in Australia does the unusual geographic structure of the continent exist. Humid air moved slowly east but moved as far south as Melbourne, pushing up rainfall 20 per cent. Tropical air has never reached Melbourne before.

The fall in sea level is only a blip on the rising graph. The average rise is 3.2 millimeters a year. By the end of the century ocean levels are expected to increase by 820 millimeters, up from previous estimates of 590.

Rising use of carbon fuel may make sea levels rise even more. The oil "boom" in the US threatens all the good work being done by environmentalists to change behavior. Higher production has pushed "peak oil" well into the future. Enthusiasm for non-carbon power sources is waning.

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Conservation

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The Climate Changes in 20-30 and 50-70 year Cycles

Climate change is not all one way. There are cycles. Research on coral areas has shown two cycles, 20-30 years and 50-70 year. The region tested is in the northern Pacific which has a strong influence on Asian Monsoons. The amount of rainfall can vary a lot.

In regard to Australia, the climate varies across the continent. Western Australia is usually out-of-kilter with the rest of Australia. When there are floods in the east there are droughts in the west.

The cycles were discovered by drilling out cores and examining the undersea strata with ultraviolet light, a process called Spectral Luminescence Scanning.

Findings have helped to clarify changes in the climate of Madagascar since 1950. Changes in rainfall and river run off have left their mark. Cycles can be traced as far back as 1708.

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Society

Australian Blog★

Land of Mu in Indian Ocean?

Those who study ancient records have presumed that the claimed submerged continent of Mu was in the middle of the Pacific. They may be looking in the wrong place. An undersea continent has been identified beneath the Indian Ocean.

It was not sin or playing with dangerous science that caused the destructive disaster. Tectonic plates moving apart split the continent into many islands. Beneath the waves lava flows have covered the ancient land near the Seychelles which was part of the Indian subcontinent.

The region which includes the Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives and Madagascar has an anomaly. It has a stronger gravitational field than other place around the world. This is because the crust is 25 kilometers thick, compared to as little as 5 kilometers elsewhere.

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Geography

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Australian Blog★

Cast-off Dog

"We're ready. Cast off."

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Funny Animal Photos

Marine Animals Die With Unusual Warming off the Coast of Peru

Something is going on out there. Mysterious deaths of particular species of animals occur regularly. Recently dolphins died in their hundreds while thousands of pelicans died off the coast of Lima, Peru. This was followed by thousands of crustaceans dying.

The crustacean affected is red krill. It is known that some species of dolphin eat this food. Pelicans also surface feed for krill. Why would a food source die after poisoning other animals?

These deaths are not being caused directly by humans with perhaps chemicals or pesticides. The reason is the ocean off the coast of Lima is warming up. Krill have been moving closer to the coast to avoid the heat. Environmentalists blame offshore oil exploration. The government says they died of natural causes, but the seemingly static La Niña with cool weather in the western Pacific (oddly currently warm in the east) is not natural.

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Nature

Eggs of Mussels Attract Compatible Sperm by Releasing Chemicals

Mussel sperm have to find the right egg. This is not as easy as it seems. When the eggs are released they can be scattered through ocean water or river. While mussels are attached to rocks, eggs and sperm are at the mercy of the elements. The eggs have to let sperm know that the eggs are available, so they send out a chemical message to attract suitable sperm.

Many species release chemical signals. The message sent has to be differentiated to prevent fertilization by siblings. A test was done forcing sperm to fertilize chosen eggs. Only compatible matches gave healthy offspring. In a later test mussel sperm were observed to choose compatible eggs to produce health young.

This is the first time chemical attraction has been observed in mussels. It shows how important compatibility is in many species. This brings into question the theory of gene pools where there is deemed to be no barrier to gene pairing. The idea that any male and female can have offspring no longer stands. Even human eggs send out chemical signals to attract compatible sperm. Some human couples cannot have children even when tests show they are perfectly healthy. Fertilization can occur with a different partner.

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Science

Penguin and Seal Debate

"What do you mean it's your spot?" It ain't your spot!

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Funny Animal Photos

Global Warming Changes Fish Behavior

Animals will not only die if they remain in regions affected by global warning, they will not know what they are doing. Research shows that rising carbon dioxide changes the behavior of fish.

Carbon dioxide makes the acidity of ocean water rise. Like humans, fish rely on nerve cells to "perceive" the environment they live in, like detecting hot and cost, pain or painless. They also have to rely on environmental cues to behave in a particular way. Fish smell predators so they normally move away from them, but high acidity in the water makes the smell attractive. Small fish move too close to predators, so they are easily caught and eaten.

Fish behave this way due to their nerve cells trying to maintain a balance with the environment. With a rise in carbon dioxide and acidity, bicarbonate and chloride levels rise inside nerve cells, so a feeling of security is not turned off by the smell of predators. A switching chemical, GABA, becomes irregular opening nerves which suddenly release all of the bicarbonate and chloride. This causes dramatic changes in fish behavior.

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Biology

Research Predicts the Consequences of Global Warming on Pacific Nations

Nations in the Pacific are the first to be affected by global warming. The tide is literally coming in higher and higher. Children play in sea water as it enters homes built on the highest points available on small islands. The Australian Government's Pacific Climate Change Science Program (PCCSP) has released a report on the Pacific region.

The last decade has been the warmest ever recorded. Acidity in sea water is also rising because there is more carbon dioxide. Cyclones are predicted to increase with greater rainfall. Day and night temperatures will be higher.

While the report will help Pacific nations show what damage has been done by the developed world, it is doubtful advanced countries will assist financially. Knowing what will happen will help island nations plan for the future though the changes are already apparent as the sea takes over the land.

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Climate

Man Caught Deep Ocean Fish 42,000 Years Ago

Our ancestors not only fished rivers and the coastline. They caught marine food in the deep ocean. It is known that people travelled across oceans 50,000 years ago. However, proof that they could catch fish in the deep sea went back only 12,000 years.

New evidence shows that Man ate fish from the ocean further back than 12,000 years. In caves on the island of East Timor remains of tuna and other large fish have been found.

East Timor was "out of bounds" for paleontologists until recently because of the ongoing troubles with Indonesia. Information on ancient Man is changing scientific knowledge about our ancestors. Bone fish hooks dating back 42,000 years have been found there.

The diet of early Timorese was varied. It included birds, rodents, bats, snakes turtles and fish. Few large animals lived there. Half of the fish found were tuna, a fast moving fish that would have taken great skill to catch. Using nets was the only way, so they had an advanced culture.

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Paleontology

A Large Rise in Sea Level Is Forecast

Though some scientists still hold onto the "myth" that coastal water will rise only a few centimeters, In a thousand years land area will be much smaller in comparison with the ocean. Some estimates put sea rise as high as 40 meters. This will devastate low-lying land. Countries as we know them today will be unrecognisable.

Research is in train to find out sea height 3 million years ago by studying coral reefs, sand dunes and fossils. This will enable more accurate forecasts to be made. The extent of ice sheets that will be left with global warning and higher greenhouse gases will be ascertained. A collection of sediment in the Lamont-Doherty Core Repository, the world's largest, is being used in the study.

The frequency of ice ages has already been identified more accurately. They occurred every 41,000 years. It had been believed that the time frame was every 100,000 years. Furthermore, rising mountain ranges cool the Earth's temperature. It is now obvious that less land area will warm the planet.

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Science

New Dolphin Species Found in Australia

It is amazing that a species of dolphin has been living along the coast of Australia and scientists did not know it - until now. The Burrunan dolphin is the third new species to be identified since the 1800s. Named Tursiops australis, the new mammal is represented by two small groups living among bottle-nosed and common dolphins living off the Victorian coast.

They are quite distinct from other dolphins having different body shape, skulls and DNA sequence. The discovery came as quite a shock and shows that new species of other animals could be living unidentified in regions already extensively examined.

Man may be going into space but much of our planet still remains unexplored. New species still need to be classified in South America. The behavior of some creatures is not yet fully understood. For example, giant catfish in Asia are suspected of taking people swimming across rivers.