Around The Web

In Cairns, north Queensland, coral bleaching isn’t the real worry – it’s the fear that tourists won’t come because they think the reef is already dead

Anyone in the Cairns tourism industry who might be feeling a sense of panic about the largest destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef since divers first strapped on snorkels is not letting it show.

The north-eastern Australian city – a global holiday destination where the natural wonder’s name festoons everything from the signs greeting airport arrivals to the local casino – is celebrating a storming tourist trade over the last 12 months.

Continue reading...

Footage shows the descent of UK astronaut Tim Peake and two other crew members as they touched down in Kazakhstan.

UK astronaut Tim Peake is safely back on Earth after a historic mission to the International Space Station.

Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest This clearance was done so long ago that many of the stumps dotting the area are punctured with holes made by wood-boring larvae

We crossed the ditch together into the clear-felled area of this inclosure. At once, she dropped at my feet and disappeared into the heather. She didn’t budge as I gently pulled the stems apart to find her, and no doubt would have been more active on a warmer and less overcast day.

The common heath moth Ematurga atomaria atomaria comes in a variety of colours. This female is the dark form; her wings, barely two centimetres in span, are crossed by ragged black lines set against a weave of tawny scales. No doubt her pheromones are already wafting on the breeze, inviting suitors to come and mate.

Continue reading...

British astronaut Tim Peake has boarded the spacecraft that will return him to Earth following an historic six-month mission to the space station.

MEGAFAUNA EXTINCTION: Sabre-toothed cats, one-tonne bears and sloths the size of elephants all happily coexisted with humans for up to 3000 years, but were extinct within 300 years after the climate of South America rapidly warmed.

On the shorelines of the Yellow Sea, eight million shorebirds are probing the sediment for food, but their bellies are empty. Could their epic migration end here on this barren mudflat?

Rhino poachers in Mozambique target anti-poaching guards.

Research has found that despite having excellent quality water, 40 per cent of Sydneysiders don't drink water straight from the tap.

Ocean experts call for international action to generate the kinds of maps of global seabeds that space missions have already returned for the Moon and Mars.

A horde of giant spider crabs has amassed in waters near Melbourne. Australian aquatic scientist Sheree Marris filmed this incredible footage.

From soaring temperatures in Alaska and India to Arctic sea ice melting and CO2 concentrations rising, this year is smashing records around the world

1) Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate that by September could see it beat the record low set in 2012. The maximum extent of sea ice in winter was at a record low, and the extent in May was the lowest for that month ever, by more than 500,000 sq km.

Continue reading...

Unprecedented temperature levels mean more heatwaves, flooding, wildfires and hurricanes as experts say global warming is here and affecting us now

May was the 13th month in a row to break temperature records according to figures published this week that are the latest in 2016’s string of incredible climate records which scientists have described as a bombshell and an emergency.

Related: Seven climate records set so far in 2016

Continue reading...

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

Continue reading...

Arctic sea-ice may have hit a record low in May but that does not mean September will set a new minimum mark, say polar experts at Reading University, UK.

A crater on Mars is named Langtang, in tribute to one of the worst-hit villages during the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Newly sequenced genomes of soil bacteria have led to questions about how differing land management affects the organisms' behaviour, on agriculture and emissions.

Its 170,000 pieces of aluminium are a hive-like structure of latticework, controlled by the vibrations of honeybees in a hive at Kew that is connected to the sculpture

“My approach to a sculpture seeks to frame nature so one can experience it more intimately,” says British artist Wolfgang Buttress, whose 17-metre high Hive installation opens at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, in London on Saturday. “I want visitors to feel enveloped, wrapped-up and involved in the experience, rather than adopting the position of an external observer.”

Related: How much do you know about bees? - quiz

Continue reading...

Wildfires caused by high summer temperatures rage in Arizona, California and New Mexico. Communities have been evacuated with more on standby should the fires spread. Firefighting aircraft are leading the battle against the flames, dropping water over burning forest areas

Continue reading...

With limited fanfare, Basslink resumed operation this week for the first time in almost 6 months. Basslink is Tasmania’s proverbial umbilical cord - a 500 megawatt submarine HVDC cable that connects to the mainland providing both electrical power and data exchange. Its failure back in December last year resulted in an unprecedented energy crisis in the Apple Isle.

To help avert the crisis 200 diesel gensets were installed at a cost of around $44 million. The moth-balled, gas-fired Tamar Valley Power Station was bought back online, and deals were brokered with large industrials to cut back on their energy consumption. Some analysts have estimated the total cost of the crisis at around $400-500 million (see also).

So with Basslink’s resumption the process of repairing the damage begins.

Notwithstanding the immense flood damage, drenching rains in May followed by torrential rains in early June have helped stymie the energy crisis. With HydroTasmania’s smaller catchments now overflowing, many of its run-of-river power stations are operating at more-or-less full capacity. In a matter of a few short weeks Tasmania has gone from acute energy shortage to excess.

Basslink flows for the 4 days period June 13th - 17th. Re-connection occurred on June 13th, around midday. Flows are in megawatts and are positive northwards. Basslink failed on December 20th 2015. Data from AEMO 5-minute dispatch tables.

Meanwhile, the larger hydro catchments such as Gordon have received much needed replenishment. Total storage has doubled over the last six weeks to 27%, increasing at a near record rate of about 2% per week. Storages are now back to levels comparable to mid June in 2014 and 2015.

Tasmanian hydro storage as percentage of total capacity. Data from HydroTasmania. Yellow diamonds show mid-June levels for each year since 2008.

Because of the recent rains and the excess power production, Basslink has this week been flowing northwards into Victoria at an average of about 140 megawatts and, at times, as much as 350 megawatts. That represents about 10% of total Tasmanian dispatch, none of which is being contributed by the emergency 200 diesel generators that were bought in to deal with the crisis, and only a tiny bit from Tamar Valley and Bell Bay gas units.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the NEM

With mainland wholesale prices now averaging around $90 per megawatt hour, HydroTasmania will be relishing Basslink’s resumption. Now that the rains have come, their prayers will be for those prices to remain high. Such is the crazy brave new world of energy supply, HydroTasmania’s exports are now worth around $2 million a week.

Map of power flows across the 5 state regions in the National electricity map including interchanges for the period 14th-17th June. Note the prices for this period have averaged close to $100 per megawatt hour in volume-weighted terms. Negative values for NETINTERCHANGE imply imports, positive values exports. Data from AEMO’s 5-minute dispatch tables.

However, with mainland prices currently way above what they were even in the Carbon-tax years, questions will be asked. Why they have risen so much? If we factor out the contribution of the carbon tax, prices in New South Wales and Victoria are almost three times what they were in the comparable period two years ago.

Map of power flows across the 5 state regions in the National electricity map including interchanges for the period 16th-19th June, 2014, for comparison with the image above. Note that with the exception of QLD, prices for this period have averaged close to $50 per megawatt hour in volume-weighted terms, about half what they have been in the comparable week, 2016. Note also the 2014 prices include the carbon tax, so in equivalent terms, prices were even lower. Data from AEMO’s 5-minute dispatch tables

Some pundits will no doubt point to recent changes in the South Australian market, following the closure of the Northern Power Station in Port Augusta. However with the national electricity flows mostly converging on New South Wales, the drivers for price setting their would appear much more important.

NSW volume weighted wholesale prices for the 6-week period early May to mid June, 2008 on, shown in red circles. Half hourly prices are shown in small background including the subset for the 6 week period shown in red. Black squares show the carbon tax years adjusted downwards by removing the carbon price (assumed at $20 per megawatt hour). Data from AEMO half hour price and dispatch tables.

And as indicated in the two maps shown above, there have been no obvious changes to the demand and dispatch settings in New South Wales over the last 2 years. So with no obvious reason for such a price spike, it wouldn’t surprise if the regulators were taking a keen interest, not to mention large energy consumers with market exposure.

I doubt HydroTasmania’s latest prayers will be answered in the short-term. At least not until we see some major structural transformation in mainland generation, such as the closure of one or more of the Latrobe Valley brown coal generators. With the Victorian Government this week setting ambitious targets to generate 25% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, and 40% by 2025, that may not be very far away. When that happens, HydroTasmania will be hoping its dams are full and Basslink is operational. And by then I hope the Apple Isle has invested more in its exceptional wind resource.

Disclosure

Mike Sandiford receives funding from the Australian Research Council for geological research.