The Conversation

Any plan to dam or extract water from some of Australia’s last wild rivers must carefully consider the consequences. Prawn, mud crab and barramundi fisheries could suffer in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Éva Plagányi, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Laura Blamey, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Michele Burford, Professor - Australian Rivers Institute, and Dean - Research Infrastructure, Griffith University Robert Kenyon, Marine Ecologist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Giant eddy currents in the sea spread heat. But if trapped in place, they can cause marine heatwaves deadly to sea life. And there’s a big one shaping up off Sydney right now. Moninya Roughan, Professor in Oceanography, UNSW Sydney Amandine Schaeffer, Senior lecturer, UNSW Sydney Junde Li, Postdoctoral research associate Shane Keating, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Normally, many bushfires ease overnight, as temperatures fall and moisture in the air rises. But these are not normal times, as Queensland’s early-season fires are showing Calum Cunningham, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tasmania David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Grant Williamson, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Storms are the greatest threat to beach erosion, not sea level rise, research reveals. This is the longest continuous beach monitoring survey in the Southern Hemisphere. Thomas Oliver, Senior lecturer, UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy Bruce Thom, Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney Roger McLean, Emeritus Professor, UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

In May, the Northern Territory government greenlit the mammoth Beetaloo Basin fracking project. But they did so based on a report with optimistic projections on offsets and emissions. Bill Hare, Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Redesigning agricultural landscapes to plant fire-retardant crops could help mitigate wildfires in an increasingly fire-prone world. Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Md Azharul Alam, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Lincoln University, New Zealand Tanmayi Pagadala, Resource Management Planner, Lincoln University, New Zealand Thomas Maxwell, Senior Lecturer in Grazing Lands Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Astronauts living and working on the Moon will need something to eat. The Growing Beyond Earth program supports international space crop research. Kim Johnson, Senior lecturer, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia has a massive opportunity to reduce global emissions by as much as 9%, all while renewing its heavy industries and economy. But to seize the opportunity, government needs to move fast. Rod Sims, Professor in the practice of public policy and antitrust, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fix environmental law. A new Wentworth Group report says the cumulative impacts from multiple projects must be considered. Rebecca Louise Nelson, Associate Professor in Law, The University of Melbourne Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Preliminary findings show that managed retreat, structural flood protection and climate-resilient development projects are most at risk of maladaptation. Ritodhi Chakraborty, Lecturer of Human Geography, University of Canterbury Claire Burgess, Research Assistant, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia has the world’s biggest carbon footprint from fashion. This is one area where changing our personal clothing choices can make a big difference, just as it did in the second world war. Rachael Wallis, Research Assistant, Youth Community Futures, University of Southern Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

As the cost-of-living crisis bites into our household budgets, growing or foraging food can save you money. Kate Neale, Researcher, Southern Cross University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

For towns built on mining, mine closures have huge impacts. Because mines inevitably close, communities should be involved from the start in planning for that time. Kimberley Crofts, Doctoral Student in Sustainable Transitions, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney Liam Phelan, Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s road to net zero must pass through Indigenous-held land, which is likely to host many clean energy projects. First Nations people want partnerships that help them protect their Country. Lily O'Neill, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Brad Riley, Research Fellow, Australian National University Ganur Maynard, Indigenous Knowledge Holder, Indigenous Knowledge Janet Hunt, Honorary Associate Professor, CAEPR, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Support for road-user charging strengthens when people are assured that revenue goes into reducing traffic congestion, maintaining transport infrastructure, improving public transport. Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Hadi Ghaderi, Associate Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Swinburne University of Technology Tariq Munir, PhD Candidate, Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure and Digital Construction, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Storing energy in large pumped hydro schemes sounds simple. But engineering and terrain challenges have put Snowy 2.0 well off track – while grid-scale batteries get better and better Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

For some countries, climate change has already pushed most of their territory into a different climate zone. Our research shows what’s already happened – and what’s yet to come. Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Hylke Beck, Assistant Professor, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Pablo Rozas Larraondo, Research fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Understanding how animals think, learn and interact with one another can inform the science of ecology, as predator and prey shape their world. Eamonn Wooster, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University Erick Lundgren, Postdoctoral fellow, Aarhus University, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

If Australia is to meet its net zero targets it must move fast and build massive industrial infrastructure. But those projects are provoking fierce hostility. Is there a way through the green dilemma? Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Newly announced closures of Glencore’s copper and zinc mines in Mt Isa will add to a huge number of former mines in Australia. A 2020 study by Monash University’s Resources Trinity Group found more than… Mohan Yellishetty, Co-Founder, Critical Minerals Consortium, and Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University Peter Marcus Bach, Senior Research Scientist, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, and Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.