DOCSLIB.ORG

Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 1 ISSN 0111-1736 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 152 Autumn 2018 Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 2 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 151 Autumn 2018 PO Box 6523, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand Please forward contributions to Bob McDavitt, [email protected] CONTENTS Page Foreword from our President 3 Kidson Medal 4 Conference 2018 4 Around the Regions 5-6 Pacific Climate Conference 6-8 AMOS/ICSHMO 2018 (Ben Nistor) 8-9 Summer: NIWA review 10-11 Notable events 11-18 Christchurch, Ben Tichborne 18-19 Pick of the clips 19-62 Your Committee 2018 President Sylvia Nichol Immediate Past President Daniel Kingston Secretary Katrina Richards Treasurer Gregor Macara Circulation Manager Lisa Murray Auckland VP Petra Pearce Hamilton VP Tim Gunn Wellington VP James Renwick Christchurch VP Jiawei Zhang Dunedin VP Daniel Kingston Journal Editor Nava Fedaeff with Jim Renwick Newsletter Editor Bob McDavitt Website Liaison Stefanie Kremser General Committee Mike Revell, Michael Martens Hydrological Society liason Charles Pearson Co-opted by committee Ciaran Doolin Views and endorsements expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors and advertisers, and not necessarily those of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 3 Dear Members We have just put out a call for nominaons for our presgious Kidson Medal, closing June 15 th . am very much hoping to see a number of nominaons come from the Society’s membership. am wring this in the week that marked the 50 th anniversary of the Wahine storm (otherwise known as e(-tropical cyclone Giselle). grew up in Wellington and, even though was very young at the me, sll have vivid memories of that storm. ,hen this week, another storm wreaked havoc across much of the country, with snow in the South sland, and rain, gales, lightning and tornadoes in the North sland. t serves to remind us of the importance of being prepared for these events through the best possible weather forecasng. .est wishes Sylvia Nichol, President of the Meteorological Society of New 0ea- land 10 1pril 1238 10 1pril 2018 Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 4 ,he Edward Kidson Medal7 call for nominaons (Deadline7 June 15, 2018) ,he Meteorological Society of New 0ealand ( nc) is now calling for nominaons for the Edward Kidson Medal. ,he award is made every two years and was 8rst awarded in 2003 ,he award is named in honour of Dr Edward Kidson, Director of the New 0ealand Mete- orological Service from 1227 to 1232. Kidson was instrumental in placing New 0ealand meteorology on a sound scien8c foong and is regarded as a key 8gure in the develop- ment of meteorology and climatology in this country. His own scien8c work in meteorology covered a wide 8eld and he had an internaonal reputaon for his papers on Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulaon. His papers on New 0ealand's climate remained standard works for many years. ,he Edward Kidson Medal is awarded to the author of an outstanding recent scien8c paper published in a refereed scien8c journal, which7 advances the science of meteorology and/or climatology, or advances understanding of the in>uence of meteorology and/or climatology or other meteorological factors in other 8elds of scien8c or human endeavour or, conversely, the in>uence of other sciences or endeavours in meteorology and/or climatology, or reports on a signi8cant and novel scien8c, educaonal, social or economic applicaon of meteorology and/or climatology. Nominees for the Edward Kidson Medal should normally be New 0ealand residents but others who have a signi8cant connecon with New 0ealand, parcularly in the 8eld of the atmospheric sciences, will be considered. 1ll nominaons must either be by a cur- rent member of the Meteorological Society or include a wri?en endorsement by a cur- rent member. Rules for the consideraon and awarding of the Kidson Medal of the Meteorological So- ciety of New 0ealand can be found on our web site. Nominaons, with supporng state- ments and including copies of the relevant paper, should be sent to7 infoAmetsoc.org.nB ,he deadline for nominaons is June 15, 2018 ,he winner, if any, will be announced in Dece mber 2018 CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC N0 Hydrological Society D N0 Meteorological Society Joint Eonference S1FE ,HE D1,E 4 - 7 December 2018 Ehristchurch 1bstracts Open 15 1pril Registraons Open 1 May see conference website at h?p7//nBhsnBms2018.co.nB/ CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC 1ROIND ,HE REG ONS Meengs that MetService members were invited to during Summer7 Firtual hub/hui 7 14 February7 Deep South Ehallenge Seminar K5 14 February Drew Lorrey D Petra Pearce on historic weather and the N0 earth system model n this seminar, oM the back of the highly successful 1ERE7 1ntarcca conference, N W1 climate sciensts 1ndrew Lorrey and Petra Pearce take you back to the days when weather observaons about 1ntarcca and the Southern Ocean were recorded in black ink on parchment. Drew and Petra are part of a Deep South Ehallenge project which is tesng the ability of the N0 Earth System Model (N0ESM) to simulate reality, by comparing its results against modern and historical observaons. ,he N0ESM is designed to simulate how our climate will change over the coming dec- ades. t’s highly comple(, modelling everything from weather systems to changes in 1nt- arcc sea ice, ocean temperatures to stratospheric chemistry. f, in comparison with past climate and atmospheric data, the model accurately repli- cates the past, we’ll have increased con8dence that the model can accurately simulate future changes in climate. ,o gather comprehensive historical climate data, the project sees sciensts and histori- ans working together to recover meteorological observaons over the southern hemi- sphere made as far back as 1850. Rescued data are being archived and made publicly available through the nternaonal Surface Pressure Databank and N W1's database. Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 6 Dunedin 23 February7 NEondions leading to the unprecendented low 1ntarcc sea ice e(tent during the 2013 austral spring seasonN 1bstract77 ,he 2013 austral spring was characteriBed by the lowest Southern Hemisphere sea ice e(tent seen in the satellite record and coincided with anomalously warm surface waters surrounding most of 1ntarcca. ,wo disnct processes contributed to this event. First, the e(treme El NiOo event peaking in DecemberPFebruary 2015/2013 contributed to pronounced e(tratropical sea surface temperatures anomalies and sea ice e(tent anomalies in the eastern Ross, 1mundsen, and .ellingshausen Seas that persisted in part unl the following 2013 austral spring. Second, internal atmospheric variability of the Southern 1nnular Mode promoted the e(ceponal low sea ice e(tent in NovemberP December 2013. ,hese results suggest that a combinaon of tropically forced and inter- nal atmospheric variability contributed to the unprecedented sea ice decline during the 2013 austral spring, on top of a background of slow changes e(pected from greenhouse gas and oBone forcing. Paci8c Elimate Ehange conference February 2018 media reports 1 former New 0ealand prime minister has warned that climate change has the potenal to force a legal and po- lical upheaval that the world would underesmate Qat its perilR. New 0ealand would not be able to solve this problem alone and it would need levels of internaonal coopera- on Qnot yet achievedR. Fictoria's Disnguished Fellow of Law Sir GeoMrey Palm- er ... internaonal cooperaon needed to deal with Npeslence, war, famine and deathN. mage7 David Robie/PME nstagram Speaking in a keynote address at the Paci8c Ocean Eli- mate Eonference at ,e Papa Museum in Wellington yes- terday, Sir GeoMrey Palmer said a largely une(plored as- pect of climate change lay in the Qpotenal to force the revision of many fundamental and long accepted methods of doing government and organising its instuonsR. Q,he four horsemen of the 1pocalypse in the SbiblicalT book of Revelaon were peslence, war, famine and death. Elimate change has the capacity to produce those condions to a worrying e(tent in the future,R said Sir GeoMrey, now disnguished fellow in Fictoria Iniversity’s Faculty of Law. QWe underesmate at our peril the challenges that it will Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter152 Autumn 2018 Page 7 bring and that it has brought already.R He cited riots and massive refugee >ows as some early e(amples. Sir GeoMrey said New 0ealand would need to ensure that the instruments of government P both domescally and internaonally P were adjusted to meet the challenges and this Qposes a formidable set of issuesR. Sir GeoMrey made the comments in an analysis of a recent landmark, but unsuccessful, legal challenge to the New 0ealand government over climate policy made by a 23-year-old law student, Sarah ,hompson. He also gave an in- depth overview of the state of environmental law in the country. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC 1 prominent New 0ealand research scienst says sea level rise from the 1ntarcc ice sheet may be twice that of previous esmates. Fictoria Iniversity of Wellington's director of the 1nt- arcc Research Eentre ,im Naish was a speaker at the Paci8c Elimate Ehange Eonvenon, Wellington. Photo7 RN0 Paci8c/Dominic Godfrey He is working on a new project to improve esmates of sea level rise around New 0ea- land and the Paci8c. Dr Naish said the last assessment report of the ntergovernmental Panel on Elimate Ehange may have underesmated the 1ntarcc contribuon. He said a high emissions pathway could be even worse than formerly understood. NWe may have under-esmated the 1ntarcc contribuon by 1 metre, by the end of the century.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Volume 31, Number
    Presented at AFAC16 - the annual conference of AFAC and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research CRC in Brisbane, August 2016. ABSTRACT This paper presents research Building community from collaboration between the Cyclone Testing Station (CTS) cyclone resilience at James Cook University and insurer Suncorp over the last two years. A key outcome of through academic and this work has been an insurance premium reduction program by Suncorp known as the insurance industry ‘Cyclone Resilience Benefit’. Background research conducted for the program by the CTS partnership is discussed and its details are briefly reviewed. Insights Jon Harwood, Suncorp Group Limited, and Dr Daniel J. Smith and from the program delivery to Dr David Henderson, Cyclone Testing Station, detail an academic- over 14 000 homeowners to industry partnership to bring cost benefits to cyclone-prone date are discussed. Although still in preliminary stages, the communities. development of this industry program based on academic research demonstrates the benefits of strategic Introduction partnerships in the field of Australia’s annual insured losses due to natural disasters exceed $480 million natural disaster risk mitigation. on average (ICA 2014), continuously highlighting the need for well-designed Figure 1: Insurance losses by natural hazard (ICA 2014). homes and infrastructure. Cyclone and severe storm events are particularly costly, contributing to nearly half of all nominal natural hazard insurance losses over the period from 1970–2013 (see Figure 1). While cyclone events are relatively infrequent, the resulting losses are excessive and the risk associated with insuring properties in cyclonic regions of Australia (e.g. Queensland) has led to affordability issues.
    [Show full text]
  • Cyclone Factsheet UPDATE
    TROPICAL CYCLONES AND CLIMATE CHANGE: FACTSHEET CLIMATECOUNCIL.ORG.AU TROPICAL CYCLONES AND CLIMATE CHANGE: FACT SHEET KEY POINTS • Climate change is increasing the destructive power of tropical cyclones. o All weather events today, including tropical cyclones, are occurring in an atmosphere that is warmer, wetter, and more energetic than in the past. o It is likely that maximum windspeeds and the amount of rainfall associated with tropical cyclones is increasing. o Climate change may also be affecting many other aspects of tropical cyclone formation and behaviour, including the speed at which they intensify, the speed at which a system moves (known as translation speed), and how much strength is retained after reaching land – all factors that can render them more dangerous. o In addition, rising sea levels mean that the storm surges that accompany tropical cyclones are even more damaging. • While climate change may mean fewer tropical cyclones overall, those that do form can become more intense and costly. In other words, we are likely to see more of the really strong and destructive tropical cyclones. • A La Niña event brings an elevated tropical cyclone risk for Australia, as there are typically more tropical cyclones in the Australian region than during El Niño years. BACKGROUND Tropical cyclones, known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, and simply as tropical cyclones in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, are among the most destructive of extreme weather events. Many Pacific Island Countries, including Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Tonga, lie within the South Pacific cyclone basin.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bathurst Bay Hurricane: Media, Memory and Disaster
    The Bathurst Bay Hurricane: Media, Memory and Disaster Ian Bruce Townsend Bachelor of Arts (Communications) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2019 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Abstract In 1899, one of the most powerful cyclones recorded struck the eastern coast of Cape York, Queensland, resulting in 298 known deaths, most of whom were foreign workers of the Thursday Island pearling fleets. Today, Australia’s deadliest cyclone is barely remembered nationally, although there is increasing interest internationally in the cyclone’s world record storm surge by scientists studying past cyclones to assess the risks of future disasters, particularly from a changing climate. The 1899 pearling fleet disaster, attributed by Queensland Government meteorologist Clement Wragge to a cyclone he named Mahina, has not until now been the subject of scholarly historical inquiry. This thesis examines the evidence, as well as the factors that influenced how the cyclone and its disaster have been remembered, reported, and studied. Personal and public archives were searched for references to, and evidence for, the event. A methodology was developed to test the credibility of documents and the evidence they contained, including the data of interest to science. Theories of narrative and memory were applied to those documents to show how and why evidence changed over time. Finally, the best evidence was used to reconstruct aspects of the event, including the fate of several communities, the cyclone’s track, and the elements that contributed to the internationally significant storm tide. The thesis concludes that powerful cultural narratives were responsible for the nation forgetting a disaster in which 96 percent of the victims were considered not to be citizens of the anticipated White Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Results for the Mackay-Whitsunday 2018 Report Card
    RESULTS FOR THE MACKAY-WHITSUNDAY-ISAAC 2018 REPORT CARD ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS Authorship statement The Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Healthy Partnership (Partnership) Results for Environmental Indicators for the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac 2018 Report Card technical report was compiled by the Partnership’s Technical Officers, Alysha Lee and Jessica Gillespie. Substantial input was received from the Regional Report Cards Technical Working Group (TWG) members. Some content was also drawn from technical reports from earlier Mackay-Whitsunday report cards. Regional Report Cards Technical Working Group members Diane Tarte (TWG Chair July 2018 onwards) Adam Fletcher Paulina Kaniewska Nicola Stokes Richard Hunt Reinier Mann Tegan Whitehead Angus Thompson Emma Maxwell Nathan Waltham Alysha Lee Alex Carter Jessica Gillespie Michael Rasheed Carl Mitchell Glynis Orr Nyssa Henry Luke Galea Michael Holmes Eddie Jebreen David Moffatt Ken Rhode Andrew Moss Travis Sydes Lynne Powell Lyndon Llewellyn Judith Wake Nadine Marshall Donna Audas Paul Groves Chris Dench Stephen Lewis Michael Nash Chris Manning Melinda Louden Adam Folkers Acknowledgements The authors also thank Phillip Trendell, Bernie Cockayne, Bronwyn Houlden, Carol Honchin, Len McKenzie, Jamie Corfield and Matt Curnock for their technical input into various aspects of document development and/or their review of the document. Members of the Reef Independent Science Panel are also gratefully acknowledged for their advice and review of this document. Suggested citation Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership (2019). Results for the Mackay- Whitsunday-Isaac 2018 Report Card: Environmental Indicators, Technical Report. Mackay- Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, Mackay. This technical report was finalised and released online in November 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • 189930408.Pdf
    © The University of Queensland and James Cook University, 2018 Published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority ISSN: 2208-4134 Marine Monitoring Program: Annual report for inshore pesticide monitoring 2016-2017 is licensed for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logos of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, The University of Queensland and James Cook University, any other material protected by a trademark, content supplied by third parties and any photographs. For licence conditions see: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 This publication should be cited as: Grant, S., Thompson, K., Paxman, C., Elisei, G., Gallen C., Tracey, D., Kaserzon, S., Jiang, H., Samanipour, S. and Mueller, J. 2018, Marine Monitoring Program: Annual report for inshore pesticide monitoring 2016-2017. Report for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, 128 pp. A catalogue record for this publication is available from the National Library of Australia Front cover image: Turbid river plume emerging from the Russell-Mulgrave river mouth following several days of heavy rainfall in February 2015 © Dieter Tracey, 2015 DISCLAIMER While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this document are factually correct, UQ and JCU do not make any representation or give any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose of the information or statements contained in this document. To the extent permitted by law UQ and JCU shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this document.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. the TROPICS—HJ Diamond and CJ Schreck, Eds
    4. THE TROPICS—H. J. Diamond and C. J. Schreck, Eds. Pacific, South Indian, and Australian basins were a. Overview—H. J. Diamond and C. J. Schreck all particularly quiet, each having about half their The Tropics in 2017 were dominated by neutral median ACE. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) condi- Three tropical cyclones (TCs) reached the Saffir– tions during most of the year, with the onset of Simpson scale category 5 intensity level—two in the La Niña conditions occurring during boreal autumn. North Atlantic and one in the western North Pacific Although the year began ENSO-neutral, it initially basins. This number was less than half of the eight featured cooler-than-average sea surface tempera- category 5 storms recorded in 2015 (Diamond and tures (SSTs) in the central and east-central equatorial Schreck 2016), and was one fewer than the four re- Pacific, along with lingering La Niña impacts in the corded in 2016 (Diamond and Schreck 2017). atmospheric circulation. These conditions followed The editors of this chapter would like to insert two the abrupt end of a weak and short-lived La Niña personal notes recognizing the passing of two giants during 2016, which lasted from the July–September in the field of tropical meteorology. season until late December. Charles J. Neumann passed away on 14 November Equatorial Pacific SST anomalies warmed con- 2017, at the age of 92. Upon graduation from MIT siderably during the first several months of 2017 in 1946, Charlie volunteered as a weather officer in and by late boreal spring and early summer, the the Navy’s first airborne typhoon reconnaissance anomalies were just shy of reaching El Niño thresh- unit in the Pacific.
    [Show full text]
  • Horticulture Code: Growers Responsibilities P10-15
    ISSUE 59 WINTER 2017 Horticulture Code: Growers responsibilities P10-15 Your source of fresh information for the fruit and vegetable industry Print post approved pp 100001181 WE CAN HELP YOU WITH GREAT DRIVEAWAY DEALS! New Toyota HiLux New Toyota CH-R New Sorento New Rio New Triton New Pajero Sport New Navara New Colorado New Trailblazer New Ranger New Escape New & Used Enquiries $ Finance Packages Service Bookings Small Business Leasing & Fleet Options Call Ian Blaikie 3000 9736 Brisbane Markets Co-ordinator motorama.com.au/brisbane-markets A4 Brisbane Markets ad Feb 17.indd 1 24/01/2017 5:31 PM CEO COMMENT HORTICULTURE CODE Brisbane Markets® is working In 2018, it will be Queensland’s turn Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) closely with its Memorandum of to bring together what is likely to hasn’t wasted any time on running Understanding partners, Bundaberg be in excess of 2,500 Australian and Horticulture Code of Conduct Fruit and Vegetable Growers New Zealand industry delegates to workshops for its 400 wholesaler and Bowen Gumlu Growers Brisbane. members around the country. Association, to assist promoting an BML, through its membership of understanding of the Code. the Central Markets Association of The 2017 legislation took effect Australia, and Brismark, through from 1 April. The wholesaling Take a look at pages 10 to 15 for its membership with Fresh Markets sector through its representative more information. Australia, have begun working with organisation, Fresh Markets DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS the 2018 Hort Connection organisers, Australia, has been working hard to Brisbane Markets® 77ha landscape AUSVEG and Produce Marketing develop a suite of Code compliant has changed enormously over the Association Australia-New Zealand, documentation which Market past 10 years since Brisbane to ensure a stellar event.
    [Show full text]
  • National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealand: Technical Report
    National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealand Arotakenga Tūraru mō te Huringa Āhuarangi o Āotearoa Technical report Pūrongo Whaihanga This document may be cited as: Ministry for the Environment. 2020. National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealand – Arotakenga Tūraru mō te Huringa Āhuarangi o Āotearoa: Technical report – Pūrongo whaihanga. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Disclaimer The information in this publication is, according to the Ministry for the Environment’s best efforts, accurate at the time of publication. The information provided does not alter the laws of New Zealand and other official guidelines or requirements. Users should take specific advice from qualified professional people before undertaking any action, as a result of information obtained from this publication. The Ministry for the Environment does not accept any responsibility or liability whether in contract, tort, equity or otherwise, for any action taken as a result of reading, or reliance placed on the Ministry for the Environment because of having read any part, or all, of the information in this publication or for any error, or inadequacy, deficiency, flaw in or omission from the information provided in this publication. Acknowledgements Prepared for the Ministry for the Environment by a consortium led by AECOM, including Tonkin + Taylor Ltd, NIWA and Latitude and a number of independent contractors. Published in July 2020 by the Ministry for the Environment Manatū Mō Te Taiao PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143, New Zealand ISBN: 978-1-98-857995-5 (online) Publication number: ME 1508 © Crown copyright New Zealand 2020 This document is available on the Ministry for the Environment website: www.mfe.govt.nz.
    [Show full text]
  • Post Tropical Cyclone Ita Assessment of Intertidal Seagrass Status in Dugong and Green Turtle Feeding Grounds ‐ Jeannie River to Cape Bedford (Cape York)
    Extreme Weather Incident Response Post Tropical Cyclone Ita assessment of intertidal seagrass status in dugong and green turtle feeding grounds ‐ Jeannie River to Cape Bedford (Cape York) Len McKenzie, Rob Coles, Louise Johns & Jessica Leech Report No. 14/25 May 2014 i Information should be cited as: McKenzie, LJ., Coles, R., Johns, L. and Leech, J. 2014, ‘Post Tropical Cyclone Ita assessment of intertidal seagrass status in dugong and green turtle feeding grounds ‐ Jeannie River to Cape Bedford (Cape York)’. Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) report 14/25. Cairns, James Cook University, Cairns. 20 pp. For further information contact: Len McKenzie Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) James Cook University [email protected] PO Box 6811 Cairns QLD 4870 This publication has been compiled by the Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University. Email: [email protected] Web: www.jcu.edu.au/tropwater/ © James Cook University, 2014. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part of the work may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or transmitted without the prior written permission of TropWATER. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information. Acknowledgments: This project was funded by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and the Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, Cairns.
    [Show full text]
  • Declines of Seagrasses in a Tropical Harbour, North Queensland, Australia, Are Not the Result of a Single Event
    Declines of seagrasses in a tropical harbour, North Queensland, Australia, are not the result of a single event SKYE MCKENNA*, JESSIE JARVIS, TONIA SANKEY, CARISSA REASON, ROBERT COLES and MICHAEL RASHEED Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia *Corresponding author (Email, [email protected]) A recent paper inferred that all seagrass in Cairns Harbour, tropical north-eastern Australia, had undergone ‘complete and catastrophic loss’ as a result of tropical cyclone Yasi in 2011. While we agree with the concern expressed, we would like to correct the suggestion that the declines were the result of a single climatic event and that all seagrass in Cairns Harbour were lost. Recent survey data and trend analysis from an on-ground monitoring program show that seagrasses in Cairns Harbour do remain, albeit at low levels, and the decline in seagrasses occurred over several years with cyclone Yasi having little additional impact. We have conducted annual on-ground surveys of seagrass distribution and the above-ground meadow biomass in Cairns Harbour and Trinity Inlet since 2001. This has shown a declining trend in biomass since a peak in 2004 and in area since it peaked in 2007. In 2012, seagrass area and above-ground biomass were significantly below the long-term (12 year) average but seagrass was still present. Declines were associated with regional impacts on coastal seagrasses from multiple years of above-average rainfall and severe storm and cyclone activity, similar to other nearby seagrass areas, and not as a result of a single event. [McKenna S, Jarvis J, Sankey T, Reason C, Coles R and Rasheed M 2015 Declines of seagrasses in a tropical harbour, North Queensland, Australia, are not the result of a single event.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaster Assistance
    Q R A Monthly Report August 2014 www.qldreconstrucon.org.au Monthly Report ‐ August 2014 1 Document details: Security classificaon Public Date of review of security classificaon August 2014 Authority Queensland Reconstrucon Authority Author Chief Execuve Officer Document status Final Version 1.0 Contact for Enquiries: All enquiries regarding this document should be directed to: Queensland Reconstrucon Authority Phone the call centre ‐ 1800 110 841 Mailing Address Queensland Reconstrucon Authority PO Box 15428 City East Q 4002 Alternavely, contact the Queensland Reconstrucon Authority by emailing [email protected] Licence This material is licensed under a Creave Commons ‐ Aribuon 3.0 Australia licence. The Queensland Reconstrucon Authority requests aribuon in the following manner: © The State of Queensland (Queensland Reconstrucon Authority) 2011‐2014 Informaon security This document has been classified using the Queensland Government Informaon Security Classificaon Framework (QGISCF) as PUBLIC and will be managed according to the requirements of the QGISCF. 2 Monthly Report ‐ August 2014 www.qldreconstrucon.org.au Message from the Chief Execuve Officer Major General Richard Wilson AO Chairman Queensland Reconstrucon Authority Dear Major General Wilson It is with pleasure that I present the August 2014 Monthly Report – the 42nd report to the Board of the Queensland Reconstrucon Authority (the Authority). The Authority was established under the Queensland Reconstrucon Authority Act 2011 following the unprecedented natural disasters which struck Queensland over the summer months of 2010‐11. The Authority is charged with managing and coordinang the Government’s program of infrastructure renewal and recovery within disaster‐affected communies, with a focus on working with our State and local government partners to deliver best pracce expenditure of public reconstrucon funds.
    [Show full text]
  • Repeated Cyclone Events Reveal Potential Causes of Sociality in Coral-Dwelling Gobiodon Fishes
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Repeated cyclone events reveal potential causes of sociality in coral-dwelling Gobiodon fishes Martin L. Hing1*, O. Selma Klanten2, Mark Dowton3, Kylie R. Brown4, Marian Y. L. Wong1 1 Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 2 Fish Ecology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 3 Centre for Medical and Molecular Bioscience, School of Biological Sciences, University a1111111111 of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 4 Independent Researcher, Sanctuary Point, NSW, Australia a1111111111 a1111111111 * [email protected] a1111111111 a1111111111 Abstract Social organization is a key factor influencing a species' foraging and reproduction, which may ultimately affect their survival and ability to recover from catastrophic disturbance. OPEN ACCESS Severe weather events such as cyclones can have devastating impacts to the physical Citation: Hing ML, Klanten OS, Dowton M, Brown structure of coral reefs and on the abundance and distribution of its faunal communities. KR, Wong MYL (2018) Repeated cyclone events Despite the importance of social organization to a species' survival, relatively little is known reveal potential causes of sociality in coral-dwelling Gobiodon fishes. PLoS ONE 13(9): e0202407. about how major disturbances such as tropical cyclones may affect social structures or how https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202407 different social strategies affect a species' ability to cope with disturbance. We sampled Editor: Heather M. Patterson, Department of group sizes and coral sizes of group-forming and pair-forming species of the Gobiid genus Agriculture and Water Resources, AUSTRALIA Gobiodon at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, before and after two successive Received: December 15, 2017 category 4 tropical cyclones.
    [Show full text]