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Oceans and coasts news

Botany Bay dredging raises environmental impact issuesLink to full story

ABC News

The dredging of Botany Bay, part of a $1bn port expansion in New South Wales has raised concerns about the welfare of the bay. Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has voiced her disapproval, saying dredging could cause tidal changes to occur and potentially rouse toxic sediments from the bottom of the bay, disturbing fish and bird breeding grounds. Ports Minister Joe Tripodi has stated that although there may be unfavourable short term consequences, appropriate precautions will be maintained to ensure minimal environmental impact.

Grave predictions for sea-level riseLink to full story

ABC News

Professor Will Steffen, head of the climate change unit at the Australian National University and science adviser to the Federal Government, has said that evidence from the past 12 to 18 months shows polar ice sheets are melting faster. Steffen has predicted a sea level rise of up to 4 meters this century, saying that we may have underestimated just how fast climate change will occur.

Migratory birds suffer from climate changeLink to full story

ABC News

Climate change has had detrimental effects on migratory birds along Australia’s coastal zones. Eric Woehler from Birds Australia has envisaged losses of the majority of beach nesting birds most due to increasing sea levels, presence of livestock, construction and various recreational activities within the next 70 years. According to Woehler, the population of some species originating in Tasmania have already been halved.

Victorian Desalination plant more concerned over appearance than other environmental impactsLink to full story

The Age

The Victorian Government is expected to set strict aesthetic guidelines on the appearance of the new desalination plant project at Wonthaggi, and bidders for the project are scrambling to hire the best architects in order to help secure the contract. The draft environment effects statement has been completed and will be released soon, showing the expected environmental impacts that the project will have, but it is believed that this will concentrate on visual amenity. Eight bidders are contending for this $3.1 million project, but this is expected to be shortlisted to three within a few weeks.

Elephant Seals Used in Climate ResearchLink to full story

The Sydney Morning Herald

Elephant seals fitted with oceanographic sensors are being used by climate researchers to record data, making it possible for them to monitor formerly inaccessible sections of the Southern Ocean. The limited information so far generated by this research suggests that the circumpolar Southern Ocean has warmed more quickly than average ocean warming across the planet.

Humpback Whales Reclassified on Endangered Species ListLink to full story

The Age

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) yesterday released its Red List of Threatened Species for Cetaceans.  Formerly classified as ‘vulnerable’, the new Red List identifies the Humpback Whale’s status as of ‘least concern.’  Nevertheless, certain stocks of the species remain endangered, such as those in the South Pacific and the Arabian Seas.

Rescue Program to save Great Barrier ReefLink to full story

Australian Government

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Tony Burke and Environment Minister Peter Garret have introduced the Queensland government’s $23m Reef Rescue program, a collaboration with farmers which aims to improve the quality of water flowing into the Great Barrier Reef. The program aids farmers in reducing the quantity of nutrients, fertilizers and farm chemicals from entering waterways by implementing land management methods such as enhancing fertilizer efficiency and repairing riverbanks and wetlands. Peter Garrett believes that the introduction of the program will assist in the preservation of the reef and help protect it from global climate change issues such as coral bleaching.

Risk of rising sea levels hits homeLink to full story

The ABC

Saying that they were concerned about rising sea levels, the threat of climate change has been heeded by The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal who has recently stopped the building of six previously approved homes on coastal property in South Gippsland where up to 85% of the coast is at risk of erosion.

Global warming opening the way for Arctic exploitationLink to full story

The Age

The gradual disappearance of the arctic ice during the summer months is opening up the Northwest Passage as a viable shipping route which could save 40 per cent of the journeys from Asia to Europe. The Arctic is also believed to hold 22 per cent of the world’s untapped energy sources, which might become more readily accessible with the reduction in summer sea ice. The irony that global warming caused by burning fossil fuels might open up new reserves of oil and gas is apparently lost on the large companies eager to exploit the resource.

Arctic icecap could disappear during summer within 5 yearsLink to full story

The Age

Leading ice and snow experts are predicting that the arctic icecap covering the North Pole could disappear altogether during the summer months within five years. Just a few years ago the predictions were that this “melt-out” would not occur before the end of the century, but ongoing observations have resulted in the prediction being brought steadily forward. Historical records show that the Arctic Ocean has not been ice-free at any time in the last 16 million years.

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