Water temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years over the past decade, placing the world's largest reef under threat, according to research published on Thursday. The reef, the world's largest living ecosystem, stretches for some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) off the coast of the northern state of Queensland. A group of scientists at universities across Australia drilled cores into the coral and, much like counting the rings on a tree, analysed the samples to measure summer ocean temperatures going back to 1618. FILE PHOTO: Coral reefs bleach in the Great Barrier Reef as scientists conduct in-water monitoring during marine heat in Martin Reef, March 15, 2024. Australian Institute of Marine Science/Veronique Mocellin/ Handout via RE...
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Platypus returns to Australian national park for first time in half a century
The platypus, a species unique to Australia, was reintroduced into the country’s oldest national park just south of Sydney on Friday in a landmark conservation project after disappearing from the area more than half a century ago. Known for its bill, webbed feet, and venomous spurs, the platypus is one of only two egg-laying mammals globally and spends most of its time in the water at night. A platypus is released by CEO of Taronga Zoo Cameron Kerr and Scientists back into Sydney's Royal National Park for the first time in over fifty years, in Sydney, Australia, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy Due to its reclusive nature and highly specific habitat needs, most Australians have never seen one in the wild. The relocation is a collaborative effort between the University of New So...
Read MoreAustralia to set aside at least 30% of its land mass to protect endangered species
Australia will set aside at least 30% of its land mass for conservation in a bid to protect plants and animals in the island continent famed for species found nowhere else in the world, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Tuesday. Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent and has one of the worst rates of species decline among the world's richest countries, a five-yearly environmental report card released in July by the government showed. FILE PHOTO: A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia. REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy That report showed the number of species added to the list of threatened species or in a higher category of risk grew on average by 8% from the previous report in 2016. ...
Read MoreScientists have discovered the world’s largest plant off the Australia coast — a seagrass meadow that has grown by repeatedly cloning itself. Genetic analysis has revealed that the underwater fields of waving green seagrass are a single organism covering 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) through making copies of itself over 4,500 years. This November 2018 photo provided by The University Of Western Australia shows part of the Posidonia australis seagrass meadow in Australia's Shark Bay. (Sahira Bell/The University Of Western Australia via AP) The research was published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Scientists confirmed that the meadow was a single organism by sampling and comparing the DNA of seagrass shoots across the bed, wrote Jane Edgeloe, a study ...
Read MoreDi Tommaso scales the sails & runs the rafters at UNESCO World Heritage Site The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognisable structures in the world and since its opening in 1973 has played host to a who’s who of world leaders, artists and performers. Dominic Di Tommaso, an Australian freerunning star is the first to be granted permission to freerun on the iconic site for a unique performance of his own. Dominic Di Tomasso freerunning the Sydney Opera House, Australia on March 10, 2022. Photo: Andy Green / Red Bull Content Pool A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sydney Opera House was recognised in April with the world's highest engineering accolade from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) - joining the likes of the Eiffel Tower and Machu Picchu. The 29-ye...
Read MoreFast-moving flood waters burst river banks and broke over levees, inundate towns Heavy rains deluged Australia's east coast on Wednesday, submerging entire towns, while thousands of people fled their homes for the second time within weeks after fast-moving flood waters burst river banks and broke over levees. Several towns in northern New South Wales, already reeling after record floods over a month ago, were pounded by an intense low-pressure system overnight. Some regions took a month's rainfall in under six hours, officials said. A car is seen submerged in floodwater following heavy rains in the northern town of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia March 30, 2022 in this still image taken from a video. Seven Network/Handout via REUTERS "Unfortunately overnight, our worst fea...
Read MoreOcean warming threatens more frequent bleaching of Great Barrier Reef, report says
Waters off Australia face more frequent and severe marine heatwaves that threaten the Great Barrier Reef, a report said on Monday, as a United Nations team began a visit to evaluate whether the World Heritage site should be listed as "in danger". The reef is at risk of another mass bleaching, following three in the past six years, as sea surface temperatures off the northeast coast of Australia have soared to as much as 2-4 degrees Celsius above average, Australian environmental group Climate Council said in the report. FILE PHOTO: A school of fish swim above a staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The government's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority last F...
Read MoreAustralia on Tuesday said it would lift its entry ban for international cruise ships next month, effectively ending all major COVID-related travel bans after two years and boosting a tourism industry hit hard by the pandemic restrictions. Australia banned the entry of cruise ships in March 2020, when they were the source of about 20% of Australia's early coronavirus infections. The vessels became a flashpoint in its pandemic response after symptomatic passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney, many of whom later tested positive. FILE PHOTO: A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship is seen at Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour, days after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that international cruise ships would no longer be allowed to dock at Australian ports due ...
Read MoreAustralia on Monday fully reopened its international borders to travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus after nearly two years of pandemic-related closings as tourists returned and hundreds of people were reunited with family and friends. Vaccinated travellers were greeted at Sydney's airport by jubilant well-wishers waving toy koalas and favourite Australian foods including Tim Tams chocolate cookies and jars of Vegemite spread. Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan was on hand to welcome the first arrivals on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles which landed at 6.20 a.m. local time. More than 50 international flights will reach the country through the day, including 27 touching down in Sydney, its largest city, as the tourism and hospitality sectors look to rebuild after get...
Read MoreAustralia will welcome international tourists on Monday after nearly two years of sealing its borders, relying on high COVID-19 vaccination rates to live with the pandemic as infections decline. "The wait is over," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a Sunday briefing at the Melbourne International Airport. Australia's opening to tourists is the clearest example yet of the government's shift from a strict zero-COVID approach to living with the virus and vaccinating the public to minimise deaths and severe illness. FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks through the international terminal of Kingsford Smith International Airport the morning after Australia implemented an entry ban on non-citizens and non-residents intended to curb the spread of the coron...
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