Wow Australasia

Study: Australasia Has Hottest 60 Years In A Millennium

News — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:17:50 +0000

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Australasia has hottest 60 years in a millennium, scientists find

News — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:17:50 +0000

The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists that supports the case for a reduction in manmade carbon emissions.

In the first major study of its kind in the region, scientists at the University of Melbourne used natural data from 27 climate indicators, including tree rings, corals and ice cores to map temperature trends over the past 1,000 years.

“Our study revealed that recent warming in a 1,000-year context is highly unusual and cannot be explained by natural factors alone, suggesting a strong influence of human-caused climate change in the Australasian region,” said the study’s lead researcher, Dr Joelle Gergis.

The climate reconstruction was done in 3,000 different ways and concluded with 95% accuracy that no other period in the past 1,000 years match or exceeded post-1950 warming in Australia.

The study, published in the Journal of Climate, will be part of Australia’s contribution to the fifth Intergovernmetal Panel on Climate Change report, due in 2014.

As part of the study, climate modellers used the natural data to analyse the impact of both natural events, like volcanic eruptions in the pre-industrial era, and the impact of human-induced climate change such as greenhouse gasses emissions on temperatures in the last millennium.

Dr Steven Phipps, from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, who carried out the modeling, said the study demonstrated strong human influence on the climate in the region.

“The models showed that prior to 1850 there were not any long-term trends and temperature variations were likely to be caused by natural climate variability which is a random process,” he said.

“But [the modeling showed] 20th-century warming significantly exceeds the amplitude of natural climate variability and demonstrates that the recent warming experience in Australia is unprecedented within the context of the last millennium.”

Annual average daily maximum temperatures in Australia have increased by 0.75C since 1910. Since the 1950s each decade has been warmer than the one before it.

Australia’s peak scientific body, the CSIRO, has said temperatues will rise by between 1C and 5C by 2070 when compared with recent decades. It predicts the number of droughts in southern Australia will increase in the future and that there will be an increase in intense rainfall in many areas.

Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/may/17/australasia-hottest-60-years-study

Australasia getting hotter

News — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:17:49 +0000

A new report shows that the last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium, and it is most likely due to human-caused climate change, the Guardian newspaper has reported.

The study was completed by scientists from the University of Melbourne, who used natural data from 27 climate indicators including tree rings, corals and ice cores to map temperature trends over the past 1,000 years.

The study was published in the Journal of Climate and will be part of the contribution of Australia to the fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, due in 2014.

Dr Steven Phipps, from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, who carried out the modelling, says the study shows that before 1850 there were no long-term trends, and temperature variations were most likely caused by natural climate variability, which is random in practice.

But, he says, 20th century warming “exceeds the amplitude of natural climate variability and demonstrates that the recent warming experience in Australia is unprecedented within the context of the last millennium”.

Annual average daily maximum temperatures in Australia have increased by 0.75degC since 1910, and Australia’s peak scientific body, the CSIRO, has said temperatures will rise between 1degC and 5degC by 2070 compared to recent decades.

3 News

Article source: http://www.3news.co.nz/Australasia-getting-hotter---report/tabid/1160/articleID/254714/Default.aspx

1,000 years of Australasia climate studied

News — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:17:47 +0000

MELBOURNE, May 17 (UPI) — Scientists say climate records from Australasia show there are no other warm periods in the last 1,000 years that match the warming experienced since 1950.

A study led by researchers at the University of Melbourne used a range of natural indicators including tree rings, corals and ice cores to study Australasian temperatures over the past millennium and compare them to climate model simulations.

“Our study revealed that recent warming in a 1000-year context is highly unusual and cannot be explained by natural factors alone, suggesting a strong influence of human-caused climate change in the Australasian region,” researcher Joelle Gergis said Wednesday in a release.

Using natural records such as tree rings, corals and ice cores is fundamental in evaluating regional and global climate variability over centuries before direct temperature records began to be kept in 1910, she said.

Australasia is the geographic region consisting of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and neighboring islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Records provided by decades of work by more than 30 researchers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world were collated to provide data for the study. The records not only provide a climate picture of the past but are also a significant platform to reduce uncertainties associated with future climate variability, Gergis said.

The study published in the Journal of Climate is part of a global collaboration working to reconstruct the last 2,000 years of climate across every region in the world.

Article source: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/05/17/1000-years-of-Australasia-climate-studied/UPI-73911337288281/

Rugby: Scotland coach Andy Robinson selects five uncapped players for summer tour of Australasia

News — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:16:07 +0000

May 16 2012

Andy Robinson Image 1

HOLLAND-born Edinburgh wing Tim Visser is one of five uncapped players included in Scotland’s summer tour squad.

Visser has been selected alongside Edinburgh team-mate Tom Brown, who plays full-back, and three Glasgow Warriors, prop Ryan Grant, back-row/lock Robert Harley and lock Tom Ryder.

Injuries and suspensions have hit the Scotland squad ahead of the Tests with Australia (June 5), Fiji (June 16) and Samoa (June 23) and the cancellation of the non-Test fixture with New South Wales Waratahs meant the squad was scaled back to a 28-man group.

Hooker Ross Ford has retained the captaincy after being skipper during the RBS 6 Nations, while Ruaridh Jackson has missed out on selection in favour of Warriors team-mate Duncan Weir.

Visser was the RaboDirect PRO12 Players’ Player of the Year and leading try-scorer, making a vital contribution as Edinburgh reached the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

He will on June 12 be eligible for Scotland, qualifying on the grounds of three years’ residency following his move to Edinburgh from Newcastle Falcons.

Visser, who will be 25 on May 29 and has scored 43 tries in 74 appearances, will therefore miss the opening Test with Australia on June 5 in Newcastle.

After the cancellation of the only non-Test fixture, he may first pull on the dark blue jersey in Fiji.

Visser told www.scottishrugby.org: “I’m very honoured, having lived here for such a long time now I’ve got to know the country and the people very well and I feel very much part of the country.

“I feel really at home here and the people have been great. I would love to represent Scotland.”

Visser’s commitment is a welcome boost for a Scotland side who have struggled to score tries and are seeking to arrest the worst run since 1998 after seven successive losses.

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson said: “This is a tough tour for Scotland.

“We’ll be playing against three attack-minded teams on their own turf.

“But it’s an important opportunity to start the rebuilding process after a disappointing Six Nations.”

The core of the squad comes from the group which finished with the Six Nations wooden spoon after defeat to Italy in March, but Edinburgh prop Allan Jacobsen has been rested, joining injured number eight David Denton (ankle) and wing Lee Jones (shoulder), plus suspended lock Jim Hamilton, in missing the tour.

Flanker Kelly Brown (leg) missed the Six Nations and remains absent.

Weir, who led Glasgow to the RaboDirect PRO12 play-offs, Edinburgh centre Matt Scott and Warriors prop Jon Welsh are included after making their maiden Scotland appearances during the Six Nations.

Robinson added: “One quarter of the squad has yet to start an international but we’ve seen from the manner in which Edinburgh and Glasgow have finished the domestic season that there’s confidence that we will be looking to build on.”

Robinson will be joined on tour by assistant coach Scott Johnson, but Matt Taylor, who has agreed to join as defence coach, will continue his duties with Super Rugby Queensland Reds and is not part of Scotland’s touring party.

Johnson and Taylor replace Gregor Townsend and Graham Steadman, whose contracts were not renewed after the Six Nations.

Article source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/rugby-news/2012/05/16/scotland-coach-andy-robinson-selects-five-uncapped-players-for-summer-tour-of-australasia-86908-23861795/