On 17 November, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) released a report in their Climate Change Impact Series on “actions of the sea”. A highlight was the statement that the ICA estimates Australian governments will need to invest $30 billion in large scale coastal protection and adaptation projects over the next 50 years as climate change makes coastal communities, properties, and infrastructure increasingly vulnerable. Read More

On 29 October, the Minister for the Environment released NCRAS ahead of COP 26 in Glasgow. Quite clearly debate on emissions control has dominated this conference. Emphasis on impacts of climate change, especially to developing nations has attracted considerable attention. However, we are all aware that Australia is highly vulnerable to both natural disasters and longer-term effects of climate change. Read More

Fifty years ago I was introduced to a young family in Canberra—the Eliots. Father Ian had commenced his PhD research supervised by John Chappell at the ANU. At the time I was a new Research Fellow keen to get into coastal studies and looking around for like-minded people on the campus. Read More

Australian Government’s roles, responsibilities, and powers with respect to environmental management in general, and coast in particular, has been the subject of interminable debate. Read More

Many have written on the beauty and values of Sydney Harbour. Over the years water health scientists have continued to bring to the attention of politicians, waterway managers and communities consequences of continual supply of contaminants into the harbour and the management challenges which must be addressed to maintain and improve this iconic waterway. This is Bruce Thom's 200th ACS Blog Read More

There are many gems hidden in the unpublished literature. They can reflect our knowledge from decades ago but are just as relevant to our understanding of shoreline evolution and coastal processes today as they were when first prepared. One such report, prepared for the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation in 1988, is "Seabed mobility in south-eastern Australia - the Narrabeen Beach embayment". Read More

Extreme weather events across the Northern Hemisphere this summer have created a range of disasters that highlight threats of living in the new climate era. There is much we can learn from these events whether they involve heat waves, wildfires, floods, coastal erosion, and storm surges. Read More

Many of us are obsessed with the Last Interglacial (LIG or Stage 5e MIS). Between c. 130000 and 115000, global mean temperatures appear to have been slightly warmer by 1 to 2 degrees than present. Global mean sea level appears to have been higher and ice volumes less than today. If we can improve our understanding of these factors, it not just improves our knowledge of the past, but may guide us to how future ice sheets and sea levels are responding to global warming induced by greenhouse gas emissions, not just solar insolation. Read More

Over the past week or so, I have encountered five items of news related to coastal management that I would like to share with you. They are diverse in place and substance. It comes at a time when so many of us are concerned about the future of coastal environments and their use. Each item deserves a blog on its own, but they are all so topical and relevant that I just want to offer a summary. Read More

In February 2010, the Australian Government through the then Dept. of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE), hosted a National Climate Change Forum in Adelaide. The topic of this meeting was “Developing a national coastal adaptation agenda”. Read More