Adventure Ausrama Blog

The chemistry is altered in the cave water below a bushfire. Raging fires on the surface of the planet affect caves that intertwine below. Research into climate history is now complicated by this finding. Australian and UK scientists analysed water dripping in cave after a fire and found that the chemistry of moisture changed. There could be a new horizon, however. Stalagmites and stalactites store information about fires. The caves tested have clear data stretching back 200,000 years. Oxygen-16 is lighter than oxygen-18 and it evapourates quicker, so dripwater with more oxygen-18 would indicate fires or hot spells above. Pauline Treble of the University of New South Wales found that sites in a cave only 23 meters apart had different water chemical readings. This was caused by a recent bushfire in 2005 localized to one of the cave sections. ◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Tys Country Amusing Animal Photos Odd Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vis...

Bush fires are natural in Australia. Far from being a curse, they benefit the environment and wildlife generally. Of course this has to be qualified by houses being destroyed and injuries to people. Aboriginals have been intentionally lighting fires for thousands of years. Actually, it has a positive impact on kangaroo evolution. A fire promotes an increase in kangaroo numbers. To get the greatest benefit the best time for a burn-off  can be identified. Human subsistence is crucial in managing this. It compliments the ecosystem. Modern farming is detrimental to the way wildlife functions. The system is thrown off-balance. Stopping the burn-off and mono cropping changes everything. Australia needs more burning, not less. Authorities are following the wrong policy. Leaving native trees to grow tall can only lead to eventual disaster as a massive fire results as time passes. Managed fires provide more food for animals as new shoots appear. Animals can also h...

The world is in a crisis of bad weather. Extremes of climate are becoming regular phenomena. While coastal eastern Australia is getting unprecedented levels of rain. inland there is a drought. We have a drought even though El Niño has not been in effect for years. It could be said that the rain on the coast is caused by La Nina. This does not explain "the dry" inland. Where once weather could be clearly predicted by the El Niño/La Niña cycle, this is no longer the case. Improvement in weather forecasting now helps in knowing a year in advance whether El Niño or La Niña will be dominant. An El Niño is due. The US would be pleased to get some relief from damaging drought and fires. Australia's last drought was severe. The Queensland government invested heavily in water catchment and storage. When La Niña arrived the government was condemned and even ridiculed for "wasting" money. At the time the investment was deemed necessary by government and co...