Tasmania’s Journal of Discovery

How will climate change impact Tasmania?

Dr Peter McIntosh from the CSIRO department for marine and atmospheric research projects a few possible scenarios from the computer model he ran for Hydro Tasmania.

Slideshow of Tasmanian photographs by Tasmanian Arc 2008

UPDATE: Smoke haze from burnoffs pushed Tasmania close to breaching air safety standards last week.

In one 24-hour period, emission levels from the forestry regeneration and fuel-reduction burns “were approaching the standard”, state environmental management director Warren Jones told the Sunday Tasmanian.

Elevated particle levels had been detected in Launceston and Hobart on several days during the week.

A Sunday Tasmanian investigation into the smoke haze has revealed:

Between 5000ha and 7000ha is earmarked for forestry regeneration burns this season. About 70,000ha of the state’s forest was razed by wildfire in the past summer.

The smoke contains a mix of carbon monoxide, tar, ash, ammonia and known carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene.

[From Sunday Tasmanian]

Photograph by Kevin Keirnan

A Tasmanian academic warns smoke generated from forest regeneration burns could pose a worse outcome for human health than pollution from car exhausts.

Fay Johnston, a respiratory health researcher with the Menzies Institute, has begun a four-year study on the health effects of wood and bushfire smoke.

The study will take in Tasmania, Western Australia as well as towns and cities in New South Wales.

Dr Johnston says smoke pollution has a detrimental effect for many people.

“In the limited amount of studies that have been done so far that have directly compared smoke from fires with the same level of particulates and smoke from car exhaust, or industry have all tended to show that the effects from the wood smoke are actually worse for lung conditions than a similar amount from, say, car exhausts,” she said.

The Asthma Foundation of Tasmania has refused to criticise the smoky burn-offs of the past week, saying it is not qualified nor the appropriate body to say whether they should or should not occur.

“We are not denying smoke can be harmful but we are not in the business of saying regeneration burning should or shouldn’t occur,” foundation chief executive officer Cathy Beswick said.

“Some people say we are not looking after the best interests of people with asthma, but we can’t become a lobby group.

“We get funding from a variety of sources and if we start talking about burn-offs without looking at the science, that could affect the funding for programs we do in the community.”

Ms Beswick said her organisation did not receive funding from the forestry industry.

[From Sunday Tasmanian]

A major earthquake (magnitude 7.4) hit 90km south of Macquarie Island this morning at 10:30am local time.

No tsunami was generated.

Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island and a part of the state of Tasmania, Australia.

Macquarie Island is on the Macquarie Ridge at the junction of the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates. Large earthquakes (6 or greater on the Richter scale) occur approximately once a year.

Vet Alex Kriess with Cedric the Tasmanian devil

A Tasmanian devil by the name of Cedric may hold the key to the future of his species.

He is an extraordinary devil, guinea pig and possible saviour, who is naturally resistant to the contagious facial tumours which have already killed half the devil population in Tasmania.

Cedric was caught by scientists this time last year. Now it seems he is the best chance yet scientists have to developing a devil-saving vaccine.

By working with their colleagues at Sydney University, Hobart scientists have discovered it is Cedric’s genes that are protecting him from the cancer.

This sea cucumber — held by Sadie Mills of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research — is known as a sea pig.

Mills and colleagues from around the world, including Tasmania, collected the organism, among more than 30,000 animals, during a marine census of southern Antarctica earlier this year.

Sea cucumbers are part of a group of marine animals that inhabit the seafloor, including sea squirts, sea stars (starfish), sea slugs, corals, clams, sponges, and urchins.

Great Lake is at record low levels. (Andrew Fisher photograph. ABC)

Recent rain has done little to replenish Hyrdo’s Tasmania’s storages.

Storages fell to around 18 per cent over the summer period, the lowest in over 40 years, and Hydro’s energy resources manager, David Marshall, says the Basslink power cable and the gas-fired Bell Bay power station are being used extensively.

He says he does not expect power rationing this year.

Mercury photograph

Forestry Tasmania’s controversial annual autumn burn-off started yesterday prompting the Asthma Foundation to warn people with respiratory problems to stay inside away from the smoke.

Curiously, the burns started on the same day Premier Paul Lennon announced international consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff would be engaged to audit the Government’s greenhouse emissions.

The first burn of the season was near Railton, in the state’s North-West.

A further six burns are planned for the Florentine Valley in the state’s south over the weekend.

Burnoff details can be found here.

Forestry Tasmania’s Fire Management branch manager Tony Blanks said the burns were expected to run throughout the autumn.

Welcome to clean, green Tasmania.

Hobart’s Michael Brennan, is in the running for one of the world’s top big wave surfing awards.

The 19 year-old was the only Australian nominated for the ‘ride of the year’ award which recognises the most amazing performance by a big wave surfer captured on video.

Brennan was chosen for his death defying ride on a monster wave at Shipstern Bluff on the Tasman Peninsula in January.

He is vying with four other surfers from around the world for the $56,000 prize.