Ecos articles from July 2001

Ecos archives from July 2001

Cloud warnings. (Spectrum).(device to aid aircraft on detection of volcanic ash clouds being developed by CSIRO)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... One of the world's most active volcanoes, Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, Italy, has been in the news again. Volcanic ash advisory centres have been tracking the plume from Etna, alerting pilots to the hazards associated with it. Each...

Green plastic. (Spectrum).(CRC for International Food Manufacture and Packaging Science producing biodegradable plastic products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Gardeners, farmers, foresters and nursery owners rejoice. A plastic pot that recycles itself could soon be on the market. No longer will seedlings and pot plants need to be inverted and shaken free of their pots before transplanting. Rather,...

Blurring the bifocal line. (Spectrum).(SOLA International developing better eyeglass lenses by using mathematical discoveries of Tony Miller)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Mathematical tools developed by Dr Tony Miller of CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences are playing a key role in bringing better vision to millions of people worldwide. Miller's mathematics have enabled spectacle lens company, SOLA...

A model for healthy homes. (Spectrum).(measuring volatile hydrocarbons)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A model that measures the movement of volatile hydrocarbons through soil and into houses, could help define acceptable levels of soil pollution at old petrol station sites reclaimed for housing. The `volatile transport model', being...

The ups and downs of ozone recovery. (Spectrum).(speculation on future ozone layer depletion)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... HOW MUCH ozone is there protecting us from the harmful ultraviolet radiation emanating from the sun? Not much, is the answer. The ozone layer stretches from about 15 to 30 kilometres above the Earth's surface. This region is far from pure...

Super structures: Wendy Pyper enters a world where tiny structures perform Hurculean feats.(carbon nanotubes)
July 1, 2001... Words like buckyball' and `nanotube' sound as if they have been lifted from the pages of science fiction. But in fact, they describe tiny structures existing in a new realm of scientific inquiry -- the nano-dimension. The nano-dimension is...

Prawns in the padi: Wendy Pyper outlines efforts to improve the sustainability of prawn farming in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.
July 1, 2001... In the coastal farming villages of southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, prawn farming can be a ticket to a full stomach and a better life. Farmed prawns sell for US$2-$10 a kilogram, depending on the species, and a good harvest can boost the...

Change in the wind: using a range of climate models, the Climate Impact Group from CSIRO Atmospheric Research has predicted significant changes in temperature, rainfall and evaporation in the next 100 years.
July 1, 2001... Using a range of climate models, the Climate Impact Group from CSIRO Atmospheric Research has predicted significant changes in temperature, rainfall and evaporation in the next 100 years. Wendy Pyper looks at what's in store for Australia...

Insect asides: butterfly nets, light-traps, specimens pinned in lines, literature intelligible to a rare few ... such is the realm of the insect taxonomist.
July 1, 2001... Fighting the fire ant Earlier this year, it was discovered that the fire ant -- a tiny but menacing pest originally from South America -- had entered Australia and established breeding colonies in parts of Brisbane. The `red imported...

Do woodland trees improve pastures? In the eucalypt woodlands of Australia's far north, trees may actually be pasture friendly.
July 1, 2001... As tree clearing continues apace in Australia, not least in Queensland, it is timely to consider the effect of trees on pasture growth and quality. Do trees enhance or diminish pasture yield and quality? Is it really a good idea for graziers to...

Herbarium lends landcarers the vision of Hume: Steve Davidson explains how a community pieced together a historical view of indigenous plant species to assist in landscape restoration.(Hamilton Hume)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As in much of Australia's grainbelt, vegetation in the Harden Shire of southern New South Wales bears little resemblance to the box woodlands that once graced the landscape. After more than a century of clearing, cropping and grazing, some...

Sound standards: noise complaints have reached a crescendo, but tougher sound insulation standards mean the writing is on the wall for the building industry.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Our towns and cities are noisier than ever before. Busier roads and airports, smaller urban subdivisions, apartment living: all are contributing to a noise epidemic that's sweeping Australia. Dr John Davy, an acoustics specialist at CSIRO...

Eat or be eaten. (journal extracts).(research on feeding behavior of ants)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... ANTS are renowned for their ability to find food and quickly recruit an army of nestmates to the scene. But foraging is a particularly dangerous pastime and the benefits of a good feed must be weighed against the threat of predation. To...

Ancient journeys. (journal extracts).(Victoria University research into biogeography and New Zealand)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... SCIENTISTS are using modern molecular tools to help unravel the evolutionary origins of New Zealand's plants and animals. Dr Geoff Chambers and his colleagues at the Institute for Molecular Systematics, Victoria University, Wellington, have...

Disturbed birds. (journal extracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... SCIENTISTS often study the impact of human disturbance on wildlife, but the withdrawal of humans from the environment can also have an impact. To see what effect the cessation of disturbance had on birds, Dr Andrew Fisher of Charles Sturt...

Birds in the heath. (journal extracts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... FRAGMENTATION of wildlife habitat as vegetation is cleared for urban development, cropland or pasture is a familiar story, and the coastal heathlands of subtropical eastern Australia are no exception. Interestingly, though, heathlands are...

Mammals and pesticides. (journals extracts).(effect of locust spraying on Australia's animals)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... AUSTRALIA's Plague Locust Commission uses the insecticide fenitrothion to control Locust populations in arid and semiarid areas of the continent. Fenitrothion is a broad-spectrum insecticide used against many insect pests and disease...

Moa's ark.(New Zealand biota)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... New Zealanders are fond of the notion that their biota is a fragment of ancient Gondwana. So botanist Dr Mike Pole risks being branded unpatriotic for his argument, first published in 1994, that New Zealand's vegetation arrived by long distance...