Vernacular heritage and evolving environmental policy in Australia: Lessons from the Murray–Darling Outreach Project

The interface between environmentalism and neoliberalism in industrialised nations is dynamic and evolving with each of these significant socio-political movements exerting influence on the other. In the context of Australian environmental policy, ideas of heritage, sense of place and belonging are increasingly invoked to support the current policy emphasis on the role of regional communities for realising goals for land and water conservation and environmental restoration. To explore the broader meaning and consequences of these developments, we focus on the manner in which ideas of heritage are employed and evoked within the Murray–Darling Outreach Project, a collaboration between the Murray–Darling Basin Commission, a key natural resource management agency, and the National Museum of Australia. The Murray–Darling Outreach Project has the aim of increasing community involvement in local environmental issues by promoting ideas of vernacular heritage.     

Selective uptake of prokaryotic picoplankton by a marine sponge (Callyspongia sp.) within an oligotrophic coastal system

Marine sponges are key players in the transfer of carbon from the pelagic microbial food web into the benthos. Selective uptake of prokaryotic picoplankton (<2 μm) by a demosponge (Callyspongia sp.), and carbon flux through this process, were examined for the first time in the oligotrophic coastal waters of southwestern Australia, where sponge abundance and biodiversity ranks among the highest in the world. Water sampling and flow rate measurements were conducted over five sampling occasions following the InEx method of Yahel et al. (2005), with heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophic Synechococcus cyanobacteria identified and enumerated by flow cytometry. Callyspongia sp. demonstrated high filtration efficiencies, particularly for high DNA (HDNA) bacteria (up to 85.3% in summer 2008) and Synechococcus (up to 91.1% in autumn 2007), however efficiency varied non-uniformly with time and food type (p < 0.01). Overall filtration efficiency for Synechococcus (86.6 ± 6.3%; mean ± s.d.) was always significantly higher (p < 0.05) than for low DNA (LDNA) bacteria (40 ± 17.2%), except during winter 2007 (p = 0.14) when ambient Synechococcus concentrations were lowest. When compared to ambient abundances of the different food types, Callyspongia sp. exhibited consistently negative selectivity for LDNA bacteria and positive selectivity for Synechococcus, while HDNA bacteria was generally a neutral or positive selection. The total carbon removal rate (sum of all prokaryotic picoplankton cells), calculated on a per unit area basis, varied significantly with time (p < 0.01), with lowest rates recorded during the winter (0.5 ± 0.4–0.6 ± 0.8 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) and highest values recorded in summer (3.5 ± 1.9 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹). These flux estimates quantify the role of a demosponge species in the ultimate fate of prokaryotic picoplankton within the nearshore food webs of southwestern Australia, and support the conclusion that sponges actively select food particles that optimise their nutritional intake.     

The decrease in shear stress and increase in transport rates subsequent to an increase in sand supply to a gravel-bed channel

It is generally accepted that a gravel-bed river will aggrade if the supply of sediment to the river is increased. In a series of flume experiments using constant discharge and gravel feed rate, sand feed rates were increased to 6.1 times that of gravel. The slope of the bed decreased with increasing sand supply, indicating that the increased sediment load could be transported at the same rate due to a decrease in shear stresses. These results extend previous experiments to a wider range of boundary conditions. A recent surface transport model is used to predict the changes in bed composition and transport using the same sediment supply composition and feed rates as in the laboratory experiments. This model reasonably predicts a decrease in the reference shear stresses of the sand and gravel fractions as the sand supply is increased. An increase in sand supply can increase the mobility of gravel fractions in the stream bed, which can lead to bed degradation and preferential evacuation of these sediments from the river.     

Charting the territory: Exploring stakeholder reactions to the prospect of seafloor exploration and mining in Australia

Geological surveys of Australia’s marine territory have revealed significant potential for development of a marine resource industry. As onshore mineral deposits become harder to find, less accessible to their market and more challenging to extract, seafloor exploration and mining becomes an economically viable option. However, evidence from industry and environmental literature suggests that social acceptance will be important in determining the future of this industry in Australia. This paper reports on findings from research investigating the social viability of seafloor mining in Australia. A combination of interviews and focus groups were used to explore industry and community reactions to the possible development of seafloor mining in Australia. Although stakeholders’ reactions were variable, the majority of the participants were reluctant to see development of seafloor mining in Australia, primarily because of concerns about the industry’s potential environmental impact. All stakeholders sought further information about the benefits and costs associated with the industry suggesting that they did not yet have a fixed attitude towards the industry. Stakeholders favoured a precautionary approach towards the industry, supported by rigorous scientific analysis of the potential environmental impacts, transparent and socially responsive management processes and meaningful engagement with stakeholders.     

Ganymede crater dimensions – Implications for central peak and central pit formation and development

The morphology of impact craters on the icy Galilean satellites differs from craters on rocky bodies. The differences are thought due to the relative weakness of ice and the possible presence of sub-surface water layers. Digital elevation models constructed from Galileo images were used to measure a range of dimensions of craters on the dark and bright terrains of Ganymede. Measurements were made from multiple profiles across each crater, so that natural variation in crater dimensions could be assessed and averaged scaling trends constructed. The additional depth, slope and volume information reported in this work has enabled study of central peak formation and development, and allowed a quantitative assessment of the various theories for central pit formation. We note a possible difference in the size-morphology progression between small craters on icy and silicate bodies, where central peaks occur in small craters before there is any slumping of the crater rim, which is the opposite to the observed sequence on the Moon. Conversely, our crater dimension analyses suggest that the size-morphology progression of large lunar craters from central peak to peak-ring is mirrored on Ganymede, but that the peak-ring is subsequently modified to a central pit morphology. Pit formation may occur via the collapse of surface material into a void left by the gradual release of impact-induced volatiles or the drainage of impact melt into sub-crater fractures.     

Interaction between nulls and emission in the pulsar B0834+06

We present a detailed study of the single pulses of the bright radio pulsar B0834+06, and offer evidence that the dominant periodic modulation in this pulsar's emission governs the occurrence of nulls. The nulls of B0834+06 constitute approximately 9 per cent of the total pulses and we demonstrate that they do not occur at random in the pulse sequence. On the contrary, they are found to occur preferentially close to the minimum of the pulsar's emission cycle, whose period jitters around a central value of P ₃≈ 2.17 rotation periods. It is likely that the intrinsic duration of the nulls averages about 0.2 times the pulsar rotation period. Surprisingly, the clearly distinct population of nulls and partial nulls of B0834+06 exhibit a two-peak profile slightly broader than that of the normal emission. This is in contrast to the profile of extremely weak normal pulses, which is narrower than the overall profile. A flow/counterflow model for the pulsar's two components can reproduce the essential observed features of the emission in its dominant mode, with nulls occurring at the point where the minima of the two systems are aligned. This suggests that the observed nulling rate is determined by the chance positioning of our sightline with respect to the system. If the flow is interpreted as part of a circulating carousel, a fit yields a best estimate of 14 'sparks'.