freelance science journalist and author
From BBC Future, 1 November 2016: All around the world, cities are edging further into the sea. Plans are afoot to build huge islands and giant constructions in coastal areas, featuring the dredging and dumping of million of tonnes of material. What are the implications for ocean life and ecosystems as we build more and … Continue reading The benefits and downsides of building into the sea
From BBC Future, 18 October 2016: A diamond-encrusted iPhone can set you back $95m – but if this piece of i-bling is a little out of your price range, don’t feel despondent. Every smartphone contains precious metals including gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium. This is more than just an amusing detail about the device … Continue reading Your old phone is full of untapped precious metals
From ABC News in Science, 27 May 2016: Mars is at the tail-end of an ice age that would have seen large swathes of the dusty red planet covered with ice. Radar data from an instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has given scientists an unprecedented glimpse into Mars’ recent climatic history, etched into … Continue reading Mars at tail-end of ice age that would have seen red planet covered in ice
From ABC Science, 12 May 2016: The oldest fossils of cosmic dust ever discovered provide a glimpse into atmospheric conditions above the Earth more than 2.7 billion years ago and could do the same on other planets. A group of Australian and British researchers uncovered the micrometeorites — which are barely the width of a … Continue reading World’s oldest fossil micrometeorites ever found contain hints of oxygen in early Earth’s atmosphere
From ABC Science, 10 May 2016: Air bubbles trapped in 2.7 billion-year-old lava flows in the Pilbara suggest the Earth’s atmosphere weighed less than half that of today and was far thinner than previously thought. The discovery has forced a rethink of how the Earth managed to stay relatively ice-free during that period, despite the … Continue reading Ancient bubbles in Pilbara rock show Earth had thin atmosphere 2.7b years ago
From ABC News in Science, 16 March 2016: The population of southern right whales in the waters off New Zealand is just 12 per cent of its size before whaling began, according to a new study. The research, published in Royal Society Open Science, highlighted the slow path to recovery from whaling in this area, … Continue reading Southern right whale study quantifies impact of whaling in New Zealand’s waters
From Monash Magazine, February 2015: Look at any landscape painting and there is a good chance that clouds will have a prominent presence. But the dazzling diversity of shapes and hues that captures the imaginations of artists is also what makes clouds so perplexing for meteorologists and climatologists. Clouds are still one of the least … Continue reading Climate science is in the clouds
From ABC News in Science, 12 May 2015: Sea levels over the past two decades have risen faster than previously thought, suggests a new study that reassesses the accuracy of satellite data. The study by an international team of scientists, published today in Nature Climate Change , compares satellite records of sea levels made from … Continue reading Satellite data indicates sea level rise accelerating
From ABC Environment, 10 March 2015: THERE IS SOMETHING about extreme age that fills us with awe. It’s hard not to feel it, when standing in the presence of a huge eucalypt that has raised its branches to the sun since long before European settlement. Or when watching the silent majestic form of an immense … Continue reading Eight things in nature so old you’ll feel young
Originally published in ABC Environment, 10 November 2014: “IMAGINE A SUSTAINABLE world, driven by clean and renewable energy. Now imagine large space sailboats driven by solar radiation, production of biofuels via nanotechnology, the advent of photosynthetic humans, and, as there is no perfect society, even terrorism against corrupt businesses and governments. Welcome to the bright green … Continue reading Solarpunk: a positive future
Bianca Nogrady 