Snowfields a generation away from climate meltdown, report warns

Victoria could see the end of ski seasons in 30 years, a state government report warns.

By mid-century, most of the state's resorts are likely to have closed and the number of days each year of good natural snow cover on the ski slopes could be in single figures.

Mark Bennetts, CEO of Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Resorts,
stands on a huge pile of man made snow.

Victoria's busiest snow resorts have just 20 to 30 more years of reliable natural snowfall before a warming climate threatens their viability, while lower altitude resorts may have just 10 more years.

The report for the Andrews government forecasts another 20 to 30 years of economically viable natural snowfall for the state’s biggest alpine resorts, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Falls Creek, and perhaps 10 years or less for the lower altitude resorts Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw.

Read Adam Carey’s story from The Age - “Snowfields a generation away from climate meltdown, report warns.”

Our acid oceans will dissolve coral reef sands within decades

Carbonate sands on coral reefs will start dissolving within about 30 years, on average, as oceans become more acidic, new research published today in Science shows.

Carbonate sands, which accumulate over thousands of years from the breakdown of coral and other reef organisms, are the building material for the frameworks of coral reefs and shallow reef environments like lagoons, reef flats and coral sand cays.

But these sands are sensitive to the chemical make-up of sea water. As oceans absorb carbon dioxide, they acidify – and at a certain point, carbonate sands simply start to dissolve.

The world’s oceans have absorbed around one-third of human-emitted carbon dioxide.

Read the piece on The Conversation by the Professor of Biogeochemistry from the Director of the Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry at Southern Cross University, Bradley Eyre - “Our acid oceans will dissolve coral reef sands within decades.”