Dear community,
It’s time to celebrate, reflect and take action.
We start by celebrating women in STEM who are increasingly being recognised for their work, as highlighted by the many stories that came to light across our sector during International Women’s Day and Women and Girls in STEM. A positive step, as hoped, for the Academy’s 2018 Women In STEM Decadal Plan.
Next, we highlight exciting new AuScope enabled research involving creatures, cratons and volcaniclastics. And, we hold the question: with so much good research occurring in our community, how is it that geoscientists are, in a broader sense, on shaky ground?
This quarter, our cup is overflowing. Before we dip in, we introduce AuScope’s new guest writer Philomena Manifold who formally wielded gamma rays in our Subsurface Observatory and now a pen at HQ. Philomena will bundle up the best of AuScope enabled geoscience for us in the coming months.
And now, we hope you enjoy this reflection from our CEO, Dr Tim Rawling.
|
|
|
The excellent work of SAM continues with new takes on the ‘craton conundrum’ by Monash University and colourful renderings of the last 200 million years by The Institute for Geophysics using GPlates and PaleoGIS software in tandem.
|
|
|
Did someone say GPlates? The New York Times and Cosmos have featured a new GPlates animation that reveals researchers' efforts to piece together the last 1 billion years of plate tectonic history. Check out the celebrated clip with over 1.7 million views.
At the delivery end of the research pipeline, a team of five AuScope representatives heads to Science Meets Parliament to help communicate our science better with politicians this month. Join their live Twitter commentary and stay tuned for their final reflections.
|
|
|
But what was that shaky ground we mentioned earlier?
Despite all the great work, accolades and breakthroughs, geoscience is declining and facing an uncertain future. In particular, and despite their importance to the Australian economy, sub-disciplines such as applied geophysics are under immediate threat, as eloquently described by Professor Ross Garnaut.
Professor Peter Betts from Monash University asks whether it is time to rethink our narrative. We agree with Professor Louis Moresi; it is genuinely time to revisit the geoscience vision that Professor Mike Sandiford championed a decade ago.
We are working with our partners to understand the potential impacts of these changes on departments and research capabilities across the country. We will inform as many stakeholders as we can about the situation and encourage you to, too.
If we are to deliver on recommendations in the Decadal Plan for Australian Geoscience, we need to develop a national teaching approach. And for that, we need government, universities and industry to understand how critical it is we address this issue now.
Speaking of big things: check out our community’s review of the recent AESC ‘Core to Cosmos’ event, and this new research highlighting our path out of decline.
|
|
|
We know Earth science is vital. It addresses everything from how we fight fires to how we understand climate change and how we use diamonds in innovative sensing technology! Geoscientists have a critical role in taking care of this precious and interconnected planet.
One new initiative is the CZO Network that will enable research into Australia’s outer skin — where water, atmosphere, ecosystems, soil and rock interact — to understand better and manage the availability of its life-sustaining resources. We will keep you posted on updates!
|
|
We look forward to sharing more innovative geoscience enabled by AuScope with you soon. Until then, take care, enjoy the good news, ponder the hard, and see you online. ~ Team AuScope
|
|
|
|
|
AuScope acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands where we work and learn across the continent, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Until the next time, join us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram; or learn more about us on our website.
If you have news to share with our readers about innovative geoscience in Australia, please email Jo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
