The 2009 Priestley Lecture will be delivered by Professor Lawrence Mysak at Aspendale on Tuesday, 13 October.

Learn how computer models based on the findings of Ningaloo research can help governments, industry and communities make wise decisions, so the Ningaloo of the future is as special as it is today.

CSIRO is creating tools to explore the prospects for and impacts of alternative fuels for Australia’s road transport.

CSIRO research shows that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have accelerated globally in recent years at a far greater rate than expected.

CSIRO scientists have been substantial contributors to the growing body of knowledge about climate change globally and in the Australian region.

The Australian Biological Collections contribute to the discovery, inventory, understanding and conservation of Australia’s plant and animal biodiversity.

A five-year selective breeding program is expected to bring A$20 million in benefits to Tasmania’s Atlantic salmon industry when the first progeny are harvested in 2009–10.

The combined frequencies of days with very high and extreme Forest Fire Danger Index ratings are likely to increase.

CSIRO’s science is published without fear or favour. Our publication rate is higher than ever - increasing over 35 per cent in the last four years.

Oceanographers are using satellite images to identify a range of features important in understanding the ocean around Australia – sea surface heights, water temperatures, current speed and direction.

Weather is highly variable, making it difficult to predict over the short term whereas climate is defined as the average weather over the long term. Scientists can project future climate because the underlying processes are well understood.

Following almost a decade with little change in global atmospheric methane, new measurements show renewed atmospheric growth starting in 2007, continuing through 2008 and starting to wane in 2009. This renewed growth has lead to concerns by some science commentators that large quantities of methane are becoming destabilised as the planet and the oceans heat up.

There is a lot of information on climate change science available in the media and on the internet – but how can you ensure what you are reading is independent and not influenced by personal, social or political agendas? Science relies on the continued questioning and challenging of ideas. The peer-review process provides a mechanism to quality control scientific discourse and therefore peer reviewed papers provide a reliable and quality assured source of information on climate change science.

It is commonly claimed that a predicted fingerprint of climate change – a warming (or hot spot) in the lower troposphere – is missing from the measurements. Recent reanalysis of the data has established that observations are not inconsistent with the modelled patterns of warming for the troposphere. Thus there is no ‘missing’ hot spot.

While there is far more water vapour in the atmosphere than other greenhouse gases, the other greenhouse gases play an important role in influencing our climate. The increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases is largely responsible for the observed warming of 0.74°C over the 20th century. This warming has had a ‘positive feedback’ as a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour – enhancing human induced warming by about 50%.

The ability of climate models to project future climate is often questioned. There will always be a range of uncertainty in climate projections. Climate models, which are based on the laws of physics and thoroughly tested, provide credible quantitative estimates of future climate change.

All measurements of the climate system indicate the long term warming trend is continuing. It is inappropriate to use short term data sets to determine long term trends.

Dr Raupach responds to the UK television program The Great Global Warming Swindle, airing on ABC television on Thursday 12 July 2007.

What our scientists say about the television program, The Great Global Warming Swindle, which was first shown in the UK in March 2007, and screens on ABC TV, Australia on 12 July 2007.

Dr Andrew Ash, Acting Director of the Climate Adaption Flagship, responds to an article titled 'Forecasts all up in the Air' by Professor Bob Carter, of James Cook University, that appeared in the Brisbane Courier Mail 30 June 2007.

CSIRO’s near 80-year presence in Tasmania has contributed to helping to make the State an international marine and Antarctic research and education hub, the Chief of CSIRO’s Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research, Dr Greg Ayers, said today.

More extremely hot days, fewer cold ones wetter in the north and drier in the south: this is not a forecast for Australia’s climate but a snapshot of our climate now.

Australian and US scientists have discovered how changes in winds blowing on the Southern Ocean drive variations in the depth of the surface layer of sea water responsible for regulating exchanges of heat and carbon dioxide between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Conservation managers need to take a long-term view when assessing the value of marine protected areas, according to a paper in today’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Factors that influence extra-tropical rainfall depressions near Australia’s east coast need to be given more attention in modelling of both seasonal climate variability and long-term climate to improve rainfall predictions.