Acacia Pepler
@acaciapepler.bsky.social
Climate scientist interested in how weather systems and their impacts are changing in a changing climate
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
I know it’s intentional but we should stop calling everything AI, lumping useful machine learning techniques for science with large language models that tech companies are trying to cram into everything.
AI to track icebergs adrift at sea.
British scientists say a world-first AI tool to catalogue and track icebergs as they break apart into smaller chunks could fill a "major blind spot" in predicting climate change
u.afp.com/S2sA
British scientists say a world-first AI tool to catalogue and track icebergs as they break apart into smaller chunks could fill a "major blind spot" in predicting climate change
u.afp.com/S2sA
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM
I know it’s intentional but we should stop calling everything AI, lumping useful machine learning techniques for science with large language models that tech companies are trying to cram into everything.
If you're interested in how extratropical lows are changing in Australia as the world warms, there's a short summary of some recent research on the BoM website: www.bom.gov.au/news-and-med...
www.bom.gov.au
February 1, 2026 at 9:18 PM
If you're interested in how extratropical lows are changing in Australia as the world warms, there's a short summary of some recent research on the BoM website: www.bom.gov.au/news-and-med...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
And I made a little web app where you can go and download monthly precipitation time series data from your location of choice (as long as it's in Australia) wateriso-aus.shinyapps.io/apic/
January 22, 2026 at 10:16 PM
And I made a little web app where you can go and download monthly precipitation time series data from your location of choice (as long as it's in Australia) wateriso-aus.shinyapps.io/apic/
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
"Observations show that across the globe, the heaviest daily rainfall events are averaging about 8 or 9 per cent more rain today than before the pre-industrial era"
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
As the world warms, extreme rain events are coming hard and fast
When it comes to extreme rainfall, it's hard for climate scientists to say what's natural and what's caused by climate change, but they do know the most extreme events are dropping more rain, more oft...
www.abc.net.au
January 18, 2026 at 10:02 AM
"Observations show that across the globe, the heaviest daily rainfall events are averaging about 8 or 9 per cent more rain today than before the pre-industrial era"
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
One small highlight of 2025: I managed to read 133 books, my highest total since 2016 (not counting all the books read to children). Mostly SFF of course!
I suspect I'll read fewer next year, as it feels like time to reread LotR.
I suspect I'll read fewer next year, as it feels like time to reread LotR.
December 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM
One small highlight of 2025: I managed to read 133 books, my highest total since 2016 (not counting all the books read to children). Mostly SFF of course!
I suspect I'll read fewer next year, as it feels like time to reread LotR.
I suspect I'll read fewer next year, as it feels like time to reread LotR.
Given how much money we have to pay journals to publish papers, you would think they could at least manage to hire support staff with reading comprehension or customer support who actually answer emails *grumble mutter whinge*
December 27, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Given how much money we have to pay journals to publish papers, you would think they could at least manage to hire support staff with reading comprehension or customer support who actually answer emails *grumble mutter whinge*
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Looking for postdoc positions in the UK studying weather extremes?
Two jobs with deadline 4th Jan:
Historical windstorms, working with two insurance companies: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Storylines of extreme events, as part of a European collaboration: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Two jobs with deadline 4th Jan:
Historical windstorms, working with two insurance companies: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Storylines of extreme events, as part of a European collaboration: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Research Scientist in Historical Windstorms:Whiteknights Reading UK
Full time, fixed term contract (up to 36 months)
jobs.reading.ac.uk
December 27, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Looking for postdoc positions in the UK studying weather extremes?
Two jobs with deadline 4th Jan:
Historical windstorms, working with two insurance companies: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Storylines of extreme events, as part of a European collaboration: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Two jobs with deadline 4th Jan:
Historical windstorms, working with two insurance companies: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Storylines of extreme events, as part of a European collaboration: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Wrote this ages ago, still relevant
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/hot-pla...
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/hot-pla...
December 22, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Wrote this ages ago, still relevant
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/hot-pla...
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/hot-pla...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Exciting news 🎉 Our CCRC scientist Andréa Taschetto and team have just released “Meteorology and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere” book, an updated edition of David Karoly’s 1998 monograph, published by Cambridge University Press. +
Available at lnkd.in/g4SFsM9k
www.cambridge.org/au/universit...
Available at lnkd.in/g4SFsM9k
www.cambridge.org/au/universit...
Meteorology and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere | Cambridge University Press & Assessment
www.cambridge.org
December 19, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Exciting news 🎉 Our CCRC scientist Andréa Taschetto and team have just released “Meteorology and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere” book, an updated edition of David Karoly’s 1998 monograph, published by Cambridge University Press. +
Available at lnkd.in/g4SFsM9k
www.cambridge.org/au/universit...
Available at lnkd.in/g4SFsM9k
www.cambridge.org/au/universit...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
🚨New paper
CCRC scientist Andrea Taschetto and team have published a comprehensive review of ENSO impacts in Australia in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com. This is an important and long-overdue synthesis, building on foundational studies such as McBride & Nicholls (1983). ++
CCRC scientist Andrea Taschetto and team have published a comprehensive review of ENSO impacts in Australia in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com. This is an important and long-overdue synthesis, building on foundational studies such as McBride & Nicholls (1983). ++
Climate impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Australia
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment - El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) profoundly affects Australian weather, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic sectors. This Review presents...
rdcu.be
December 9, 2025 at 3:19 AM
🚨New paper
CCRC scientist Andrea Taschetto and team have published a comprehensive review of ENSO impacts in Australia in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com. This is an important and long-overdue synthesis, building on foundational studies such as McBride & Nicholls (1983). ++
CCRC scientist Andrea Taschetto and team have published a comprehensive review of ENSO impacts in Australia in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com. This is an important and long-overdue synthesis, building on foundational studies such as McBride & Nicholls (1983). ++
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Not every day we get 35 x 10⁶ AUD for ocean research.
rms.arc.gov.au/RMS/Report/D...
Excellent job from Our Future Oceans team! 🌊
Congrats @profmattengland.bsky.social, @adele-morrison.bsky.social, @andyhogg.bsky.social, @janzika.bsky.social, @nicolamaher.bsky.social and many more!!!
rms.arc.gov.au/RMS/Report/D...
Excellent job from Our Future Oceans team! 🌊
Congrats @profmattengland.bsky.social, @adele-morrison.bsky.social, @andyhogg.bsky.social, @janzika.bsky.social, @nicolamaher.bsky.social and many more!!!
Research Management System - Scheme Round Statistics for Approved Applications - ARC Centres of Excellence 2026 round 1
RMS is the ARC's Research Management System, a web-based system used by eligible researchers to prepare and submit research proposals and assessments under the ARC National Competitive Grants Program ...
rms.arc.gov.au
December 9, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Not every day we get 35 x 10⁶ AUD for ocean research.
rms.arc.gov.au/RMS/Report/D...
Excellent job from Our Future Oceans team! 🌊
Congrats @profmattengland.bsky.social, @adele-morrison.bsky.social, @andyhogg.bsky.social, @janzika.bsky.social, @nicolamaher.bsky.social and many more!!!
rms.arc.gov.au/RMS/Report/D...
Excellent job from Our Future Oceans team! 🌊
Congrats @profmattengland.bsky.social, @adele-morrison.bsky.social, @andyhogg.bsky.social, @janzika.bsky.social, @nicolamaher.bsky.social and many more!!!
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Watch to the end. Mother Nature is not messing around
Stunning footage from earlier today, when the new Kilauea eruption covered the USGS Webcam 3, which is situated in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater near the southern rim of the much larger Kilauea caldera.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
December 7, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Watch to the end. Mother Nature is not messing around
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
🌊 Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain
👉 28% rainfall increase (vs ERA5’s 8%)
👉 Storm rain intensity up
👉 ~2,300 Gt/yr extra freshwater in 2023
👉 Ocean “cooling by evaporation” up 10–15%
One of Earth’s key climate buffers is shifting.
theconversation.com/storms-in-th...
👉 28% rainfall increase (vs ERA5’s 8%)
👉 Storm rain intensity up
👉 ~2,300 Gt/yr extra freshwater in 2023
👉 Ocean “cooling by evaporation” up 10–15%
One of Earth’s key climate buffers is shifting.
theconversation.com/storms-in-th...
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
The Southern Ocean is the engine room of global heat and carbon uptake – and it’s changing faster and more dramatically than we thought.
theconversation.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:47 AM
🌊 Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain
👉 28% rainfall increase (vs ERA5’s 8%)
👉 Storm rain intensity up
👉 ~2,300 Gt/yr extra freshwater in 2023
👉 Ocean “cooling by evaporation” up 10–15%
One of Earth’s key climate buffers is shifting.
theconversation.com/storms-in-th...
👉 28% rainfall increase (vs ERA5’s 8%)
👉 Storm rain intensity up
👉 ~2,300 Gt/yr extra freshwater in 2023
👉 Ocean “cooling by evaporation” up 10–15%
One of Earth’s key climate buffers is shifting.
theconversation.com/storms-in-th...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
New review led by @ariaan.bsky.social on climate effects of the Southern Annular Mode, the most important mode of climate variability in the Southern Hemisphere. Read it in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com at doi.org/10.1038/s430... 🧪 #academicsky #climate #climatechange
Southern Annular Mode dynamics, projections and impacts in a changing climate - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) has shifted towards its positive phase owing to ozone depletion and increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. This Review discusses the dynamics, trends and projections...
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:11 AM
New review led by @ariaan.bsky.social on climate effects of the Southern Annular Mode, the most important mode of climate variability in the Southern Hemisphere. Read it in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com at doi.org/10.1038/s430... 🧪 #academicsky #climate #climatechange
It's always nice as a scientist to see datasets you developed years ago are still being used to do useful things. But when planning future research it's hard to decide when it's valuable to update old datasets/analyses using new models etc, vs moving on and doing something new (thus higher impact).
December 1, 2025 at 4:30 AM
It's always nice as a scientist to see datasets you developed years ago are still being used to do useful things. But when planning future research it's hard to decide when it's valuable to update old datasets/analyses using new models etc, vs moving on and doing something new (thus higher impact).
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
In the latest edition of the Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, I am taking another look at this year's Sudden Stratospheric Warming. I think it had more of an impact than I thought it would back in September. viewer.joomag.com/bamos-vol-38...
BAMOS Vol 38 Q4 Nov 2025 BAMOS Vol 38 Q4 Nov 2025 | Page 6
The Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society BAMOS Vol 38 Q4 Nov 2025 Highlights include:
- Another Sudden Stratospheric Warming in 2025;
- 2025 ACCESS Community Workshop:...
viewer.joomag.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:20 AM
In the latest edition of the Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, I am taking another look at this year's Sudden Stratospheric Warming. I think it had more of an impact than I thought it would back in September. viewer.joomag.com/bamos-vol-38...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
New research from our team! We identify places where the hottest temperature on record is not particularly severe compared to what is possible (a.k.a "soft records"). rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
November 28, 2025 at 9:56 AM
New research from our team! We identify places where the hottest temperature on record is not particularly severe compared to what is possible (a.k.a "soft records"). rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Ahhhh, the relief when you've been anxiously waiting the reviews of a paper for 6 months and they finally come back as minor revisions. Having this paper completely finished with by the end of the year will be an excellent Christmas present!
November 27, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Ahhhh, the relief when you've been anxiously waiting the reviews of a paper for 6 months and they finally come back as minor revisions. Having this paper completely finished with by the end of the year will be an excellent Christmas present!
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
One thing I've been working on for the last year or so is trying to better understand how strong winds and heavy rainfall interact to cause enhanced impacts on Australians, and which datasets we need to use to identify them properly.
Read about my new paper here: nesp2climate.com.au/gone-with-th...
Read about my new paper here: nesp2climate.com.au/gone-with-th...
Gone with the wind… and the rain - NESP 2 climate
When a location experiences both extreme wind and extreme rainfall around the same time, the likelihood of fallen trees, power outages, and damage to houses...
nesp2climate.com.au
November 11, 2025 at 11:59 PM
One thing I've been working on for the last year or so is trying to better understand how strong winds and heavy rainfall interact to cause enhanced impacts on Australians, and which datasets we need to use to identify them properly.
Read about my new paper here: nesp2climate.com.au/gone-with-th...
Read about my new paper here: nesp2climate.com.au/gone-with-th...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Note from an irritated editor: AI is starting to infiltrate peer review, or at least it looks a lot like it. If you’re planning to use an LLM to review someone else’s work for a journal, rather just don’t accept the review invitation. It’s easy.
a penguin holding a brain with the words hey you dropped this
ALT: a penguin holding a brain with the words hey you dropped this
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Note from an irritated editor: AI is starting to infiltrate peer review, or at least it looks a lot like it. If you’re planning to use an LLM to review someone else’s work for a journal, rather just don’t accept the review invitation. It’s easy.
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Severe Weather in a Changing Climate report
www.iag.com.au/severe-weath...
“The report complements Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment (2025) … together with anticipated impacts for the finance & insurance industry.”
Key Planning Recommendations are given
www.iag.com.au/severe-weath...
“The report complements Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment (2025) … together with anticipated impacts for the finance & insurance industry.”
Key Planning Recommendations are given
November 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Severe Weather in a Changing Climate report
www.iag.com.au/severe-weath...
“The report complements Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment (2025) … together with anticipated impacts for the finance & insurance industry.”
Key Planning Recommendations are given
www.iag.com.au/severe-weath...
“The report complements Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment (2025) … together with anticipated impacts for the finance & insurance industry.”
Key Planning Recommendations are given
Just had my first encounter with a review generated by ChatGPT instead of a person and I am horrified. As the other reviewer of the paper I naturally put in a complaint to the journal, the authors deserve better. Another for the list of reasons why never to submit to an Elsevier journal!
November 3, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Just had my first encounter with a review generated by ChatGPT instead of a person and I am horrified. As the other reviewer of the paper I naturally put in a complaint to the journal, the authors deserve better. Another for the list of reasons why never to submit to an Elsevier journal!
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
The thing I want most from social media is for people to share things that I might want to read or watch that otherwise I wouldn’t read or watch, whether news, commentary, books, movies, tv, games to play, whatever. Bluesky does this. /4
June 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The thing I want most from social media is for people to share things that I might want to read or watch that otherwise I wouldn’t read or watch, whether news, commentary, books, movies, tv, games to play, whatever. Bluesky does this. /4