Stephen Bannister
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iceseismic.bsky.social
Stephen Bannister
@iceseismic.bsky.social
Seismologist, gardener, dad, on Wellingtons south coast, New Zealand
Pinned
Using earthquake data we image seismic velocity 'anomalies' at 7-12 km depth beneath geothermal systems, north of Taupō, New Zealand. We interpret the anomalies as representing crystal-rich partial melt – the deep heat sources driving the geothermal systems.

doi.org/10.1016/j.jv...

#seismology
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
'Embarrassing’: International climate expert at COP30 scorns NZ’s methane target
'Embarrassing’: International climate expert at COP30 scorns NZ’s methane target
A veteran climate scientist says it's "unbelievable" that New Zealand has gone to the annual climate summit with a weaker target as global temperatures continue to rise.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 13, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Ouch!

"The government’s methane announcement is the policy equivalent of a steaming cowpat on cross-partisan climate consensus and international efforts to tackle the crisis."

Farmers off the hook on climate means rest of us pick up the slack newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/13/f...

#nzpol #climatechange
Farmers off the hook on climate means rest of us pick up the slack
Comment: The Government's methane announcement is the policy equivalent of a steaming cowpat on cross-partisan climate consensus.
newsroom.co.nz
October 12, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
More risk management challenges confronting NZ Government! Do you think they're up to it? 🌀🌪🌩🌊

It's not just the environmental risk but the financial and economic costs foreshadowed in the report! 😱💰💰💰
#NZpol
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
New Zealand oceans warming 34% faster than global average, putting homes and industry at risk, report finds
NZ$180bn worth of housing and $26bn of infrastructure at risk of flooding and storm damage, new government report finds
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Using earthquake data we image seismic velocity 'anomalies' at 7-12 km depth beneath geothermal systems, north of Taupō, New Zealand. We interpret the anomalies as representing crystal-rich partial melt – the deep heat sources driving the geothermal systems.

doi.org/10.1016/j.jv...

#seismology
October 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Luxon Govt stopped or blocked four key structural projects which would reduce fossil gas dependence: NZ Battery Project, Gas Transition Plan, Govt Investment in Decarbonising Industry, and Offshore Wind.
September 30, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Chlöe Swarbrick on the Treaty Principles Bill, but truer words were never spoken about this government.
September 27, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
No change: Almost one in four Canterbury swim spots unsafe, report shows
No change: Almost one in four Canterbury swim spots unsafe, report shows
A new regional council report finds nearly a quarter of monitored rivers, lakes and bays pose health risks from faecal bacteria or toxic algae.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 22, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
The decision of the Luxon Govt to cancel the NZ Battery Project, which would have underpinned security of the nz electricity network, sure looks short sited as we watch the wave of industrial closures driven, in part, by security of supply and high prices of electricity.
September 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Comment: A small country that breaks ranks with allies and trading partners is likely to find itself isolated, vulnerable to reprisals and no longer trusted
Anne Salmond: Climate sabotage
newsroom.co.nz
September 10, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
More cuts to the Marsden Fund of @royalsocietynz.bsky.social. This takes it down to $10/capita in real terms when it was over $16 for most of this century. Australia's equivalent, the ARC, is NZ$42/capita, as is the US NSF (despite ongoing attempts to gut the latter).
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Fewer Marsden Fund grants after government cuts
A major research fund has been forced to slash its grant allocation by more than $20 million next year.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 7, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Week in Review:
Dame Anne Salmond laments the falling standards of our political leaders, their attack dogs and policy sources while New Zealanders endure such hard times
Anne Salmond: Bats in the belfry, trolls in the Beehive
newsroom.co.nz
September 6, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Fewer Marsden Fund grants after government cuts
Fewer Marsden Fund grants after government cuts
A major research fund has been forced to slash its grant allocation by more than $20 million next year.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Oh wow this is incredibly damning of Luxon, Amazon and the entire situation. Would that every analysis of their "announcements" was as clear-eyed #nzpol
Amazon gives up building its own Auckland data centre, as power prices soar
Opinion: Tech giant Amazon's NZ boss makes one of the clumsiest and most embarrassing attempts in a long time to spin good news out of a fiasco, writes Jonathan Milne
newsroom.co.nz
September 2, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
My latest for @eos.org, about slickenlines, the scratch marks earthquakes leave behind, and the pulse-like nature of propagation
August 23, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
“Reti said "the government has made it clear on several occasions that we want publicly funded research to focus on solving real world problems that can be commercialised"”

WE CANT DO THAT WITH NO MONEY SHANE

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Marsden Fund says it was given only a day's notice of further funding cuts
The Marsden Fund is among three contestable funds to lose millions to help set up the new Institute for Advanced Technology.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 18, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
What happens when a Fossil Fuel CEO calls up WINZ, versus when an everyday NZ'er finally gets through after spending 3 days on hold?

This Government has cooked the books. Instead of helping out as the cost of living bites, they're handing cash straight over to billion dollar oil companies.
August 18, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
Holly shit in the final wash-up the National led coalition govt threw away $671m scrapping the InterIslander Ferry project that was due to start operating next year.

Economic fucking criminals. Clueless beyond reproach.

#GeneralStrike #SnapElection

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Final cost of breaking South Korean ferry contract revealed
The bill is now more than $600 million, after another $144m was added to the scrapped iReX ferry project cost.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 15, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
This is depressing. The Advanced Technology Institute could be impressive, but not if it is funded by raiding successful programs where proposals compete for attention in favour of a system which could see bureaucrats "picking winners" www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...
Majority of Govt's $231m tech institute funded through research funding cuts
'It will be a cornerstone of our plan to grow a high-tech, high-value economy.'
www.nzherald.co.nz
August 6, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
"The most relevant take home for New Zealand is that the amount of extreme rainfall coming out of these storms will increase in the future and this increase will be dependent on future temperature increases"

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Devastating cyclones to get 20-35 percent wetter with fossil fuel emissions
Researchers have used more precise climate modelling to reveal how fossil fuel emissions could affect cyclone behaviour.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
That new usual suspects (Curry, Spencer, Christy, McKitrick, Koonin) Trump EPA climate denier report? (www.energy.gov/sites/defaul...)?

I asked chatGPT to evaluate it. It had no trouble producing a succinct and convincing refutation:
July 30, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bannister
If you get an emergency message on your phone but dismiss it without reading it to stop the horrible sound, you can access it from the history:
On Android: Settings > Safety and emergency > Wireless emergency alerts > Emergency alert history.
July 30, 2025 at 4:29 AM