Tas van Ommen
@tasvo.bsky.social
Climate scientist specialising in ice cores, Antarctica and glaciology. Interested in science and how we use it to navigate our place in the universe. Adjunct Professor at U. Tasmania.
Pinned
Tas van Ommen
@tasvo.bsky.social
· Nov 23
For new followers, welcome - here is a taste of what I like to post. This little animation draws on the ice core record of temperature and CO2 over the last 800,000 years. It shows clearly the tight coupling between the two, and the alarming anthropogenic CO2 increase! 🧪
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
They don't care if it is solved so much as that they profit from it.
November 7, 2025 at 2:20 AM
They don't care if it is solved so much as that they profit from it.
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
Stunning start to the weekend on Kunanyi /Mt Wellington. Chilly weekend for mid November and will be full winter by Monday with snow down to the upper suburbs of #Hobart.
November 7, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Stunning start to the weekend on Kunanyi /Mt Wellington. Chilly weekend for mid November and will be full winter by Monday with snow down to the upper suburbs of #Hobart.
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
Our season is now well and truly underway with the traverse climbing toward the drill site on the plateau. www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2025/lo...
Long haul for science begins – Australian Antarctic Program (News 2025)
Australia’s Antarctic tractor-traverse team is making its way up the Antarctic plateau to deliver scientific equipment, fuel and food to the site of the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) drilling project.
www.antarctica.gov.au
November 7, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Our season is now well and truly underway with the traverse climbing toward the drill site on the plateau. www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2025/lo...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
6,000,000 year old ice & plenty of wind and cold! What folks go through for old ice.
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
6,000,000 year old ice & plenty of wind and cold! What folks go through for old ice.
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Team is headed back to Allan Hills now, follow more at COLDEX.org
Support via the incredible National Science Foundation and US Antarctic Program.
PNAS 6Myr results: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
If anyone has interest in a WW2 RAAF bomber pilot’s memoir this might be worth a look. My father in law got a rare (for aircrew) DSO for a pretty epic save of his aircraft and crew.
archive.org/details/cock...?
archive.org/details/cock...?
Cockerill And His Bantams V 3.3 ( Dig PDF) : Albert Cockerill DSO : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Autobiography of wartime experiences of RAAF pilot Albert (Bert) Cockerill.
archive.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:12 AM
If anyone has interest in a WW2 RAAF bomber pilot’s memoir this might be worth a look. My father in law got a rare (for aircrew) DSO for a pretty epic save of his aircraft and crew.
archive.org/details/cock...?
archive.org/details/cock...?
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
New video: A glacier on Antarctica’s Eastern Peninsula experienced the fastest retreat recorded in modern history—in just two months, nearly 50 percent of the glacier disintegrated. Watch this video to understand what happened. Study by @ciresnews #Antarctica #glaciermelt
November 3, 2025 at 8:17 PM
New video: A glacier on Antarctica’s Eastern Peninsula experienced the fastest retreat recorded in modern history—in just two months, nearly 50 percent of the glacier disintegrated. Watch this video to understand what happened. Study by @ciresnews #Antarctica #glaciermelt
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
New climate classification maps from BoM show the march southwards of the tropics and subtropics over recent decades.
#climatechange
www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
#climatechange
www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
November 3, 2025 at 9:29 AM
New climate classification maps from BoM show the march southwards of the tropics and subtropics over recent decades.
#climatechange
www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
#climatechange
www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
Spencer Creek (Australia) snow depths, updated for 2025 (which many called a bumper year)
Source: snowdepth.info
Source: snowdepth.info
November 2, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Spencer Creek (Australia) snow depths, updated for 2025 (which many called a bumper year)
Source: snowdepth.info
Source: snowdepth.info
@windjunky.bsky.social - now that you remind me of the brilliant Working Dog comedies - my favourite is The Hollowmen S2E6 “A Quiet January” (18:10) where the PM is set to give scientists an ice drill to get CO₂ samples! It sort of came true in a round about fashion.
November 1, 2025 at 11:23 PM
@windjunky.bsky.social - now that you remind me of the brilliant Working Dog comedies - my favourite is The Hollowmen S2E6 “A Quiet January” (18:10) where the PM is set to give scientists an ice drill to get CO₂ samples! It sort of came true in a round about fashion.
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
While the field teams are already in action, preparing to traverse to the drill site, things in the MYIC labs are moving forward. Daniel and Andy made the first serious gas sublimation measurement using our system with some known-composition Law Dome core. 📷 Joel Pedro
October 31, 2025 at 7:39 AM
While the field teams are already in action, preparing to traverse to the drill site, things in the MYIC labs are moving forward. Daniel and Andy made the first serious gas sublimation measurement using our system with some known-composition Law Dome core. 📷 Joel Pedro
Simple management logic dictates that you should only override expert advice (aka Planning Commission) where you are clearly in command of greater knowledge and capability. After the rolling Spirit of Tasmania fiasco and the cloistered AFL dealings how can this be remotely likely? #NoNewStadium
"For Tasmania, that is just unaffordable."
FFS @jeremyrockliff go seek therapy for your cognitive dissonance. HTF is a stadium affordable if we can't afford to pay teachers, nurses, police, allied health and more what they should be paid. #politas
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...
FFS @jeremyrockliff go seek therapy for your cognitive dissonance. HTF is a stadium affordable if we can't afford to pay teachers, nurses, police, allied health and more what they should be paid. #politas
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...
Schools to shut in Tasmania as unions plan stop work action over pay offer
Unions are unhappy with the state government's latest public sector pay offer and are planning stop work actions next week. Schools and health services for non-urgent patients will be affected.
www.abc.net.au
October 31, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Simple management logic dictates that you should only override expert advice (aka Planning Commission) where you are clearly in command of greater knowledge and capability. After the rolling Spirit of Tasmania fiasco and the cloistered AFL dealings how can this be remotely likely? #NoNewStadium
Local Tasmanian and Australian issue - the sorry tale of a potential stadium overwhelming Hobart’s iconic waterfront. Acclaimed writer Richard Flanagan as a piece in The Age www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/a-... …/2
A footy club meant to unite Tasmanians is bitterly dividing them
The brutal irony is that the AFL’s demand for a near-bankrupt state to build a stadium to get a football team may lead to loathing and even failure in its home state.
www.theage.com.au
October 29, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Local Tasmanian and Australian issue - the sorry tale of a potential stadium overwhelming Hobart’s iconic waterfront. Acclaimed writer Richard Flanagan as a piece in The Age www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/a-... …/2
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
While searching for the world's oldest ice, scientists find sediment sneaking under the #Antarctic ice sheet.
phys.org/news/2025-10...
phys.org/news/2025-10...
While searching for the world's oldest ice, scientists find sediment sneaking under the Antarctic ice sheet
For decades, researchers seeking to understand global climate change have analyzed ice cores drilled deep within the Antarctic ice sheet. This ice traps chemicals and bubbles of ancient air that tell ...
phys.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:13 AM
While searching for the world's oldest ice, scientists find sediment sneaking under the #Antarctic ice sheet.
phys.org/news/2025-10...
phys.org/news/2025-10...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
“The Government’s Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) is failing vital discovery research” by focusing on business funded research.
(e.g., we would never have created WiFi, but made a cheaper type of cable)
Science and Technology Australia.
scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/serd-missing...
(e.g., we would never have created WiFi, but made a cheaper type of cable)
Science and Technology Australia.
scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/serd-missing...
R&D review missing the mark | Science and Technology Australia
The Government’s Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) is failing vital discovery research, doesn’t propose a coherent solution for Australia’s research infrastructure system, and is not addressing call...
scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au
October 15, 2025 at 8:22 AM
“The Government’s Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) is failing vital discovery research” by focusing on business funded research.
(e.g., we would never have created WiFi, but made a cheaper type of cable)
Science and Technology Australia.
scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/serd-missing...
(e.g., we would never have created WiFi, but made a cheaper type of cable)
Science and Technology Australia.
scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/serd-missing...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
The approval of new coal and gas follows the UNFCCC “SSP5 - Fossil Fueled Development” scenario. which means *at least* 2.7°C, but more likely ~4°C by 2100
The government’s NCRA has made it clear that even 2°C, let alone 3°C, is disastrous for our environment, society and massively expensive
The government’s NCRA has made it clear that even 2°C, let alone 3°C, is disastrous for our environment, society and massively expensive
The Climate Council identifies another 38 new or expanded coal projects seeking federal government approval. Collectively, they would produce more than 5.7 billion tonnes of coal over their lifetimes, equivalent to more than 14 years of current production. satpa.pe/EC2PaCk
Labor’s slate for fossil fuel approvals
The Albanese government has already approved 31 fossil fuel projects, and more than that are waiting, even as renewables overtake coal as the top source of electricity.
satpa.pe
October 12, 2025 at 7:10 AM
The approval of new coal and gas follows the UNFCCC “SSP5 - Fossil Fueled Development” scenario. which means *at least* 2.7°C, but more likely ~4°C by 2100
The government’s NCRA has made it clear that even 2°C, let alone 3°C, is disastrous for our environment, society and massively expensive
The government’s NCRA has made it clear that even 2°C, let alone 3°C, is disastrous for our environment, society and massively expensive
I hear good folk accept there’s a climate crisis but then seek to constrain renewables for environmental impact. Carbon has far greater impacts and time is not our friend. Noble ideals in a highly non-ideal world risk the transition battle. It’s an emergency. Time and tech can help optimise later.
October 1, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I hear good folk accept there’s a climate crisis but then seek to constrain renewables for environmental impact. Carbon has far greater impacts and time is not our friend. Noble ideals in a highly non-ideal world risk the transition battle. It’s an emergency. Time and tech can help optimise later.
‼️
Fascinating line in new Hülse & Ridgwell paper about how our gigantic pulse of CO2 into the atmosphere--after tens of thousands of years of warming--could kick off an overcorrection of organic carbon burial in the oceans and hasten the descent into an ice age www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
September 30, 2025 at 11:13 PM
‼️
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
The joke is on anyone who believes we are tracking a SSP1-2.6 future, as the American think tanker suggests we are should have used. That said, clowns like jokes 🤡
(Like SSP5-8.5. it is considered implausible.)
rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/a-close-lo...
(Like SSP5-8.5. it is considered implausible.)
rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/a-close-lo...
September 24, 2025 at 7:21 AM
The joke is on anyone who believes we are tracking a SSP1-2.6 future, as the American think tanker suggests we are should have used. That said, clowns like jokes 🤡
(Like SSP5-8.5. it is considered implausible.)
rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/a-close-lo...
(Like SSP5-8.5. it is considered implausible.)
rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/a-close-lo...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
“To suggest it is a ‘con job’ is flying in the face both of what we can observe, and of the physics.”
Eric Wolff, Chair of the Royal Society’s Biodiversity, Environment and Climate Committee
3/3
Eric Wolff, Chair of the Royal Society’s Biodiversity, Environment and Climate Committee
3/3
September 23, 2025 at 6:36 PM
“To suggest it is a ‘con job’ is flying in the face both of what we can observe, and of the physics.”
Eric Wolff, Chair of the Royal Society’s Biodiversity, Environment and Climate Committee
3/3
Eric Wolff, Chair of the Royal Society’s Biodiversity, Environment and Climate Committee
3/3
A sober commentary on the climate challenge ahead from @science.org.au
www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...
www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...
President’s statement – Rise to the challenge, don't lower the target
The release of the Australian Government’s comprehensive National Climate Risk Assessment has reinforced the urgency for Australia and the world to accelerate investment in our path to net-zero
www.science.org.au
September 23, 2025 at 3:29 AM
A sober commentary on the climate challenge ahead from @science.org.au
www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...
www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
In the dialogue box asking you to agree, DO NOT click agree: instead click on the TOS link which will open another tab. In the top right of that tab you can go to your account settings and delete your account.
September 17, 2025 at 10:22 PM
In the dialogue box asking you to agree, DO NOT click agree: instead click on the TOS link which will open another tab. In the top right of that tab you can go to your account settings and delete your account.
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
Good opportunity for #aus #antarctic scientists to join @scar-antarctic.bsky.social science groups. @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @antarctic.bsky.social @amosupdates.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Good opportunity for #aus #antarctic scientists to join @scar-antarctic.bsky.social science groups. @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @antarctic.bsky.social @amosupdates.bsky.social
Some are saying we shouldn’t commit to net zero “at any price”. Fair enough then, what is the price? The NCRA sets out some fairly serious costs for adaptation and is clear that these are less than the costs of inaction. It also is frank in its view that it is likely UNDER-estimating the costs.
September 16, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Some are saying we shouldn’t commit to net zero “at any price”. Fair enough then, what is the price? The NCRA sets out some fairly serious costs for adaptation and is clear that these are less than the costs of inaction. It also is frank in its view that it is likely UNDER-estimating the costs.
Predicable attempts today from the usual media to downplay the concerns raised by the National Climate Risk Assessment and mislead. This includes the false trope that China, India and the US aren’t aiming for net zero, so why Australia? Here’s why: /1
September 16, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Predicable attempts today from the usual media to downplay the concerns raised by the National Climate Risk Assessment and mislead. This includes the false trope that China, India and the US aren’t aiming for net zero, so why Australia? Here’s why: /1
Reposted by Tas van Ommen
🌊 “The fact that 1.5 million Australians may be impacted by rising seas and coastal hazards by 2050 is shocking, even for this sea level scientist.” — Prof Matt King @deformedearth.bsky.social @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @utas.edu.au
▶️ aappartnership.org.au/antarctic-sc...
▶️ aappartnership.org.au/antarctic-sc...
September 15, 2025 at 9:08 AM
🌊 “The fact that 1.5 million Australians may be impacted by rising seas and coastal hazards by 2050 is shocking, even for this sea level scientist.” — Prof Matt King @deformedearth.bsky.social @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @utas.edu.au
▶️ aappartnership.org.au/antarctic-sc...
▶️ aappartnership.org.au/antarctic-sc...