Acacia Pepler
@acaciapepler.bsky.social
Climate scientist interested in how weather systems and their impacts are changing in a changing climate
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
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
The new Wiley journal review system is an absolute nightmare. Editorial assistants have been replaced by a clunky, AI-enabled website that makes it harder to find and invite reviewers. Associate editor workloads have increased. I'm not convinced the invitations to reviewers are even going through.
October 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The new Wiley journal review system is an absolute nightmare. Editorial assistants have been replaced by a clunky, AI-enabled website that makes it harder to find and invite reviewers. Associate editor workloads have increased. I'm not convinced the invitations to reviewers are even going through.
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Dear computer boffins please stop trying to fix problems I don’t have | First Dog on the Moon
Dear computer boffins please stop trying to fix problems I don’t have | First Dog on the Moon
I don’t want AI in anything and certainly not everything please stop asking
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Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Dear computer boffins please stop trying to fix problems I don’t have | First Dog on the Moon
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Last chance to register for free online attendance at the #AusYCSEC Young Coastal Scientists & Engineers Conference!
Come along to hear lots of exciting coastal research happening across Australasia... plus a special new data announcement from Geoscience Aus in the opening session! 🤩🌊📷🛰️
Come along to hear lots of exciting coastal research happening across Australasia... plus a special new data announcement from Geoscience Aus in the opening session! 🤩🌊📷🛰️
September 24, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Last chance to register for free online attendance at the #AusYCSEC Young Coastal Scientists & Engineers Conference!
Come along to hear lots of exciting coastal research happening across Australasia... plus a special new data announcement from Geoscience Aus in the opening session! 🤩🌊📷🛰️
Come along to hear lots of exciting coastal research happening across Australasia... plus a special new data announcement from Geoscience Aus in the opening session! 🤩🌊📷🛰️
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Against my better instincts, I have written some notes on how human probability judgements work and what you should expect from surveys that ask people to guess what proportion of the population is transgender. I hope never to speak of this matter again
Some notes on probability judgement – Notes from a data witch
For the love of fuck, literally nobody thinks that 20% of the population is transgender. Please stop sharing that ridiculous YouGov statistic
blog.djnavarro.net
September 21, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Against my better instincts, I have written some notes on how human probability judgements work and what you should expect from surveys that ask people to guess what proportion of the population is transgender. I hope never to speak of this matter again
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
BoM Research Report 116 on the Climate Hazard Information developed for use in (the National) Climate Risk Assessment.
[All the science behind the data and projections used in the NCRA]
www.bom.gov.au/research/pub...
[All the science behind the data and projections used in the NCRA]
www.bom.gov.au/research/pub...
www.bom.gov.au
September 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
BoM Research Report 116 on the Climate Hazard Information developed for use in (the National) Climate Risk Assessment.
[All the science behind the data and projections used in the NCRA]
www.bom.gov.au/research/pub...
[All the science behind the data and projections used in the NCRA]
www.bom.gov.au/research/pub...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Our article on the things that keep climate risk folks awake at night from Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment. May explain my insomnia.
….with @tasvo.bsky.social & Prof. Lucas Walsh @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/is-this-aust...
….with @tasvo.bsky.social & Prof. Lucas Walsh @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/is-this-aust...
Is this Australia’s climate wake-up call? Official report reveals a hotter, harder future if we don’t act now
The sobering assessment is a national call to action. The sooner Australia mitigates and adapts, the safer we will be.
theconversation.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Our article on the things that keep climate risk folks awake at night from Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment. May explain my insomnia.
….with @tasvo.bsky.social & Prof. Lucas Walsh @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/is-this-aust...
….with @tasvo.bsky.social & Prof. Lucas Walsh @theconversation.com
theconversation.com/is-this-aust...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Going to use this thread to collect and pull out some key parts of Australia's National Climate Risk Assessment, that was published this morning.
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
National Climate Risk Assessment
Learn about Australia's first National Climate Risk Assessment.
www.acs.gov.au
September 15, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Going to use this thread to collect and pull out some key parts of Australia's National Climate Risk Assessment, that was published this morning.
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
The National Climate Risk Report - my life for two years - has just been released.
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
Minister Bowen press conference at: www.youtube.com/live/GLvd_fu...
My specific report on the weather and climate hazards: climateservice.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest...
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
Minister Bowen press conference at: www.youtube.com/live/GLvd_fu...
My specific report on the weather and climate hazards: climateservice.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest...
September 15, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The National Climate Risk Report - my life for two years - has just been released.
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
Minister Bowen press conference at: www.youtube.com/live/GLvd_fu...
My specific report on the weather and climate hazards: climateservice.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest...
www.acs.gov.au/pages/nation...
Minister Bowen press conference at: www.youtube.com/live/GLvd_fu...
My specific report on the weather and climate hazards: climateservice.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
"Perth had its wettest winter in 30 years. Why aren't its dams full?" An insightful and alarming news article by the ABC:
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
September 13, 2025 at 11:29 PM
"Perth had its wettest winter in 30 years. Why aren't its dams full?" An insightful and alarming news article by the ABC:
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Sedation dentistry is no longer weird. Phone cameras are really good. The price of solar panels has dropped by tens of thousands. Southern white rhinos, giant pandas, Arabian oryx and Stellar sea lions are no longer endangered.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
Please give me an unironic list of things that have gotten better over the last ten years because I’m spiraling.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
I’ll start: you can buy an enormous TV from Costco for like $100 bucks now.
September 12, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Sedation dentistry is no longer weird. Phone cameras are really good. The price of solar panels has dropped by tens of thousands. Southern white rhinos, giant pandas, Arabian oryx and Stellar sea lions are no longer endangered.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
And, I can testify, modern cancer treatments are fucking amazing.
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Humans: sometimes bad, sometimes good, capable of great. Me, in today’s @theguardian.com Long Read
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...
‘We’ve done it before’: how not to lose hope in the fight against ecological disaster
Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable. But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster
www.theguardian.com
September 11, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Humans: sometimes bad, sometimes good, capable of great. Me, in today’s @theguardian.com Long Read
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Article based on our research paper that started as conversations between BoM and NOAA. Hat tip to Michelle L’Heureaux (NOAA) for her leadership
Article: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Paper: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Article: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Paper: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Climate change forces BOM to overhaul El Niño and La Niña analysis
The Bureau of Meteorology is making a major change to how they assess El Niño and La Niña, the world's most dominant drivers of weather variability.
www.abc.net.au
September 9, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Article based on our research paper that started as conversations between BoM and NOAA. Hat tip to Michelle L’Heureaux (NOAA) for her leadership
Article: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Paper: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Article: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Paper: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Holy shit. This guy saved a PNG to a bird.
(he drew a bird into a spectrogram, played that sound to a starling, and the starling reproduced it back to him with enough accuracy he got his bird drawing back in their call's spectrogram) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQC...
(he drew a bird into a spectrogram, played that sound to a starling, and the starling reproduced it back to him with enough accuracy he got his bird drawing back in their call's spectrogram) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQC...
I Saved a PNG Image To A Bird
YouTube video by Benn Jordan
www.youtube.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Holy shit. This guy saved a PNG to a bird.
(he drew a bird into a spectrogram, played that sound to a starling, and the starling reproduced it back to him with enough accuracy he got his bird drawing back in their call's spectrogram) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQC...
(he drew a bird into a spectrogram, played that sound to a starling, and the starling reproduced it back to him with enough accuracy he got his bird drawing back in their call's spectrogram) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQC...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Congrats to Greeshma Surendran who's first PhD paper was just published www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The work shows that atmospheric environmental factors linked to extreme wind gusts are different to those that link to strong wind gusts. 🧪
The work shows that atmospheric environmental factors linked to extreme wind gusts are different to those that link to strong wind gusts. 🧪
Distinguishing environmental controls on strong vs. extreme wind gusts
Statistical and theoretical models of wind gusts may be dominated by more common strong events, rather than rare but damaging extreme ones. We address…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 30, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Congrats to Greeshma Surendran who's first PhD paper was just published www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The work shows that atmospheric environmental factors linked to extreme wind gusts are different to those that link to strong wind gusts. 🧪
The work shows that atmospheric environmental factors linked to extreme wind gusts are different to those that link to strong wind gusts. 🧪
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Amazing article on some of our vulnerable coastal towns. In, of all places, realestate.com.au.
www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-...
www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-...
Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast: The coastal suburbs that could disappear - realestate.com.au
Buying near the beach? You may want to check this first. Experts warn thousands of homes in popular coastal areas are at risk of erosion, flooding and serious value loss.
www.realestate.com.au
July 26, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Amazing article on some of our vulnerable coastal towns. In, of all places, realestate.com.au.
www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-...
www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
Congratulations @adele-morrison.bsky.social !!! Awarded the IAPSO ECR Medal in Busan today!! Amazing accolade for an exceptional scientist and all-round great person.
July 23, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Congratulations @adele-morrison.bsky.social !!! Awarded the IAPSO ECR Medal in Busan today!! Amazing accolade for an exceptional scientist and all-round great person.
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
The discourse surrounding precipitation changes in a warming climate (both public discussion and even scientific one at times) is complicated by widespread conflation of changes in averages vs extremes (and also actual vs *potential* evaporation/evaporative demand). [Thread]
July 16, 2025 at 7:35 PM
The discourse surrounding precipitation changes in a warming climate (both public discussion and even scientific one at times) is complicated by widespread conflation of changes in averages vs extremes (and also actual vs *potential* evaporation/evaporative demand). [Thread]
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
New paper by my Qld colleagues using regional climate modelling to look at rainfall extremes in Australia 🇦🇺 under future climate change. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Substantial increases in future precipitation extremes—insights from a large ensemble of downscaled CMIP6 models - npj Natural Hazards
npj Natural Hazards - Substantial increases in future precipitation extremes—insights from a large ensemble of downscaled CMIP6 models
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 12:49 PM
New paper by my Qld colleagues using regional climate modelling to look at rainfall extremes in Australia 🇦🇺 under future climate change. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Acacia Pepler
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.