Scientists on CSIRO research vessel (RV) Investigator have made some exciting finds during recent voyages, including collecting a specimen of a new species of shark and discovering a shark graveyard in the deep ocean.

The graveyard even contained the fossilised teeth of the ancient ancestor of the megalodon shark.

The discoveries were made on RV Investigator – operated by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency – during biodiversity surveys in two of Australia’s newest marine parks. The first was a recent voyage to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park in the remote Indian Ocean. The second is an underway voyage to the Gascoyne Marine Park off Western Australia. Both voyages have been undertaken for Parks Australia, who manage Australia’s marine parks network.

Shark expert from CSIRO’s Australian National Fish Collection, Will White said one of the most exciting finds of the underway voyage was the collection of a specimen of a new species of shark.

“Early in the voyage, we collected a striking small, stripey hornshark,” said Dr White.

“This species is unique to Australia, but it hasn’t yet been described and named. The specimen we collected will be incredibly important to science because we’ll use it to describe the species,” he said.

Hornsharks include the well-known Port Jackson shark and are generally slow-moving species found in shallow waters. They spend most of the day camouflaged among rocks and seaweed on the seafloor and come out at night to feed. However, this new species lives in water over 150 m deep and we know nothing about its behaviour.

Dr White said biodiversity surveys are always exciting as you never know what you might find.

“Australia has a truly enormous marine estate that’s home to some of the most diverse marine life on the planet but we still know very little about what lives beneath the waves,” said Dr White.

“From the very first survey on this voyage, we’ve been making new discoveries and collecting data that will be vital in helping to protect and conserve the life in our oceans,” he said.

Chief Scientist on the underway voyage, John Keesing from CSIRO, said the discovery of new species was quite common on biodiversity surveys such as this.

“It’s been estimated that around a third of the species collected on recent biodiversity survey voyages on RV Investigator may be new to science,” said Dr Keesing.

“The discoveries we make aren’t just limited to new species. These voyages give us the opportunity to learn more about marine ecosystems, as well as species range, abundance and behaviour,” he said.

Scientists are using a range of equipment to study marine life and seabed habitats in the Gascoyne Marine Park, including underwater towed and remote cameras. Several shark species have been captured on film during the voyage. This includes sharks taking bites of the equipment. 

However, one of the more unsual finds on the previous voyage to Cocos (Keeling) Islands was the discovery of a shark graveyard on the seafloor. Scientists, led by the Museums Victoria Research Institute, made the surprising discovery during the final trawl survey of the voyage at a depth of 5400 m. The trawl brought up more than 750 mineralised (fossilised) shark teeth representing a range of predatory species.

Curator of Fishes at the Western Australian Museum, Glenn Moore is on the underway voyage and said the shark teeth came from an interesting mix of modern and ancient sharks.

“The teeth look to come from modern sharks, such as mako and white sharks, but also from ancient sharks including the immediate ancestor of the giant megalodon shark,” said Dr Moore.

“This shark evolved into the megalodon, which was the largest of all sharks but died out about 3.5 million years ago,” he said.

The megalodon was considered one of most powerful predators ever to have lived but is only known from fragmentary remains, such as its teeth. Its appearance and maximum size are still uncertain. The teeth collected here are likely from its closest relative, a shark which grew to over 12m long.

Dr Moore said that it was astounding that such a large number of teeth were collected from a relatively small area on the seafloor.

“We’ve also found a few mako and white shark teeth during the underway voyage but nothing like the numbers found during the previous voyage. It’s incredible to think we’ve collected all these teeth in a net from the seafloor some 4 to 5 km below the ocean surface,” Dr Moore said.

The discoveries emphasise the importance of marine biodiversity survey voyages and the significant contribution they make to better understanding the life in our oceans.

“From small, new, bottom-dwelling sharks, to massive ancient mega-sharks that once roamed the oceans, these biodiversity surveys give us vital insights into the life in our oceans,” Dr Keesing said.

Parks Australia Head of Division, Jason Mundy said the learnings will help Parks Australia to manage the remote marine parks, now and into the future.

“It shows there is more to learn about our 60 Australian Marine Parks, especially those in deep and difficult to access environments. This is made possible through partnerships with research organisations and universities,” Mr Mundy said.

RV Investigator will continue surveying the Gascoyne Marine Park, as well as the nearby Carnarvon Canyon Marine Park, until mid-December and then end its voyage in Fremantle.

This research is supported by grants of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is part of a nappy recycling trial announced last week to help address the 1.5 billion disposable nappies that end up in Australian landfill each year.

The first trial of its kind in Australia, The Nappy Loop is being led by Kimberly-Clark Australia, with CSIRO, one of South Australia’s largest composters, Peats Soils and Garden Supplies, Solo Resource Recovery, and early learning and care provider G8 Education.

The trial has been underway in South Australia since July 2022 and uses anaerobic digestion to turn the organic materials in used nappies into nutrient-rich compost, as well as bioenergy which is captured and used to power the recycling process. Together, the team has collected and recycled almost two tonnes of used Huggies nappies.

The trial so far has shown that anaerobic digestion is a viable option for the recycling process. The plastic is recovered, and the team is evaluating options to recycle this material. This will inform the potential of scaling up the program in South Australia and nationally.

There are approximately 300,000 babies born in Australia every year and about 95 per cent of them wear disposable nappies. The trial represents a step forward for reducing plastic waste in the nappy industry as a single disposable nappy can take up to 500 years up to decompose while one newborn alone goes through 8-10 nappies per day.

Australia can become a global superpower in solar PV energy generation and export, but it must develop its own fully integrated domestic solar supply chains to do so, according to a landmark new report.

The Australian Silicon Action Plan sets out the actions Australia needs to take to participate in a fully-fledged supply chain for silicon and solar cells – a critical step towards energy security and independence, which will also support economic growth and jobs across Australia’s regions and cities. 

The report is authored by PwC Australia, commissioned by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and finds that while Australia has great potential when it comes to the leading role it can play in the energy transition, its reliance on overseas supply chains risks holding us back.

The Australian Government has identified silicon as a critical mineral, given its current supply chain risks and its importance to new economy technologies such as solar cells, semiconductors (chips), optical fibres, aluminium alloys, and its potential use in energy storage batteries. Silicon is abundant in Australia in the form of quartz, but it is the process of smelting quartz to silicon, then to high purity silicon that requires attention.

“Australia already has the highest per capita deployment of rooftop solar in the world, and there are several mega-projects in the solar development pipeline,” said CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist Dr Chris Vernon.

“But one of the greatest risks to Australia’s solar ambitions and energy future is our reliance on overseas supply chains for solar cell technology,” Dr Vernon said.

According to the report, increasing production of silicon in Australia is the first step for Australia to develop its own capability and capacity in the solar cell supply chain.

“Energy independence should be a top priority for Australia. The increasing pace of the energy transition and ever-increasing international demand for solar PV, combined with an ever-present focus on ESG issues, highlights the fragility of our current supply chains, and makes the pursuit of energy independence all the more important,” said Dr Vernon.

Between 2021 and 2050, solar PV’s contribution to the energy mix in Australia is expected to increase from 12 per cent to approximately 50 per cent, while according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, estimated annual global solar power generation capacity must increase more than five-fold by 2030, and 14-fold by 2050 to stay on track for net-zero targets.

To keep pace with these solar capacity forecasts, annual global production of silicon and its purified form – polysilicon – will have to materially increase.

But despite our reliance on solar generation set to grow, current supply chain dynamics pose an energy security risk for Australia. Geopolitical tensions, natural disasters, climate change, energy market issues and COVID-19 have highlighted the fragility of our current supply chains.

Around 70 per cent of silicon is produced in China, while China also dominates the production of polysilicon. The conversion of polysilicon to solar cells is even more concentrated, with China accounting for between 75 per cent and 97 per cent of these stages of production.

Craigieburn police are appealing for public assistance after a truck rammed a car in Epping last week, Thursday, December 8.

Police have been told a blue Subaru Impreza was travelling north along the Hume Highway and slowed down to merge into a lane due to road works just after 9.30pm.

It is believed the Subaru merged in front of a truck near O’Herns Road before the truck rammed into the back of the vehicle a number of times.

The truck pushed the vehicle for about 60 metres causing the Subaru to spin and veer off the road into the emergency lane.

The truck failed to stop and left the scene.

The female driver of the Subaru was assisted by road workers and was not injured.

Investigators are keen to speak to any witnesses or anyone that may have dash cam footage.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto the CrimeStoppers website.

Police were earlier been on scene investigating a fatal motorcycle crash which occurred at Irrewillipe East last weekend.

It’s believed the motorcycle was travelling along East West Road when the rider lost control and left the road sometime overnight last Friday-Saturday.

A passer-by discovered the crash about 6.30am last Saturday December 10, and immediately called emergency services.

The male rider, a 44-year-old Gellibrand man, died at the scene.

Colac Highway Patrol officers were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and investigations remain ongoing as at the last Victoria Police released report of the fatal incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has published an assessment of 12 carbon sequestration technologies and the role they could play in helping Australia reach net zero emissions.

The report, prepared for the Climate Change Authority with co-funding from the Clean Energy Regulator, looks at a range of carbon sequestration options for supporting Australia’s national emissions reduction goals.

In this report, carbon sequestration describes the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere and the management of existing carbon stocks, using natural or engineered solutions.

Co-lead author of the report, CSIRO Towards Net Zero Mission Lead Michael Battaglia, said the report brought together scientists with expertise across a range of nature-based and engineered sequestration technologies, to look at their sequestration potential, barriers to uptake, and co-benefits. 

The technologies reviewed were permanent plantings, plantation and farm forestry, natural regeneration of native forest, avoided land clearing, savanna burning, soil carbon, blue carbon, pyrolysis biochar, geological storage (carbon capture and storage), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture (DAC), and mineral carbonation.

“We found that nature-based technologies such as permanent plantings, plantation and farm forestry, and soil carbon currently provide significant potential; as does Australia’s vast geological storage capacity,” Dr Battaglia said.

“Biochar, mineral carbonation and DAC also have significant sequestration potential but are associated with higher costs. Further research and development of these technologies is needed to bring down costs and increase national sequestration potential,” he said.

While the report considers the potential for each technology, it does not analyse the impact of competition for land, resources, or energy between different technologies.

These will be important considerations when it comes to implementation, as it will mean realisable sequestration is likely considerably lower than technical and economic potential sequestration estimates provided in the report.

Lead of CSIRO’s CarbonLock Future Science Platform Andrew Lenton said to help Australia reach its emissions reduction targets, we will need to remove significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“No single technology will get us there. An integrated and optimised portfolio of technologies will be required,” Dr Lenton said.

A comprehensive integrated assessment modelling approach will need to quantify potential and feasible sequestration opportunities and to guide development at the national and regional scales.

The report will inform an Insights Paper on carbon sequestration being published by the Climate Change Authority, which will help inform the advice to government on Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target.

Climate Change Authority CEO, Mr Brad Archer said understanding Australia’s carbon sequestration potential will help us build greater ambition into our climate targets.

“This first ever stocktake of Australia’s carbon sequestration potential provides a valuable synthesis of the current level of understanding. It also identifies ways to improve the evidence base to inform Australia’s options for pathways to net zero and beyond,” Mr Archer said.

“Carbon sequestration could bring many opportunities to Australia’s regions and rural and remote areas, including new income streams, jobs, and valuing and protecting the knowledge and practices of First Nations Australians,” he said.

Brimbank Crime investigation Unit and Melton Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged three people in recent days following the alleged theft of a food delivery car in Kurunjang on Friday on 9 December.

The food delivery car was allegedly stolen from Kirkton Drive, about 9.25am.

Police were able to track the vehicle to First Avenue, Melton South.

Two males and a female were arrested, and a police officer was allegedly slashed to the face during the arrest.

Police have subsequently charged a 28-year-old Coomoora man with handle stolen goods, possess cartridge ammunition and possess dug of dependence

He had been remanded to appear in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on 14 December.

A 21- year-old Wyndham Vale woman has been charged with theft of motor vehicle, theft of fuel and possess cartridge ammunition.

A 34-year-old Bacchus Marsh man has been charged with 14 offences including intentionally cause serious injury, assault police officer, prohibited person possess firearm and theft of motor vehicle.

He has been remanded to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 3 April 2023.

The injured police officer has been discharged from hospital following surgery.

Hepburn’s Palais is preparing to bring in the New Year in style with a spectacular glitter bomb of celebration – a flaming DiscoINFERNO.

Promoters say it’s a chance to “glam up and bring your best disco moves and burn up the dance-floor”.

The Saturday December 31 event will feature DJ Gaff-E.

Hi-Energy Punk Disco Queen Gaff-E transcends genres flying her own style.

“Her radical performances are wild, carnal and hallucinogenic,” promoters say.

“Gaff-E has DJ’d and performed around the world at; Le Baron in NYC and Paris, Sink The Pink & Oval Space in London and at festivals; Burning Man (USA), Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Camp Cosmic and Bestival (UK), the Big Day Out, Dark Mofo, Rainbow Serpent and Sydney Festival. Gaff E has supported Peaches live in Toulouse & Charli XCX in London.

“She also curates parties all over the world and is a resident DJ at Odessa Bar in Berlin and at London’s finest queer party spaces Savage and The Glory.

MC, comedic genius and circus virtuoso, Jess Love is a multi-award winning, international cabaret sensation. Jess delivers high class, low brow, glitter covered, queer riot, performance art. Jess has performed for the Queen, for Sheiks on remote Islands, at exclusive London Clubs, as part of the world-wide smash hit La Soiree and is now finally coming to Hepburn Springs to say hooray to 2023!

Police were earlier on scene investigating a fatal car crash that happened in Jindivick last weekend.

It’s believed a Hyundai SUV was travelling along Jindivick-Neerim South Road when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree sometime overnight last Saturday-Sunday.

A passer-by discovered the crash about 7.15am last Sunday and immediately called emergency services.

The male driver, an 84-year-old, Pakenham man, died at the scene.

He was the sole occupant in the vehicle.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and investigations during the week had remained ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.

Police are investigating after a large number of shop windows were damaged by vandals in the Collingwood and Fitzroy areas last month.

It’s believed two males have used a rock or similar, to scratch the windows of 16 shops along Smith Street about 2.40am on 18 November.

Eight stores on the Collingwood side and eight on the Fitzroy side were scratched with the cost of damage estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

One male is described as being of Caucasian appearance, red shoulder length hair wearing a dark blue puffer jacket, dark pants and carrying a black shoulder satchel.

The other male is described as having an olive complexion, bald head wearing a white shirt, black jacket, light blue jeans, dark coloured casual shoes and carrying a large black shoulder satchel.

Investigators have released CCTV and images of males they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.

Dan Waters and BenMastwyk are headed to the Palais in Hepburn later this month to dispense their unique combination of Americana and Cosmic Country music live.

Waters is an award winning singer/songwriter based in Melbourne who earned his “Americana” stripes living in South Carolina and Nashville for 7 years, embracing the music and lifestyle before returning to Australia to record his award winning Album “La Vita E Bella”. He is critically acclaimed for singing wryly humorous and often moving songs about the stragglers, outliers and beautiful oddities of society. His live performances are being described as some of the most engaging and memorable shows with Waters’ seemingly ancient voice that strikes the listener first, and it never loses its grasp, thanks to its beguiling timbre and a collection of colorful stories.

Meanwhile, Melbourne’s Ben Mastwyk presents shimmering 70’s cosmic-country-soul with lashings of psychedelic-honky tonk. Ben writes his songs on the move. Planes, trains, rivers and highways set the mood. Gold-suited and rhinestoned, Mastwyk ventures into bold sonic territories where songs erupt into swaggering, psychedelic bar-room gems. Twice nominated for Best Country Album (Music Victoria Awards), Mastwyk received national rotation on ABC Radio, toured his songs around Australia, NZ and the USA receiving high rotation across national radio.

They are set to play the Palais on December 30.

An alliance of local conservation groups is horrified to discover that the CFMEU is seeking to source sawlogs from the Wombat Forest, in addition to the destructive salvaging of wind fallen timber currently taking place; compromising the very values that ensured it was designated to become National Park.

The groups say that in an open letter to the Opal Paper Mill in Maryvale, Gippsland, the union states that “there is a potentially viable option for alternative timber supply via the Wombat Forest…”. Recent court cases have established that VicForests has been logging illegally and so now has fewer options for obtaining timber, hence the proposal to further exploit the Wombat Forest.

Ballarat and Castlemaine Field Naturalists Clubs joined with the Moorabool Environment Group, Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, Bacchus Marsh Platypus Alliance, Actively Conserving Trentham, Central Victorian Biolinks Alliance and Wombat Forestcarers to show their support for the campaign to oppose sawlog harvesting and halt the salvage works in the Wombat Forest.

 On Sunday, December 11 more than 70 people from environment groups and the local community came to the Wombat Forest to express their anger at the continued destruction of the forest.

 “Koala sightings in the Wombat have plummeted, as have many other species. We cannot allow for the continual degradation of remaining habitats further compromising these iconic species.,” Jessica Robertson, President, BWRC said. 

“This proposed logging could be accelerating the decline of our beloved koala. Our government cannot verify true koala numbers in the area, we must assume they are endangered and protect their remaining habitat before it is too late.”

Dr Jodie Valpied, President, Bacchus Marsh Platypus Alliance: “Logging in the Wombat Forest would have a devastating impact on the Werribee River and Lerderderg River, which have their headwaters there. Logging causes erosion and river sedimentation, amongst other issues. This would have negative flow-on effects for the health of these rivers, their inhabitants, including platypus, and the people that enjoy these beautiful waterways. Instead of logging precious native forests, the paper-mill industry needs to do what they’ve been urged to do for decades – transition to ethical, renewable plantations and paper recycling. That is the only way to retain jobs long-term.”

Elspeth Swan of Ballarat Field Naturalists Club:   “Members of the Ballarat Field Naturalists’ Club are disappointed that the promised new national parks and reserves have not yet been legislated and delivered and that logging is continuing. Scientific investigations have highlighted the need for greater protection for key areas in Victoria’s central west. It is difficult to understand why a range of threatened species is being put at further risk by continuing to ‘log’ in some areas. The continued destruction of habitat values is unsustainable.”

Members of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club have also expressed “dismay to hear that the Wombat Forest is under further threat from logging”.

They are extremely concerned about the failure to protect the precious flora and fauna of this forest, many of which are State and/ or Nationally listed as threatened, such as the Powerful Owl, Greater Glider, Koala and Wombat Bush Pea.

The alliance of groups is urging the state government to rapidly complete the process for making the Wombat Forest a National Park.

“It’s time for all our timber to be obtained from plantations, not native forests.” Gayle Osborne, Convenor of Wombat Forestcare said.

 “It is hard to believe that this could be happening in a forest that is designated to be a national park. In June 2017, the then Minister for the Environment, the Hon Lily D’Ambrosio wrote to us to assure the group that VicForests would not undertake sawlog harvesting in the Wombat Forest.”

Words and Image: Supplied

Police are investigating after a woman was seriously injured in Little River, 11 December.

Investigators have been told the woman came out of a Honda sedan that was travelling south on Princes Highway about 11.30am.

A 30-year-old woman from Tarneit was flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the car a 28-year-old man from Tarneit, stopped at the scene and has spoken with police.

The exact circumstances of the incident are yet to be determined.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information, dashcam vision or anyone who witnessed the crash or the vehicle driving erratically prior, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.

It’s official. Spacey Jane are, once again, the people’s choice when it comes to new music.

The Freo fourpiece unit’s second album – Here Comes Everybody has been deemed the best album of 2022, according to ABC triple j listeners.

And it’s their second time in the top spot. Debut album Sunlight was voted in at number one spot in 2020 which means Spacey Jane join the exclusive club of artists who’ve twice topped the triple j Album Poll: Tame Impala, Radiohead and Gotye.

Police earlier this week had resumed the search at Lake Mulwala following a boating incident in Yarrawonga last weekend.

Two 16-year-old boys went fishing in a tinny at the lake on Silverwoods Boulevard just before 9am on Sunday.

It is believed the boys were hit by a wave and fell overboard into the water.

Two men saw the boys in trouble, swam to their aid and managed to pull one of the boys to shore.

The men returned to the area and were unable to find the second boy.

The search was suspended last Sunday evening and recommenced on Monday, with police divers, Search and Rescue, Air Wing, Water Police and SES involved.

The boy had, at that time yet to be located and the search was continuing as at Monday.