Kia ora koutou, and welcome to this week’s New Zealand newsletter. I have just returned from the World Conference of Science Journalists and you’ll find a science theme in this week’s top stories.
First Antarctica. We know that the retreat of glaciers in West Antarctica is largely because warming oceans erode the ice from below. But scientists have found that parts of the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest slab of floating ice, are melting ten times faster than the average rate in that region because the sun heats up the ocean surface in ice-free patches. NIWA marine physicist Craig Stewart writes that ice shelves grind against coastlines and buttress the outflow of land-based ice. The loss of major ice shelves accelerates ice flow, which in turn contributes to rising sea levels.
Speaking of the oceans, most of New Zealand’s sovereign territory is under water, but the marine environment is at risk from climate change, pollution and fishing. AUT marine scientists Rebecca Jarvis and Tim Young explain the results of their research to identify the most urgent areas of marine science to ensure that New Zealand can manage and protect its vast marine estate.
New Zealand has long been an outlier as one of few countries with no deposit insurance. AUT law expert Helen Dervan welcomes the government’s plan to introduce a deposit protection scheme to make the banking system safer for customers, but she argues that the proposed limit of between NZ$30,000 and NZ$50,000 is too low, well below the limits set by other comparable countries.
Proposed new measures to protect Māui and Hector's dolphins have prompted debate about the main causes that threaten the survival of the endemic marine mammals. There are only about 60 Māui dolphins left, and the population of Hector’s dolphins has declined from 30,000-50,000 to 10,000-15,000 over the past four decades. University of Otago dolphin researchers Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson, who have studied Hector’s dolphins around Banks Peninsula for decades, argue that the proposal is based on flawed science and management.
You’ll find plenty more on the New Zealand page and in the selection of articles from The Conversation’s international editions below. If you know somebody who would enjoy this newsletter, feel free to forward this email. They can subscribe here. Thank you for reading. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.
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