Some vacation #running, exploring Mansfield, with hopefully time for one last run before heading home.

Enjoying the cooler temperatures and low humidity of the Victorian High Country (5 deg C for the run this morning).

Me too. I filed it appropriately.

News sites are locking out the Internet Archive to stop AI crawling. Is the ‘open web’ closing?
https://theconversation.com/news-sites-are-locking-out-the-internet-archive-to-stop-ai-crawling-is-the-open-web-closing-274968

We took delivery of a new ABB off axis water isotopes analyser today here at UNSW, to replace our 10 year old instrument.

It was a good day in lab with spanners and swagelocks. To be continued tomorrow....

Sharing these three-year early career fellowships at Durham University, UK. Open to all nationalities and disciplines. I was lucky to have a senior fellowship here many years ago and had a very positive experience. Details are below:

https://www.dur.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/advanced-study/fellowships-funding/addison-wheeler-fellowship/

#academia #academicjobs

Nothing that we received by email or AQUAlist server. At least, not to UNSW and ANSTO AQUA members (including one exec member!).

RE: https://aus.social/@Andbaker/116004571631273507

...and please share.

No one at a meeting today at work (0/4 Quaternary researchers) knew that registration and the call for abstracts for AQUA2026 had been open for a fortnight 🤔

A shout out for Quaternary researchers - registration and abstracts are open for the 2026 Australasian Quaternary Association conference. Come to UNSW Sydney in July. Details are here:
https://aqua.org.au/conference/aqua-2026/

Abstract deadline: 28 Feb.

#academia #conference #sydney #AQUA

RE: https://aus.social/@Andbaker/115851475839893821

A reminder, American Geophysical Union honours nominations are open at the moment! The AGU Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology section have three Honours available, for all career stages. Do you know of any AGU paleoclimate section members who could be nominated? Please share... #geology #Earthscience #paleoclimate #Paleoceanography

Does anyone know anyone at the NOAA ARL/who has anything to do with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data?

It looks like the 1948 and 1949 data have been mislabelled as 2048 and 2049 - noticed when running HYSPLIT trajectory models.

I've sent an email via the general NOAA research office, but not convinced it will get to the right people...

#NOAA #HYSPLIT #NCAR #NCEP #AtmosphericScience

Registration is open for one of the friendliest running festivals, 42k to family fun run options, great coastal views, stadium finish, free 👕, free bib postage. Sydney region. I'm in.
https://raceroster.com/events/2026/114257/bay-to-bay-running-festival-2026
#running

In a study of Gen Z's personal goals, "to be safe" ranked as the top priority, outweighing traditional teenage desires like popularity and fun.

What this says about growing up in an era of constant crisis:
https://theconversation.com/gen-z-seeks-safety-above-all-else-as-the-generation-grows-up-amid-constant-crisis-and-existential-threat-245455

For Sydneysiders: I walked the GreenWay this week, and recommend it. Great art and interpretation, and easy access from L1 Light Rail stations. Good for walking and cycling - I have to go back on the bike and explore the connecting cycleways.
#sydney #GreenWay

Terrifying report on the World Water Crisis

- 50%: Large lakes worldwide that have lost water since the early 1990s
- 40%+: Irrigation water drawn from aquifers being steadily drained
- 70%: Major aquifers showing long-term decline
- 410 million hectares: Area of natural wetlands – almost equal in size to the entire European Union – erased in the past five decades

https://unu.edu/inweh/news/world-enters-era-of-global-water-bankruptcy

#Water #Climate #Sustainability #Green #Agriculture

The interesting thing about these #Sulawesi rock art dates at 67,800 BP is the implications for #Hsapiens getting to Sahul pretty early. It puts this earlier than Spanish Neanderthal dates

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx1pnlzer5o

AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
“The collapse of the AI bubble is going to be ugly. Seven AI companies currently account for more than a third of the stock market, and they endlessly pass around the same $100bn IOU.

AI is the asbestos in the walls of our technological society, stuffed there with wild abandon by a finance sector and tech monopolists run amok. We will be excavating it for a generation or more.”
#AI #Tech
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/18/tech-ai-bubble-burst-reverse-centaur

> About 200 Texas A&M courses could change due to new restrictions on teaching gender, race https://www.texastribune.org/2026/01/07/texas-am-race-gender-courses/

Oh, it is not just Plato getting #censorship "deep in the heart of Texas" 🎶

Again, if you can, get out. If you are in the job market, go elsewhere.

#BannedBooks #academia #HigherEd #TexasFriendly #BoycottTexas #GOP #PartyOfStupid

And the darkness descends a little further... https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jan/07/cambridge-college-elite-private-schools-student-recruitment
#academicchatter

AGU Honor Nominations Now Open for 2026

It is that time of year again, when you can nominate a colleague for an AGU Honour. The AGU is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences. Both nominator and nominee need to be AGU members and affiliated to the Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology section. Nominations just opened and close on 13th March.

http://andy-baker.org/2026/01/07/agu-honor-nominations-now-open-for-2026/

Updates on Cave Climate Data Collection in Australia

Back in 2020, in the depths of COVID lockdowns here in Australia, the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association organised a cave climate ‘baseline monitoring’ project. The cave climate monitoring of Australasian caves continues. I last provided an update in July 2025. Six months on...

http://andy-baker.org/2026/01/08/updates-on-cave-climate-data-collection-in-australia/

#caves #climate #research #ACKMA