Hey, I’m Cameron Sunderland, a Year 12 student at Kingaroy State High School.

I’ve been conducting an investigation on the local Stuart River system of the South Burnett region in cooperation with Mr. Rod Cheetham from the local DPI & F.

This study was conducted to test the local migration patterns, numbers and seasonal variation of small fish and the macro-invertebrates (big water bugs) of the river system.

It was conducted over a two and a half year period from the 16th of August 2008 till the 12th of February 2011. 

This long period of time is something that has not been done on this section of river system due to the insufficient numbers of fisheries staff (and the fact that it is far too bloody boring for any scientist, even if they were to be paid double the salary of poor, old Mr Cheetham, so they decided to find some poor young enthusiastic Year Nine science student to do the tiring job ... HA-HA-HA!

My study is thought to be highly important to the fisheries staff as it gives them ideas on the finer movements of small invertebrates in the river system and as they say ‘where there are a little fish there will always be a big one’ meaning that this will also give an indication of where the predatory fish will be. 

I also found supporting evidence that fresh water prawns migrate in a hurry during the night hours and during flow events.

During the 2011 floods I was off on a science intervention called NYSF and I missed much of the action that took place in Kingaroy, from accounts from my family and friend it was a pretty stressful time and the evidence of the destruction is still evident at the river where there is debris still in the very tops of four to five-metre trees where the floods covered them and left debris in their canopy. (Watch for the flood debris in the video)

At that time, there was no option to access the river sites because of the extreme height and power of the river, this was unfortunate as this was a major part of my investigation and in hind site I should have utilised my resources (the DPI) far more efficiently. 

For me this was my first real step into the science world and I absolutely love what I’ve been doing with the DPI & F and this study helped seal my ambition to peruse a career in science. 

My love of helping and making a difference of in this world has lead me away from field science and toward a career in Biomedical science.

This study has been such an influence on my life that I don’t know where I would be today if it weren’t for the support that Mr Cheetham gave me in the early days of this study and I am so grateful to him and all that I achieve in this life is because of his belief in me.

This study was full of inaccuracies and things that could be improved but it was my starting point and I am grateful to the naive boy that decided to take on such a mammoth task that to any other person would sound crazy and boring.  I loved it and it was the best thing I ever did. 

If anyone was to be given a similar chance and who has a love of science, I say take it you will never know where it might take you.

I would like to also make a mention my dad who consistently took me down to the river each a month to retrieve my data, and Mr Langton and Mr Cheetham for the trust and belief in me; and the fact, that even though you didn’t think that I would complete it, thanks for the support (and yes I know that).   

Big Science Now is your science hub Queensland so vote for your favourite avatar before July 13! 

Here is the work of a few of Queensland's impressive emerging designers - click on the link to vote for the one you think deserves to represent the Queensland identity for National Science Week as the Big Science Now banner symbol.

The one with the most "Likes" on our Facebook page will win an iPad 2 from Mac1. But we also have a Flip Video Camera from Video Pro for the runner-up to continue their digital content production career.

• Reilly Vanniekerk

Year 10 - Queensland Academy for Creative Industries, Brisbane

• Jourdin Rouaen

Year 12 - All Hallows' School, Brisbane.

• Rachelle Patman

Year 12 - Whitsunday Anglican School.

• Jackson Rouaen

Year 6 - St Flannan's School, Brisbane.

• Rachelle Patman

Year 12 - Whitsunday Anglican School.

(download)

Click here to download:

vote-for-a-qld-national-science-week-id-bsn-avatar-design-competition-bjrrBIznErxnzJgrlbCv.zip (36 KB)

The director of CSIRO's Energy Transformed Flagship, Dr Alex Wonhas, who's realizing a lifelong dream by building a solar power station in Newcastle, thinks games, such as the BBC's simulation Climate Challenge, are a good way to get kids thinking about science in relation to the real world.

As the president of the European Nations in this Flash game, you must tackle climate change and stay popular enough with voters to remain in office. Dr Wonhas Googled "Climate Change" and "Games" to find this Wikipedia page on other games to play. However, you have to pay to play some games such as Fate of the World.

In this interview with Big Science Now at the CSIRO Greenhouse 2011 Forum, Dr Wonhas mentioned how it helps kids pick things up if parents take an interest in science. He recently helped his son, Lawrence, with his last science assignment to build a toy that kids of the future would play with.

His daughter Charlotte demonstrates the train in operation here:

(download)

Click here to download:

MEGLEV_train.mov (838 KB)

The MAGLEV Train is suspended above the track by magnetic levitation - or magnetic repulsion if you like. Here's a set of plans he drew up especially for intrepid Big Science Now readers who might like to try to build their own toy.

It won't travel as fast as Shanghai's MAGLEV Transrapid Train which travels at 431km/hr:

 

Related video: BSN OUTtake - Alex Wonhas on science in the 21st Century.

Link: Science Fair Project on Magnetism

Wikipedia: Shanghai Transrapid

 

Big Science Now's roving reporter, Mandy Awabdy, went out to two hardware stores to see how much it would cost to make a toy MAGLEV Train. Mandy calculated it will cost between $45 and $35 to buy the materials. She also wrote out a shopping list and a step-by-step set of instructions interpreting Dr Wonhas's drawing. Have fun!

Steps to Building A MEGLev Toy Train

Objective: 

To build a Maglev Train demonstrating the forces of magnets using attraction and repulsion. 

Materials: 

The materials required to build the Maglev Train which will cost between $35-$45 from hardware stores include: 

• Two Plexiglass sheets,  approximately 24” by 4” each sheet – note this size may be adjusted the required size of the train. 
• 2 pieces of wood strips for the base, approximately 3’ by ¼”.
• A drill for the holes. 
• 16 phillips head screws. 
• Two magnetic strips (ferrite magnets) fitted to the length of the Plexiglass sheet
• Double sided tape.
• Piece of wood that measures 3 ½” by 3 7/8” (for the train) 
• String to secure base platform together

Making the Mag-Lev Train Track: 

Step 1. First, drill seven holes along the length edge, 3 inches from the height edge, and 1 inch apart from each other into one sheet of 24”  by 4” Plexiglas. NOTE: The holes must be touching the length edge  of the Plexiglas! 

Step 2. Next, repeat step 1 on the opposite length side.  

Step 3. Then, take another sheet of 24” by 4” Plexiglas and drill 8 holes 1 ½” from the length side and 1 ½” from the height side. 

Step 4. Next, repeat step 3 on the other sheet of 24” by 4” Plexiglas. 

Step 5. After that, take one of the two 3’ by ¼” by ¼” wooden strips and  place it along the holes of one of the two Plexiglas walls that you  drilled the holes 1 ½” from the sides. 

Step 6. Then, switch to a smaller drill bit and drill halfway through the wooden strip. 

Step 7. Repeat step 6 on the other wooden strip. 

Step 8.  Next, screw some small Philips head screws through the holes in Plexiglas and into the wooden strips to hold the wooden strip firmly in place.  

Step 9.  Do step 8 again to the other wooden strip and Plexiglas wall. 

Step 10. Then, take the last Plexiglas wall and place it on one of the wooden strips attached to a Plexiglas wall.  

Step 11. Next, repeat step 6 on this Plexiglas wall.  

Step 12. Then, repeat step 8 on both sides of this Plexiglas wall. 

Step 13. After that, cut two pieces of double-sided tape measuring 24” long.

Making the train: 

Step 1. First, cut a piece of wood that measures 3 ½” by 3 7/8”. 

Step 2.  Next, cut two pieces of double sided tape measuring 3 ½”. 

Step 3. Then, put one piece of double sided tape along the side that measured 3 ½” on the wood block.  

Step 4. Next, cut 7” out of one of the magnetic strips. 

Step 5. Then, cut that in half and end up with two strips measuring 3 ½”. 

Step 6. Finally, place those two magnetic strips along the double sided tape. 

This now completes the Maglev Train, if you would like to make the train float a little higher, put two magnetic strips on the bottom of the Plexiglass that is in line with the double sided tape that is on the track. 

Learn about magnets

Flash game on magnetism 

by Dr Janice Lough

Senior Principal Research Scientist

Australian Institute of Marine Science

We all experience weather every day, the temperature, the amount of rain (or snow), wind speed and direction, cloudy or sunny etc.

Climate is what we expect the weather to be like at a particular place and time of year.

Our current climate is defined by weather observations compiled over many years from measurements made with instruments such as thermometers, rain gauges, anemometers, barometers.

See the  Australian Bureau of Meteorology . 

These observational records have provided important information to climate scientists about how global and regional climate varies and, most recently, clear evidence for a rapidly warming world due to human activities changing the composition of the atmosphere.

Instrumental observations of climate for large parts of the world only date back to the late 19^th century – a relatively short time period to fully understand how and why climate varies and changes. 

We need longer records to better understand how the climate system works and be able to better predict how climate may change in the future. 

Fortunately, the natural world provides us with several types of “proxy” climate records, i.e. substitutes for instrumental observations. 

These are biological, geological or human systems that are affected by climate and leave a record of that influence that we can measure and date. 

Examples include variations in tree ring widths, annual snow layers and air bubbles trapped in ice cores, human documents and diaries that mention weather events and cave deposits known as speleotherms (stalagmites and stalactites).  

Shallow-water tropical coral reefs also contain natural history books which can provide proxy climate information for the tropical oceans which are the heat engine of the global climate system. 

The backbone of coral reefs is the hard calcium carbonate skeletons built by corals in partnership (symbiosis) with single-celled algae (zooxanthellae) – these skeletons come in many shapes and forms and provide a diverse range of habitats for many thousands of reef-associated organisms. 

Some massive coral species grow to several meters in height [1-Picture of diver and large Porites coral] and contain annual growth layers similar to tree rings. 

Growing at 1-2 cm per year, such corals can contain several hundred years of growth and also record changes that have occurred in their environment. 

To “read” these records, cores are removed from the centre of a colony (the core hole is plugged and the coral tissue will gradually grow over it) [2-Picture of diver taking coral core]. 

Slices from the core are then X-rayed to reveal annual banding in the density of the calcium carbonate skeleton and each year can be dated from the outer edge – the year when the core was collected. 

From measuring the annual density bands we can find out how fast the coral is growing and also identify the timing of unusual events in the coral’s life which may have affected its growth (e.g. coral bleaching events, toppling of the coral by a tropical cyclone) [3-X-ray positive print of coral slice showing annual density bands and highlighting dark band in 1998 when coral growth slowed due to coral bleaching]. 

We can also measure various geochemical tracers included in the skeleton which vary with, for example, sea water temperature, salinity or the amount of sediment in the water.  

One special type of records is seen when slices from corals growing close the coast on the Great Barrier Reef are viewed under ultra-violet light [4-Coral slice under UV light showing luminescent lines]. 

These are called luminescent lines and their occurrence and intensity is directly related to seasonal river flood events which, in turn, depends upon the amount of summer rainfall in northeast Queensland. 

By dating and measuring the intensity of these annual luminescent lines in several inshore corals, we have been able to reconstruct northeast Queensland summer rainfall back to the 17^th century – more than triple the length of rainfall observations made with rain gauges.  This record tells us about past rainfall variability and changes and how our rainfall is influenced by El Niño-Southern Oscillation events.  The coral record tells us that Queensland rainfall was less than present and also less variable from the mid-18^th to mid-19^th centuries.  They also tell us that since the end of the 19^th century rainfall has increased, become more variable from year to year and that extreme wet and extreme dry years have become more common.  The summer of 1973-1974 [5-1973-74 luminescent lines in corals ~800 km apart], with which the most recent extreme summer of 2010-2011 has been compared, was the wettest in at least the past three centuries.  More extreme rainfall events are one of the projected consequences of a warmer world in tropical Queensland.  So, looking to the past can help us to prepare for different climates in the future.

Associated story: ABC Science Report, Winners and losers in ocean acidification.

j.lough@aims.gov.au

Australian Institute of Marine Science

Ross Garnaut Address: CSIRO Greenhouse 2011 from Big Science Now.

Short Biography.