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Historic Content you are reading content from a previous reporting year.

Showing 30 of 156 results

Increases in greenhouse gases

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Tasmania Greater Brisbane Greater Darwin Greater Hobart Greater Melbourne...

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Effects of increased greenhouse gases

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures The growing concentrations of human-generated GHGs have resulted in an increased absorption, largely in the lower atmosphere, of the heat radiated from Earth’s surface, causing an increase in the...

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Figure ATM1 (synthetic greenhouse) Annual mean concentrations of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic greenhouse gases) observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015

2016
Atmosphere
Graph
Synthetic greenhouse gases ...
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Pressures affecting Australia’s climate

2016, 2011
Climate
Pressures
Assessment summary

Climate Pressures Direct (primary) effects of pressures on climateTrends in emissionsKyoto Protocol targetsAustralia’s emissions in contextIncreases in greenhouse gasesIndirect (secondary and tertiary) effects of pressures on...

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Figure ATM2 Radiative forcing as a result of long-lived greenhouse gases measured by CSIRO in the Southern Hemisphere

2016
Climate
Graph

Radiative forcing due to long-lived greenhouse gases, Antarctic firn and Cape Grim, 1950–2015 Radiative forcing due to long-lived greenhouse gases, Antarctic firn and Cape Grim, 1950–2015 Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol synthetic greenhouse gasesNitrous...

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Figure ATM11 Greenhouse gas emissions by gas and sector, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accounting, 2015

2016
Climate
Graph

Greenhouse gas emissions by gas and sector, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accounting, 2014–15 Greenhouse gas emissions by gas and sector, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accounting, 2014–15 Carbon...

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Effectiveness of climate change management

2016, 2011
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Assessment summary

Climate Effectiveness of management Planning and strategyManagement outputs and outcomesUnderstanding and researchRole and coordination of different levels of government...

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Figure ATM3 Radiative forcing in 2011 relative to 1750, and aggregated uncertainties for the main drivers of climate change

2016
Climate
Pressures
Graph

Radiative forcing for the main drivers of climate change, and total radiative forcing in 2011 relative to 1750 Radiative forcing for the main drivers of climate change, and total radiative forcing in 2011 relative to 1750 Radiative forcingaerosols positive upper...

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Figure ATM1 (methane) Annual mean concentrations of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic greenhouse gases) observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015

2016
Atmosphere
Graph

Methane Annual mean concentrations of methane observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015 Annual mean concentrations of methane observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and...

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Figure ATM1 (nitrous oxide) Annual mean concentrations of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic greenhouse gases) observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015

2016
Atmosphere
Graph

Nitrous oxide Annual mean concentrations of nitrous oxide observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015 Annual mean concentrations of nitrous oxide observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from...

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Figure ATM1 (carbon dioxide) Annual mean concentrations of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic greenhouse gases) observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015

2016
Climate
Graph

Carbon dioxide Annual mean concentrations of carbon dioxide observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from Antarctic firn and ice cores, 1500–2015 Annual mean concentrations of carbon dioxide observed at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and from air extracted from...

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Climate change

2016
Ambient air quality
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Ambient air quality Pressures Climate change may also have a significant effect on air pollution. Warming and drying of the climate are projected to lead to an increase in extreme fire-danger days in southern and...

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State and trends of Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
State and trends
At a glance

At a glanceAustralian temperatures have increased during the past 100 years, especially since the 1950s. This increase has also been observed at the global level, and is associated with increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The year 2015 was the warmest on record...

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Pressures affecting Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Pressures
At a glance

At a glanceGreenhouse gases (GHGs)—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, short-lived tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, nitrous oxide and synthetic GHGs—together with water vapour, and natural and industrial aerosols, influence Earth’s energy balance. Human activity, primarily the burning of...

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Effectiveness of management for specific pressures and drivers

2016
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Effectiveness of management Earlier, we noted that the complex and dynamic relationships between drivers, pressures, ecosystems and humans call for policies and management actions that address both drivers and pressures. In many cases, the most...

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Executive Summary - Antarctic environment

2016
Antarctic environment
Executive Summary

Antarctic environment 2016This report mainly focuses on the environment of areas administered by Australia (the Australian Antarctic Territory, and the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands), subantarctic Macquarie Island (which is part of Tasmania)...

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Soil

2016
Land
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Land Introduction Soils form at the interface between land, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere. Their formation and placement are the result of complex interactions between differential weathering of primary...

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In this report

2016
Land
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Land Introduction This report provides an account of the most significant and recent human impacts on our land. It highlights improvements in land management over some parts of Australia, as well as several...

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Economic activity as a driver of environmental change

2016 Report Content

2016 The production of goods and services requires energy and materials—metals, minerals, water, food and fibre—all of which come from the environment. The impacts of resource extraction, production, transport, use and waste generation are central to how economic activity affects...

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Figure ATM25d Timeseries of monthly mean concentrations of carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide equivalent and tropospheric ozone; monthly median particle number concentration; and monthly median aerosol optical depth at 868 nanometres at Cape Grim under ...

2016
Climate
Graph

d Monthly median aerosol optical depth at 868 nanometres at Cape Grim, 1996–2015 Monthly median aerosol optical depth at 868 nanometres at Cape Grim, 1996–2015 MonthlymedianAerosolOpticalDepth(AOD) 01/19860.076446957 02/19860.06693375 03/19860.053308571...

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Trends in emissions

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Greater Melbourne Greater Sydney Absolute aggregate emissions Between 1990 and 2015, Australia’s national GHG inventory suggested that emissions...

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Land use and management

2016
Land
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Land State and trends North East Coast Great Barrier Reef Australia’s population is concentrated along the eastern, south-eastern and south-western coastal fringes...

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Climate change is a key pressure on the Australian environment

2016
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Pressures Climate change is an increasingly important and pervasive pressure on all aspects of the Australian environment. Although our climate and its high natural variability from year to year have always been a major influence on the state...

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Outlook under an 'improved future' scenario

2016
Outlook
Report Content

2016 Outlook An ‘improved future’ scenario for Australia’s environment would see innovation in policy, technical and associated management approaches to: halt and reverse the decline in the environment, and the ecological processes that maintain...

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Understanding and research

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Climate Effectiveness of management Tasmania Greater Melbourne In the 5 years since SoE 2011, international climate science has advanced significantly. The IPCC,...

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Overview of state and trends of the land

2016
Land
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Land State and trends Timor Sea Great Barrier Reef What has changed since 2011? The effects of the millennium drought in southern Australian (2000–10, although in...

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Soil: Carbon dynamics

2016
Land
State and trends
Report Content
... Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 2015, and governs greenhouse gas emissions mitigation , adaptation and finance ...
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Box ATM5 Cape Grim: monitoring the health of the global atmosphere for 40 years

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Case Study
... measurements ( Figure ATM25 ) are made of all significant greenhouse gases, ozone depleting substances, aerosols including black ... many research papers on global and Australian emissions of greenhouse and ozone depleting gases. Cape Grim data are ...
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The physical environment: The atmosphere—climate and weather patterns

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica The physical environment includes both the nonliving factors that characterise an ecosystem (e.g. weather patterns, ice coverage, the...

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Human influences on Antarctica

2016
Antarctic environment
Pressures
Report Content
... to Antarctica. For example, human-made chlorofluorocarbon gases have damaged the vital natural sunscreen provided by ...
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Australia State of the Environment 2016 has been prepared by independent experts using the best available information to support assessments of environmental condition, pressures, management effectiveness, resilience, risks and outlook.

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We, the authors, acknowledge the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community; we pay respect to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present.

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