Debate concerning the environmental impact of human arrival in Australia has continued for more than a century. Here we review the evidence for human impact and the mechanisms by which humans may have affected the environment of tropical Australia. We limit our review to tropical Australia because, over three decades ago, it was proposed that the imposition of an anthropogenic fire regime upon human occupation of the Australia...

An extremely simple univariate statistical model called ‘IndOzy’ was developed to predict El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The model uses five delayed‐time inputs of the Niño 3.4 sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) index to predict up to 12 months in advance. The prediction skill of the model was assessed using both short‐ and long‐term indices and compared with other operational dynamical and statistical models....

We analyzed the contributions of clouds, turbidity, and tides to variations in irradiance and predicted benthic primary productivity on a coastal coral reef over a period of 2 yr (2001–2002). At 1.5 m below lowest astronomical tide (3.8–m tidal range), attenuation by suspended solids (turbidity) accounted for 74–79% of the total annual variation in irradiance, clouds for 14–17%, and tides for 7–10%. With increasing depth, the...