Jonathan Palmer

Three kids on the back of a ute travelling down a long stretch of dirt road in central Australia

Megadroughts helped topple ancient empires. They're in Australia's past, with more to come

06 Oct 2022

New research shows Australia experienced a number of megadroughts in the last 1000 years. We may be underestimating the severity of drought in Australia’s future.

Trees are reflected by the calm waters of the Daly River in the Northern Territory

As industry lines up to take water from a wild Top End river, trees tell the story of a much drier past

04 Mar 2022

Tree rings are ‘nature’s weather stations’ and reveal far more of the Daly River’s history than scientific records can.

Two gloved hands holding a clay tablet marked 'Si.427'

Hot neighbours, ancient maths and a paleopocalypse: our most-read science stories of 2021

17 Dec 2021

We might’ve been under lockdown this year, but science sure wasn’t.

Ancient relic points to a turning point in Earth's history 42,000 years ago

19 Feb 2021

Just like in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the answer was 42.

Dr. Adam Sookdeo loading the 16th century samples

Researchers unlock secrets of the past with new international carbon dating standard

13 Aug 2020

An international team of scientists have recalculated the curves used for radiocarbon dating – a key method for archaeology and environmental science – for the first time in seven years.

How Antarctic ice melt can be a tipping point for the planet’s climate

13 Sep 2017

New research has prompted warnings that melting Antarctic ice can trigger effects on the other side of the globe.

500 years of drought and flood: trees and corals reveal Australia’s climate history

07 Dec 2015

The dominant theme of Australia’s drought history is variability, write Patrick Baker, Chris Turney and Jonathan Palmer.