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Ocean Plastic

Ocean plastic; Mekong River; Australian aboriginal astronomy; Atomic clocks and lasers

Experts in waste management have calculated the amount of plastic waste entering the worlds' oceans. In 2010, five grocery bags stuffed with plastic per foot of coastline for the whole world! And it is set to get much worse if we do not deal with plastic waste in a more sustainable way.

Mekong River
Record low levels of water in South Asia's 7th longest river recently forced the Chinese to release water from a dam to free stranded cargo ships in Myanmar. But it is the amount of sediment flowing in the river that is really worrying scientists. If predicted climate change causes the monsoon and typhoon rains to miss the catchment area - it will lose 8% of the water, but significantly more sediment washing into the river annually. This means the important rice growing land at the Mekong Delta in Vietnam will start to disappear and be doubly vulnerable to sea level rise.

Australian Aboriginal Astronomy
A strange ancient rock formation in the Australian outback, appears to be an early map of the Universe. But how this was discovered sheds light on our over reliance on technology.

Atomic Clocks and Lasers
2015 is the International Year of Light - celebrated recently at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris with a series of talks. It is also the 60th anniversary of the first atomic clock. Professor Bill Phillips explains how lasers are being used to slow the atoms in atomic clocks - ideal for making accurate checks and calibrations of GPS satellites.

(Photo: Plastic bags and other rubbish are collected from the waters of Manila Bay on July 3, 2014 during a campaign by environmental activists and volunteers calling for a ban of the use of plastic bags. Credit: Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Fri 13 Feb 2015 13:32GMT

Chapters

  • Ocean Plastics

    New figures for the amount of plastic entering the worlds' oceans

    Duration: 05:49

  • Mekong River

    The fate of sediment in the Mekong River

    Duration: 07:35

  • Australian Aboriginal Astronomy

    An ancient rock formation in the Australian outback, could be an early map of the Universe

    Duration: 06:37

  • Atomic Clocks and Lasers

    Laser cooling atomic clocks for better accuracy

    Duration: 05:08

Broadcasts

  • Thu 12 Feb 2015 19:32GMT
  • Fri 13 Feb 2015 00:32GMT
  • Fri 13 Feb 2015 04:32GMT
  • Fri 13 Feb 2015 13:32GMT

Podcast