I write about Science, Mathematics, and Planet Earth.
As summer temperatures soar, we flock to the ocean to splash, swim, surf, paddle, and plunge in the waves. But where do those waves come from? How do they form, and why do they break? As it turns out, what we see at the shore is just the last few moments of an epic journey.
The headlines in recent months read like an international eco-thriller. At Mauna Loa Observatory, perched high on a Hawaiian volcano, researchers measure unusual levels of CFC-11 in the atmosphere. But the identity of the environmental super-villain remains a mystery.
As dawn washes over Bondi Beach, you can see the surfers beyond the break, gently rising and falling on their boards. They gather like this when the surf forecast tells them a big swell is rolling in, carrying energy from a ferocious Antarctic storm thousands of kilometres away.
