Latest news with #Furphy
ABC News
23-04-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Discarded weather balloons from Tasmania found on Warrnambool beach
Pete Furphy never expected to be collecting high-tech scientific equipment when he took his kids to clean a remote beach on Victoria's south-west coast. The Furphys were scouring a 3.5-kilometre stretch of Warrnambool beach, three hours' drive west of Melbourne, when his 12-year-old daughter spotted a piece of plastic foam with an antenna and a deflated piece of latex attached. A bit of research revealed it was not ordinary marine debris — they had found the remains of a weather balloon that had floated across Bass Strait from Tasmania. It was launched as part of a US-led project studying climate and atmospheric conditions. The packs, called radiosondes, record information about clouds and precipitation. ( Supplied: Warrnambool Beach Patrol ) About 1,300 weather balloons are launched globally every day, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. How many of those, like the Furphy's find, end up on a beach far from home is not clear. "It's like state-sanctioned littering," Mr Furphy said. "To be on that beach when we're so far away from other urban centres, it's a shock to see the plastic." Keeping the coast clear Colleen Hughson leads the team of environmental warriors cleaning beaches across the south-west. She was not as surprised by the find. "She said we've been getting heaps of them this summer, they're putting up two of them every day," Mr Furphy said. " But that day we went out we found two of these meteorological measuring devices, which is quite extraordinary. " Volunteers have found six discarded weather balloons on south-west Victoria shores in recent months. ( Supplied: Warrnambool Beach Patrol ) The balloons are launched from the Kennaook/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station on Tasmania's north-west tip — one of just three sites globally selected for their pristine air quality. Each package carries a radiosonde — a styrofoam box with sensors, GPS, and batteries — to measure temperatures, relative humidity, pressure, wind speed, wind direction. Warrnambool's Beach Patrol crew have found five other similar balloons washed up on south-west Victorian shores this summer. The CAPE-k project The cleanest air in the world is collected from an air-monitoring station at Kennaook/Cape Grim. ( ABC News: Jordan Young ) The weather balloons found in Warrnambool were from the CAPE-k research project hosted by the CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and the US Department of Energy. Photo shows Aerial Kennaook_Cape Grim baseline air monitoring station in Tasmania When the wind blows in from the Southern Ocean, the north-western tip of Tasmania receives the purest air on the planet. For scientists, it's the perfect place to resolve a puzzle that's messing with climate models. The project's operations manager, Heath Powers, said taking samples in such a pristine environment allowed researchers to gather data about how clouds formed without influence from emissions. Every day, up to four weather balloons are launched from the station and rise 25 kilometres into the atmosphere. "They start off as pretty decent-sized party balloons … and as they go up the atmospheric pressure drops and they get bigger and bigger and bigger until at the top of their flight they're about the size of a school bus," Mr Powers said. " That's when they finally burst and fall back to Earth. " Eco-friendly options Mr Powers said the balloons, which were made out of a natural latex rubber, and the attached packages were ultimately incorporated into the environment because there was no practical way to retrieve them. He said testing of more eco-friendly packages was underway. The new radiosonde packages are made out of a wax-covered cardboard wrapping. Mr Powers said the research was important enough to justify the environmental impact. "Clouds have a huge impact on warming and cooling of the Earth's surface, which impacts everything from long-term climate to short-term weather," Mr Powers said. Researchers are testing radiosondes made out of more biodegradable materials. ( Supplied: Vaisala ) He said launching weather balloons was "absolutely vital" to scientific research and operational science, such as forecasting and understanding how weather impacted people. "I want to acknowledge that these certainly have an environmental impact and we're working to try and improve and minimise the impact," he said. " The trade-off is that the measurements and the impact on people's quality of life and people's safety by knowing what the weather is, are absolutely important and that's part of the trade-off equation. "
Observer
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Pacers rally from 27 down to dispatch Cavaliers
The fourth-place Indiana Pacers rallied from 27 down on the road — the biggest comeback in team history — to beat the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers 126-118 in a battle of Eastern Conference play-off teams on Sunday. Two-way player RayJ Dennis scored seven straight points in the second overtime and rookie Johnny Furphy added six points in the second extra period for the Pacers (50-32), who reached 50 wins for the first time since 2013-14. Quenton Jackson led Indiana with 21 points and Tony Bradley collected 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Cavaliers (64-18) rested nine of their top 10 scorers, including injured Donovan Mitchell (ankle) along with fellow All-Stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, but their non-rotation players shined in building a 74-47 lead midway through the third quarter. Rookie Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 31 points, Emoni Bates had a career-best 25 points and Nae'Qwan Tomlin had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson grabbed 20 rebounds in 43 minutes, but was 1 of 6 from the foul line. Furphy dunked in transition with 10 seconds left in regulation, forcing OT at 105. Indiana ended the fourth on a 32-9 run fuelled by 11 points from Jackson. Furphy finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Tyson scored the first four points in the first extra period, but the Pacers answered with two Jackson free throws and another Furphy dunk to send the game to double-OT at 109. Bradley missed a hook in the lane at the buzzer. Cleveland will face the No 8 seed in the East, which won't be determined until the conclusion of the play-in tournament on April 18. Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami are their potential foes for Game 1 on April 20. The Pacers take on No 5 seed Milwaukee in the opening round. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam (elbow) and point guard Tyrese Haliburton (back) were held out, along with guards Bennedict Mathurin (left calf soreness) and Ben Sheppard (left big toe sprain). Center Jarrett Allen, who played 41 seconds to accomplish his goal of appearing in all 82 games, finished the season with the seventh-best field goal percentage in NBA history at 70.6 per cent. He is the first member of the Cavaliers to lead the league in the category. — Reuters
USA Today
25-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How did Johnny Furphy perform in the G League? Stats for Mad Ants in career-high game
How did Johnny Furphy perform in the G League? Stats for Mad Ants in career-high game Indiana Pacers rookie Johnny Furphy set a new career high in scoring Monday on assignment in the G League, leading the Indiana Mad Ants against the Windy City Bulls. Furphy produced 29 points, nine rebounds, two steals and one assist in the 116-113 loss at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He finished by shooting 10-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in 36 minutes. The 35th pick made six out of his first seven shots from the field, scoring 17 points in the first half alone. He committed only two turnovers and was a minus-six on the court. Furphy logged his 10th appearance with the Mad Ants, averaging 14.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and one block on 45.2% shooting from the field. He has scored in double figures seven times and registered three double-doubles. The 20-year-old has spent much of the season with the Pacers, though he has played sparingly; he has only played more than 10 minutes once in 2025. The team expected Furphy would be in the G League but has kept him around for depth and learning purposes. The organization is high on his potential and believes he can eventually step in and contribute. He has showcased his ability at a high level with the Mad Ants and has offered a glimpse of the production he can bring on a nightly basis.
