GC. I don't think sharks go into Hamelin Pool, nothing to eat there. Mostly they cruise seagrass meadows in other, normal marine parts of Shark Bay. It is amazing just how fearful a bunch of geologists can become of sharks. Once, one of us swore out loud, his neighbour misheard and thought he was warning of a nearby shark and panicked, setting of a mad scramble for the boat transom. The person leading us just howled with laughter.
I went in winter, when the mosquitoes were allegedly better. We once decided to eat on board our boat anchored well offshore. Once we started cooking a black cloud lifted off from the shore and moved towards us.
I also went (in 1986) before the area was made a national park, so I don't know how people survive and withstand the mosquito onslaught. BTW all the water in the area is brackish to the extent that it is undrinkable and you need special phosphate-rich shampoos.
Nearby is a saltlake Lake MacLeod, where there was a penal colony and prisoners mined rock salt. Good place for a penal colony I always thought.

http://www.thegwpf.com/bbc-forced-to-retract-false-claim-about-hurricanes/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42251921
"You may recall the above report by the BBC, which described how bad last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was, before commenting at the end:

●A warmer world is bringing us a greater number of hurricanes and a greater risk of a hurricane becoming the most powerful category 5. ●

As I promised, I fired off a complaint, which at first they did their best to dodge. After my refusal to accept their reply, they have now been forced to back down.

The above sentence now no longer appears, and instead they now say:

Scientists are still analysing what this data will mean, but a warmer world may bring us a greater number of more powerful category 4 and 5 hurricanes and could bring more extreme rainfall.Correction 29 January 2018: This story has been updated to clarify that it is modelling rather than historical data that predicts stronger and wetter hurricanes."

Where does the BBC get these lies from, and who has to pay for them, and the consequences?

Mar 26, 2018 at 2:49 PM | Supertroll

With all those nasties trying to kill, eat, sting, bite, stab or poison you, it is surprising that the Australian Tourist Industry does not promote it more. The Cyanobacteria are just icing on the cake.

Is the high salinity and density of the water a possible reason why sharks go there? For some form of skin/gill/internal cleansing of parasites?

Does the increased salinity effects the ping of a whale's sonar?

Mar 26, 2018 at 2:49 PM | Supertroll

With all those nasties trying to kill, eat, sting, bite, stab or poison you, it is surprising that the Australian Tourist Industry does not promote it more. The Cyanobacteria are just icing on the cake.

Is the high salinity and density of the water a possible reason why sharks go there? For some form of skin/gill/internal cleansing of parasites?

Does the increased salinity effects the ping of a whale's sonar?

Hamelin Pool is a huge embayment of Shark Bay. The boundary of HP with the rest of the Bay is marked by a series of shallow mud banks that greatly restrict seawater exchange so that waters in the Pool are very saline. So much so that most marine organisms are excluded and in the shallow waters stromatolites live (giving rise to PreCambrian like scenes). That's why people go there - to see the stromatolites. I am very surprised that a huge pod of pilot whales could enter through the entrance, nor be forewarned of danger by the large change of salinity (and buoyancy). Once in the Pool the whales would have been trapped, and in my view the efforts of those people trying to save the whales were doomed (not that I would not have joined in that wasted effort).
Shark Bay is well named, we were continually jumping back on-board our boat in response to every sighting (real and imagined). The area also has fast swimming and deadly coral snakes, and on land black widow spiders, and in the air unbelievable swarms of mosquitoes that blacken the skies. You have to cook inside an area completely enclosed in mosquito nets. If frying eggs outside, as you lift the pan, the eggs instantly turn black as they are covered by insect bodies. A nice place.

Mar 26, 2018 at 1:30 PM | stewgreen

I am not disputing that, but would add bicycle lighting to the list.

I drive every day and night on narrow twisty country lanes, that do not even qualify as "C" roads.

Modern bulb technology means bicycle lights at night, (on all roads) are much more visible from the rear, whether they are brighter or flashing or just more in number.

I have been blinded/dazzled by oncoming vehicles that did not dip their headlights. They were bicycles.

I am absolutely in favour of bicycles being easier to spot, and for bicyclists being able to see. If I rode a bike at night, I would have a bright red rear light, plus one that flashed. I would have a bright white light shining forwards, and one mounted on my head/helmet to illuminate where I was looking.

I don't know whether the Highway Code covers bike lights, brightness, ability to flash, and whether they should be mounted on the bike or rider?

stewgreen

from Wikipedia:
"Etymology
Pilot whales get their name from the original belief that there was a "pilot" or lead individual in their groups.[3][4] The name for the genus, "Globicephala" is derived from a combination of the Latin words globus ("globe") and kephale ("head")."

What happens if the Leader gets sick/elderly and confused, and can't remember which way is safe, and they all follow dutifully as genetically programmed?