Lighthouse of the Week, March 15-21, 2026: Green Cape, New South Wales, Australia

 

I don't think I've featured a lot of lighthouses from Australia (I'm not going to count right now), but it has quite a few. This one has an interesting history, as it was very recently un-retired.  Though I will get the basic information from the Lighthouse Directory, Wikipedia has a detailed article about it.

As the title says, it's in New South Wales, and to get a better idea of where in NSW it is, click here.

So, the basics about it are here:

"1883 (James Barnet). Reactivated (inactive 1992-2026); focal plane 39 m (118 ft); two white flashes every 15 s).. 29 m (95 ft) round concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. Lower section of the tower is square pyramidal, upper section octagonal cylindrical. The original 1st order Fresnel lens is in use with a modern LED beacon. Two 1-story assistant keeper's houses are available for vacation rental. ... This is Australia's oldest concrete lighthouse. Located on a prominent headland about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Eden."

Here's the interesting part, from Wikipedia:

"In 1992 a solar powered lens on a modern lattice skeletal steel tower was constructed right next to the historic tower, and the light was officially turned off on 17 March 1992. The new light operated a 36 W lamp with an intensity of 37,500 cd. With this conversion, the lightstation was effectively de-staffed and a caretaker installed at the site. Once replaced by a new and fully automatic lighthouse, the station became a tourist destination and was recognised for its heritage values. In 2009, Green Cape Lightstation was designated an Engineering Heritage National Landmark – the first lighthouse to be accorded this level of recognition in Australia.

In 2026 [tha's this year] the steel tower had reached the end of its life and after considering cost and the site’s heritage it was replaced by installing a new rotating 10W LED light in the original tower, using the original lens and mercury floatation mechanism."

So it's back in the business of guiding ships at sea!

Let's take a look at it.

NASA knows science (fiction)

 

This post is about an article in which "NASA" picks what it thinks are the best and worst science fiction movies.  

As the article notes, "After looking at the lists, I think we can conclude that the last couple of decades has been both good and bad when it comes to sci-fi in the movies. Special effects can make our imagination come to life on the screen, as in Jurassic Park, but it's no substitute for good storytelling, which is what the worst of the worst all seem to lack. It wasn't that the science itself was bad—that can be ignored if there's a payoff—but there wasn't anything good to balance it out."

NASA Picks Best and Worst Sci-Fi Movies. What Are Yours?

Actually, this selection was made at a meeting at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, so the attendees weren't necessarily all directly affiliated with NASA.  

In a Yahoo! article on the same subject, the esteemed Neil de Grasse Tyson was noted in this manner:

"If you're curious, Neil deGrasse Tyson's approved sci-fi list also features several of these titles. Others he called out are "The Matrix," "The Martian," "Interstellar," the ever-classic "Back to the Future," "Deep Impact" from 1998, and Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" released in 1968."

I thought Interstellar, The Martian, and 2001 did deserve to be on the first list of the best, but they didn't make it.  

I guess The Chronicles of Riddick doesn't have a chance, but it sure is fun. 

Finally, I'd add the original Total Recall, despite the violence, and Arrival, which has a very interesting twist that Kurt Vonnegut would have probably liked.

I also liked Logan's Run, perhaps for different reasons than quality. 

As if we couldn't tell

 

Eos is the magazine of the American Geophysical Union, and they have many good articles that have their fingertips on the pulse of the planet.  So, it's not a read an article from Eos taking about the planetary fever, aka global warming (or global heating, which some sectors prefer).

The Past 3 Years Have Been the Three Hottest on Record

"The report’s authors called the exceptional heat of the past 3 years a “warming spike” that may indicate an acceleration in the rate of climate change. “The warming observed from 2023 through 2025 stands out clearly from the long-term trend,” said Robert Rohde, chief scientist at Berkeley Earth, in a statement.

Such a spike may also indicate that the past warming rate is no longer a reliable predictor of future warming, the authors wrote.

“2023, 2024, and 2025 collectively cause us to rethink” Earth’s warming rate, Rohde said in a press briefing. Whether warming is accelerating or not, Earth’s temperature is rapidly exceeding key thresholds, such as the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5°C (2.7°F), he said."

And to think that there are people that a) deny that this is even happening, b) deny what's causing it, and c) call it a hoax.

It's not good, folks.

A real advance: the High Seas Treaty

 

World Resources Institute has provided a guide to the High Seas Treaty. For a world that needs world governance, it's an important advance.  (Note:  the USA is a signatory, but has not ratified the treaty.)

After 20 Years, an Agreement to Safeguard the 'High Seas' Takes Force

Why the High Seas Treaty Matters

"The ambition of the High Seas Treaty has always been immense. It seeks to facilitate international coordination on activities within Earth's largest public common, covering around half the planet's surface.

The high seas host a diverse array of marine life, from microscopic plankton to colossal blue whales. Alongside supporting global fisheries and food security, they are home to valuable natural resources that countries and companies are ever-more eager to explore and exploit. For example, marine genetic materials are increasingly sought after to support pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and other innovations.

Without a binding global treaty, the high seas have been governed patchwork style through regional fisheries agreements, shipping conventions, and scattered marine protected areas which cover less than 1% of the high seas. This leaves critical gaps in protecting marine biodiversity and ensuring that developing countries also benefit from discoveries made in international waters.

The High Seas Treaty will fill regulatory gaps, complement national efforts and enable coordinated conservation measures on the high seas, all of which will be critical for achieving international climate and biodiversity goals. It will also help guide regional cooperation and link seamlessly to countries' sustainable ocean plans, through which 21 nations have pledged to sustainably manage 100% of the ocean areas under their jurisdiction.

Together, these measures will come together to create a more cohesive system of ocean stewardship spanning from coastlines to open ocean."

What if a country has signed it but hasn't ratified it?  (I asked that question.)

"As of Jan. 15, the High Seas Treaty has been ratified by 83 parties, who are now legally bound to it. These are also the only countries that will have a say at the treaty summit (BBJN COP) later this year. Countries that have signed but not yet ratified the treaty are not currently legally required to fulfil its requirements. However, they are committed to refraining from activities that contradict the treaty's objectives."

Where ice goes when it gets warmer

 

AS if we weren't aware, when the global climate warms, Antarctica gets warmer, and when Antarctica gets warmer, its ice sheets shrink and retreat.

That's what research confirms.

Ancient Sediments Reveal Ice Sheet’s Vulnerability to Warming
Ancient sediments revealed that the Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated inland multiple times during warmer climates.

It's a very interesting study.

"A record of repeated retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the past warm climates has been identified by IODP Exp379 Scientists. By analyzing deep-sea sediments from the Amundsen Sea and tracing their geochemical signatures, the study shows that the ice sheet retreated far inland at least five times during the warm Pliocene Epoch. The findings highlight the ice sheet’s sensitivity to warming and its potential to drive future sea-level rise.

The Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers, located in the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), are among the fastest-melting glaciers on Earth. Together, they are losing ice more rapidly than any other part of Antarctica, raising serious concerns about the long-term stability of the ice sheet and its contribution to future sea-level rise."

...

"The team analyzed marine sediments collected during the IODP Expedition 379. The sediments recovered from the Site U1532 on the Amundsen Sea continental rise act as a historical archive, recording changes in ice sheets and ocean conditions over millions of years.

They identified two distinct sediment layers reflecting alternating cold and warm climate phases: thick, gray, and finely laminated clays from cold glacial periods, when ice extended across much of the continental shelf; and thinner, greenish layers formed during warmer interglacial periods. The green color comes from the microscopic algae, indicating open, icefree ocean waters. Crucially, these warm-period layers also contain iceberg-rafted debris (IRD), small rock fragments carried by icebergs, that broke off from the Antarctic continent. As these icebergs drifted across the Amundsen Sea and melted, they released this debris onto the seafloor."

...

"The sediment record reveals a consistent four-stage cycle of warming and cooling. During cold glacial periods, the ice sheet was extensive and stable, covering the continent. As the climate warmed, during the early interglacial stage, basal melting began, leading to the inland retreat of the ice sheet. At peak warmth, during the peak interglacial stage, large icebergs calved from the retreating ice margin and transported sediment from the Antarctic interior across the Amundsen Sea. As temperatures cooled again, during the glacial-onset stage, the ice sheet rapidly regrew, pushing previously deposited sediments toward the shelf edge and transporting them further downslope into deeper waters."

Reference: Horikawa K, Iwai M, Hillenbrand CD, et al. Repeated major inland retreat of Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers (West Antarctica) during the Pliocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2026;123(1): doi: 10.1073/pnas.2508341122

Drilling cores show important markers of events during the Pliocene age: At right, the red arrow marks a layer of volcanic ash erupted from a West Antarctic volcano roughly 3 million years ago. At left is a section illustrating thin layers of mud marking the onset of glacial conditions. It overlies a thick bed of pebbly material dropped from icebergs during interglacial conditions. The white box marks the narrow zone containing the unique isotopic signature. Credit: IODP Expedition 379, JOIDES Resolution Science Operator

Where's Bodø?

 

If you don't know where 

Bodø is, I don't blame you. I wasn't sure either. I didn't even know what country it was in (Norway). Find it by clicking here. It's pretty far north. It's well north of Bergen. It's north of Trondheim. Hell, it's north of Iceland.

What brought the city and it's football team to my attention was that back in January in a Champions League match vs. vaunted Manchester City, on a sub-freezing night, the team, Bodø/Glimt, defeated MC by a score of 3-1.

Hard to believe, right?

Here's a short description of the surprising match.

Man City stunned by Bodø/Glimt as Rodri sees red

" The second-half sending-off of Rodri completed a miserable evening for big-spending City in Bodø, a fishing town with a population of around 55,000 and located north of the Arctic Circle -- more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo. "

Despite having one of the most dominant players in the world, who happens to be Norwegian, Erling Haaland (shown below in green), they couldn't beat the team wearing bright yellow. Maybe the bright yellow uniforms hurt their eyes.

 

Lighthouse of the Week, March 8-14, 2026: Sletterhage Fyr, Denmark

 

OK, so I led off the prior post with a quote from Hamlet, and that led me to look for a lighthouse in Denmark. I've featured several Denmark lighthouses already in the ongoing Lighthouse of the Week series, and even a repeat for one that had to be move on account of it being threatened with sand dune inundation.

This one this week is the Sletterhage Fyr, and as is my custom, the location of it is here.  It's on a peninsula (Helgenæs Peninsula) that really ought to be an island, because the isthmus (Dragsmur) connecting it to bigger areas of land is really narrow.  The nearest populated place of note is Århus, across the water of the remarkably named Bay of Århus.

Now we can get some information on it, from where I get my information, the Lighthouse Directory:

"1894 (station established 1872). Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white, red or green light, depending on direction, 7.5 s on, 2.5 s off. 16 m (52 ft) round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white, lantern white with red horizontal bands. ... The original lighthouse, a wood tower, was built by the city of Århus. In 2009 a preservation group Sletterhage Fyrs Venner was formed to work for preservation of the lighthouse and to open it to the public. The lighthouse marks the end of the Helgenæs peninsula about 20 km (13 mi) east of Århus."

Three pictures and a video complete this post.