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The authors regret that the printed version of the above article contained a transcription error in the m/z 1048 peak area column for the branched GDGTs (Table S2). This error affected the GDGT-inferred summer air temperature presented in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and some of the calibrations presented Fig. S2. The GDGT-inferred temperatures have been recalculated and are presented below. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. The corrected GDGT-inferred summer air temperature (Fig. 3) is largely within the uncertainty of the temperature calibration (2.0 °C RMSE, Pearson et al., 2011). While the pattern of the temperature variations over the last 3500 years remains unchanged, the GDGT-inferred summer air temperature is between 0.4 and 3.3 degrees lower than was originally presented. The interpretations of Thomas et al. (2022) are unaffected, with reconstructed changes in temperature at Club Lake still associated with several other palaeoenvironmental proxies. Section 4.1 “Our reconstruction of MSAT varies between about 13 and 16 °C, and appears to display a long-term increase in temperature averaging ~0.1 °C per century (Fig. 3).” should be “Our reconstruction of MSAT varies between about 10 and 15 °C, and appears to display a long-term increase in temperature averaging ~0.13 °C per century (Fig. 3).” Section 4.2 “The reconstructed temperature of 16.2 ± 1 °C (which is higher than the contemporary Thredbo AWS mean summer temperature) must therefore be treated with caution.” should be “The reconstructed temperature of 15.7 ± 1 °C (which is higher than the contemporary Thredbo AWS mean summer temperature) must therefore be treated with caution.” The updated figures and Supplementary information table and figure related to this corrigendum are presented below. [Figure presented] [Figure presented] [Figure presented]

The alpine area of the Australian mainland is highly sensitive to climate and environmental change, and potentially vulnerable to ecosystem tipping points. Over the next two decades the Australian alpine region is predicted to experience temperature increases of at least 1 °C, coupled with a substantial decrease in snow cover. Extending the short instrumental record in these regions is imperative to put future change into context, and potentially provide analogues of warming. We reconstructed past temperatures, using a lipid biomarker palaeothermometer technique and mercury flux changes for the past 3500 years from the sediments of Club Lake, a high-altitude alpine tarn in the Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia. Using a multi-proxy framework, including pollen and charcoal analyses, high-resolution geochemistry, and ancient microbial community composition, supported by high-resolution 210Pb and AMS 14C dating, we investigated local and regional ecological and environmental changes occurring in response to changes in temperature. We find the region experienced a general warming trend over the last 3500 years, with a pronounced climate anomaly occurring between 1000 and 1600 cal yrs. BP. Shifts in vegetation took place during this warm period, characterised by a decline in alpine species and an increase in open woodland taxa which co-occurred with an increase in regional fire activity. Given the narrow altitudinal band of Australian alpine vegetation, any future warming has the potential to result in the extinction of alpine species, including several endemic to the area, as treelines are driven to higher elevations. These findings suggest ongoing conservation efforts will be needed to protect the vulnerable alpine environments from the combined threats of climate changes, fire and invasive species.

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Adsorption pre-treatment to enhance the nanofiltration (NF) removal of inorganic ions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and organic micropollutants (OMP) from microfiltered (MF) wastewater was investigated using NF 90 membrane (contact angle 79% and molecular weight cut off value of 90–200 Da). The NF showed greater rejection for divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+) and anions (SO42−) compared to monovalent cations (Na+, K+) and anions (Cl−, NO3−). The degree of total DOC removal was: GAC adsorption + NF (86%) > an ion exchange resin (Purolite) adsorption + NF (81%) > NF operation alone (72%). GAC + NF removed biopolymers and hydrophobic substances almost completely and the highest percentage of LMW neutral substances. In contrast, Purolite + NF almost completely removed humic substances. The degree of membrane fouling order was: LMW neutrals > building blocks > biopolymers > hydrophobics > humics. Adsorption pre-treatment reduced membrane fouling and increased solution flux, the outcome being better with GAC compared to Purolite. Of the 10 MOPs in the MF water, seven were rejected > 90% by NF without any pre-treatment. Conversely, Purolite and GAC pre-treatments rejected > 90% of all OMPs.

Reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) generated as a waste stream during reverse osmosis treatment of reclaimed wastewater, presents significant disposal challenges. This is because it causes environmental pollution when it is disposed to lands and natural water bodies. A long-term dynamic adsorption experiment was conducted by passing ROC from a wastewater reclamation plant, firstly through a granular activated carbon (GAC) column, and subsequently through an anion exchange resin (Purolite) column, for the removal of two major ROC pollutants, namely dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microorganic pollutants (MOP). GAC removed most of the smaller-sized low molecular weight neutrals and building block fractions as well as the hydrophobic fraction of DOC with much less removal by the subsequent Purolite column. In contrast, the humics fraction was less well removed by the GAC column; however, Purolite column removed all that was remaining of this fraction. This study demonstrated that combining adsorbents having different affinities towards a variety of DOC fractions constitute an effective method of taking advantage of their different properties and achieving larger DOC removals. Almost 100% of all 17 MOPs were removed by the GAC column, even after 2880 bed volumes of continuous use. This contrasted with the DOC fractions' removal which was much lower.