A climate change scientist has been arrested in Australia on charges of defrauding taxpayers out of $556,000 in false expenses since 2008. Daniel Alongi has admitted to creating false invoices, credit card statements and emails, and his arrest has raised serious concerns over the validity of his climate research. Heartland.org reports: During the period of Alongi’s alleged fraud, his research focusing on the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef, coastal mangroves, and coastal ecosystems was published in numerous national and international journals. Meteorologist Anthony Watts said in a post on his popular climate website Watts Up With That he’s concerned Alongi may have falsified scientific findings to justify his expenses. Alongi has published 140 scientific publications and his work has been cited 5,861 times by other researchers. “If Alongi falsely claimed to have spent half a million dollars on radioisotope testing, it would look pretty strange if he didn’t produce any false test results, to justify the expenditure of all that money,” wrote Watts. ‘Scientists Not Immune to Corruption’ Alongi’s arrest marks the second time in recent months questions have been raised concerning the use of government funds given to carry out climate research. In late 2015, [...]