$500 million boost for Australian science infrastructure to benefit GBR

The Great Barrier Reef will benefit from the Australian Government’s plan to inject $500 million into Australian science infrastructure.

The funding, provided under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), will support emerging industries, such as nanotechnology and biotechnology products, underpin mature industries and help to address national challenges, such as generating sustainable energy and managing our natural resources.

An integrated observing system designed to monitor the Great Barrier Reef is among the projects set to receive funding. The project, called the Great Barrier Reef Ocean Observing System (GBROOS) is expected to receive a significant contribution from the Queensland Government to monitor short and long-term environmental changes on the Great Barrier Reef.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) will use remote sensor networks to monitor changes in heat and light (both associated with coral bleaching) and to better predict the impacts of climate change on the ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef.

The GBROOS consortium is led by AIMS and includes James Cook University (JCU), Great Barrier Reef island research stations (University of Queensland, University of Sydney, JCU, Australian Museum), the University of Melbourne and CSIRO. The multi-agency observing system will use a network of sensor instruments to:

• monitor changes in ocean chemistry due to climate change and estimates of global carbon produced from burning fossil fuels.
• monitor dynamics and variability in the East Australian Current (which could be impacted by climate change and have major implications for the GBR).
• monitor dynamics and changes in up-welling in the central GBR important for the region’s marine life.
• monitor increases in ocean acidification due to climate change (a threat to calcareous marine life).
• calibrate and validate satellite-derived maps of sea surface temperature and ocean colour.
• produce real-time hydrodynamics for a circulation model covering the majority of the GBR.

Data from the sensors will be collected, processed, and distributed through a regional data centre based in the High Performance Computing Centre at JCU (Townsville) and the Queensland Parallel Supercomputing Foundation at UQ (Brisbane). These supercomputers are able to provide the massive storage required for the data.

Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, who announced the funding initiative on November 27^th, believes that the additional resources represent a big win for science.

"This $500 million investment will enable researchers to move ahead on issues of national importance such as climate change, conserving biodiversity and the development of new drugs and therapies," Minister Bishop said.

Further information, is available at http://www.ncris.dest.gov.au/

Marine scientists down for the count surface with buried treasure

A host of record-breaking discoveries and revelations that stretch the extreme frontiers of marine knowledge were achieved by the international Census of Marine Life during 2006. Among the novel findings were marine life adapted to brutal conditions around 407ºC fluids spewing from a seafloor vent (the hottest ever discovered), a mighty microbe 1 cm in diameter, mysterious 1.8 kg lobsters off the Madagascar coast, a US school of herring the size of Manhattan Island, and more unfamiliar than familiar species beneath 700 meters of Antarctic ice.

The Census, conducted by a global network of researchers in more than 70 nations, is a 10-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans. Since its inception the Census of Marine Life has discovered 30,000 new marine species. The data is collated in an online library of marine life with more than 10 million records, linking 143 global databases.

To date AIMS has contributed 4 data sets and 41,500 records (which include sightings and locations of individual species) to the Census. The data has been collected by AIMS over the years and includes information from surveys of Australia’s coral reefs. The AIMS data contains information on sharks and other fishes (collected from baited remote underwater video stations), corals, a diversity of other marine organisms, and data collected by AIMS’ long-term monitoring program.

For more information on the Census of Marine Life visit: www.coml.org

For more information on CReefs visit:
www.coml.org/descrip/c-reefs.htm

Senior AIMS scientist achieves a major milestone

Far from being finished with science, however, Dr Wolanski has big plans for the future. He intends to complete 4 books on coastal ecosystems, contribute to the design and production of important management tools for the Great Barrier Reef and to act as a mentor to Australia’s future scientists.

"AIMS has been a marvellous place to do innovative, leading edge science. I look forward to continuing the tradition of outstanding science at AIMS."

Other prolific publishers from AIMS include: Dr Dan Alongi, Dr David Klumpp, Dr Anthony Wright, Dr Terry Done, Dr John Benzie and Dr Clive Wilkinson who all have more than 100 papers to their credit.

Telstra gets chatty with AIMS

A number of senior Telstra executives and Telstra Country Wide staff including Telstra CEO Sol Tujillo, met with AIMS staff members on September 21^st to discuss the Institute’s novel use of Telstra products. The board was impressed with the innovative use of telecommunication technologies in the AIMS sensor network, part of the Great Barrier Reef Ocean Observing System. 

Telstra board members on the AIMS jetty. Photo: Steve Clarke

AIMS staff members contributed to the visit providing talks on: the Telstra/AIMS partnership, water and seafood security, aquaculture, biotechnology, and the sensor network technology. The RV Cape Ferguson provided the Telstra board with an opportunity to experience an AIMS research vessel and was a fitting backdrop for discussions about research technologies that have been designed by AIMS over the years.

As a demonstration of its commitment to AIMS and to scientific research, Telstra will provide AIMS with funding to assist in the further development of the AIMS sensor network.

AIMS sponsors the Siemens Science Experience

More than one hundred year 9 students received the opportunity to experience science first hand during the Siemens Science Experience. AIMS sponsored the programme run by James Cook University in late September. The four-day programme incorporated exciting hands-on activities such as handling snakes, dissecting fish, building electric motors, charismatic lectures and demonstrations on scientific topics, science cinema and a visit to the IMAX planetarium. The programme is designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science.

Photo: Katie Munkres

AIMS science communication officer Katie Munkres, directed the programme which attracted students from across Australia – from New South Wales and Tasmania to Mt Isa.

"It was wonderful for AIMS to be involved in this nationally recognised programme and to share its expertise in the field of marine science with a new generation of scientists."

According to student surveys, one of the programme’s highlights was a dynamic talk entitled "Video fishing technology yields secrets from the deep" presented by AIMS scientist Mike Cappo.

Ms Munkres said that the diversity of activities this year was outstanding. "The students got to sample many fields of science ranging from computer programming to geology. It was wonderful to see so many young people interested in science and feedback from both parents and students was outstanding."

In a letter to the editor of a local paper, one parent professed that the program had been one of the most positive and memorable experiences of her daughter’s life.

"The Siemens Science Experience deserves to be recognised for the contribution it makes to our young people and our society."

Sharing a location with the new West Australian Marine Science Institute (WAMSI) the AIMS WA team is now situated at the University of Western Australia’s Crawley Campus. The move brings the WA staff and their WAMSI partners together into one new modern location, creating a closer link between AIMS and the University of Western Australia by enhancing staff interaction.

Staff members from AIMS will have access to a refurbished laboratory and will benefit from the university’s facilities and services. The new location will further increase AIMS’ research capacity in the west.

The AIMS website www.aims.gov.au is home to information about the Institute’s latest discoveries, new technologies, breaking media stories, reports, scientific data and much more. While the site has received a number of awards from various organisations such as ISI Web of Knowledge, Links2Go and StudyWeb^®, we are constantly seeking to streamline our information delivery to suit the needs of our stakeholders.

We’d love to hear your comments on the current site and any ideas for content and facilities to be included on the new site. Please contribute to the new site by filling out a brief survey.