"Digital skins" for the environment set
to revolutionise marine science
May 20, 2005
A network of environmental sensors, dubbed "digital skins",
distributed throughout the marine environment will feed back real time
information to scientists investigating issues of concern like water
quality and coral bleaching.
This is one of the exciting advantages of a new fibre optic link
established this month, between the Australian Institute of Marine
Science (AIMS) and James Cook University (JCU), and largely funded by
the AIMS @ JCU joint venture.
AIMS Chief Executive Officer Dr Ian Poiner said it is a significant
milestone for AIMS, JCU and AIMS @ JCU. "The link provides a much
improved infrastructure for us to continue to build our relationship
with JCU and to communicate our research to the world."
"It will virtually eliminate the distance between AIMS and JCU
researchers by enabling "virtual" in-lab collaboration, and provide
for better interactive means with other universities," he said.
The ability to transfer field observations from "digital skins", or
sensors, back to the data centre as it happens is cutting edge
technology that will revolutionise north Queensland’s marine research
capacity. The information can be immediately processed and applied to
visualisation and modelling systems.
"It will allow scientists to better predict climate associated
events, like coral bleaching, and understand the processes in the lead
up," Dr Poiner said.
The link consists of 12 pairs of glass fibres, which will connect
AIMS to JCU and from there to Brisbane and into a high speed national
link operated by AARNet - Australian Academic Research Network Pty
Ltd.
AIMS Information Technology and Data Centre Manager Scott
Bainbridge said it opens up a new world of access to high-speed
networks. It will let AIMS scientists use the JCU supercomputer as
though it was sitting in their office, and it will let JCU scientists
use AIMS data and modelling capabilities in the same way – and that’s
just the beginning – because of the AARNET link, AIMS and JCU
scientists can use these and similar facilities across the globe,
enabling immediate access to scientific analysis systems, and allowing
other research agencies to utilise our data and work with our people.
"We have come a long way in the past 20 years. In 1985 our data
link to the external world was 9,600 bits per second, today our new
link to the Internet will be 1,000,000,000 (1GB) bits per second," Mr
Bainbridge said.
