But… what’s inside the container?
Posted: February 26, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, coring system, Future Research Vessel Project, Group 2 scientific equipment, RV Investigator, ship construction Leave a commentDo you remember last week we took delivery of the coring container, at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Laboratories in Hobart?
Well, I bet you’re dying to know what’s inside? I was.
Here’s a potted history of the manufacture, testing and delivery of the coring system that will be onboard RV Investigator.
What has six detachable legs and has arrived in Hobart?
Posted: February 24, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Future Research Vessel Project, Geoscience, Group 2 scientific equipment, Multi-corer, RV Investigator, ship construction Leave a commentRV Investigator’s fabulous new multi-corer of course!
The Group 2 equipment recently arrived at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Laboratories in Hobart.
Scientists onboard Australia’s new Marine National Facility research vessel, Investigator,will use the multi-corer to collect samples of mud and the small animals living within the first 50 centimetres of the sea bed.
Dr Lindsay Pender and Samantha Bouhricha, from the Future Research Vessel Project, were on hand to open and inspect the package.
Standing out from the crowd!
Posted: February 20, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Future Research Vessel Project, Group 2 scientific equipment, RV Investigator, ship construction, shipping container 1 CommentRV Investigator’s first shipping container has arrived at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Laboratories in Hobart. It’s a workshop and storage facility for Investigator’s coring system.
The design on all the shipping containers matches the livery (design and paint work) on the ship.
This will help our shipping containers stand out, and make it easier to find them, when they’re shipped to big port facilities in cities around Australia.
Meet one of our team, Ship Operations Manager, Don McKenzie
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Future Research Vessel Project, HSE Awards, RV Investigator, Southern Surveyor 1 Comment
What is your current role?
I look after the science teams that carry out research on Australia’s Marine National Facility (MNF) research vessel. Until late 2013 this was Southern Surveyor but it will soon be replaced by our new research vessel, Investigator. I work with the scientists who apply for sea time onboard the ship during the applications process, then once the Science Advisory Committee and the Marine National Facility Steering Committee have ranked the applications against the assessment criteria set by the Minister, my team and I prepare the annual schedule of research voyages. The planning process for each voyage starts about two years before the scientists go to sea.
Why does this work appeal to you?
Every day is different, every voyage is different, every port is different and every challenge is different. I work with some of the best marine scientists in the world, and help them to successfully and safely plan and carry out their research at sea. I travel to ports around Australia and in the Pacific, to mobilise the ship for voyages, and about once a year I join a voyage. I work in a great team of people who all enjoy their work as much as I do, and I have a pretty amazing office with a view over the wharf and harbour in Hobart.
What is the most memorable moment or achievement you have had at Marine National Facility?
On the back deck of Southern Surveyor, at 50 degrees South, at sunset; it was so calm and the sea so glassy, that every albatross was perfectly reflected on the golden surface. When it got dark even the stars were clearly reflected.
Who in the Marine National Facility, past or present, has inspired you and why?
Professor Richard Arculus who is a volcanologist from the Australian National University (ANU) has been a frequent user of the MNF vessels over the years, and he has also been part of in the MNF Steering Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee. Richard is always really enthusiastic about his work. He is an amazing communicator and very generous with his time in explaining what they are doing and why it is important – when talking to different groups he can change gear seamlessly depending on his audience to make sure everyone understands. He is also a very knowledgeable rugby fan, which I’m a bit partial to.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up – are you doing it now?
A fisherman. And, as for doing it now, only on weekends, sometimes.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Fishing! I also like travelling, cooking and enjoy a good meal and I like to source fresh, local and seasonal produce.
What do you like most about working at the Marine National Facility?
The people, the ships, the sea, the science and the variety of work I’m able to do.
What one word would you use to describe the Marine National Facility?
Facilitating great science (there are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can’t).
Towing the line!
Posted: February 14, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Future Research Vessel Project, RV Investigator, ship construction, Winch Leave a commentMarine scientists use a variety of equipment to collect all sorts of samples from our oceans.
Smaller pieces of equipment, like plankton nets, or equipment that’s able to take samples from the surface of the ocean floor, only need a small winch for deployment and retrieval.
This vertical sediment winch, located below the back deck of RV Investigator, will be used to do this work.
The final piece in the CTD puzzle arrives in Hobart!
Posted: February 12, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, CTD, Future Research Vessel Project, RV Investigator, ship construction Leave a commentThe 24 bottle CTD rosette has been delivered to the CSIRO Laboratories in Hobart as part of the Group 2 equipment for RV Investigator.
A carbon dioxide monitor for RV Investigator!
Posted: February 10, 2014 Filed under: Home | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Carbon dioxide, Future Research Vessel Project, Group 2 scientific equipment, PC02 monitor, RV Investigator, ship construction Leave a commentA carbon dioxide monitor has been purchased as part of the Group 2 scientific equipment for RV Investigator.
Did you know the ocean absorbs about 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere?
Oceanographers will use the equipment onboard Investigator, to work out how much carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by the oceans and seas around Australia.
All of this data will contribute to an international effort to track the flow of carbon dioxide into the ocean.
The equipment has been delivered, unpacked by Matt Sherlock and Craig Neill from the CSIRO Laboratories in Hobart and is being tested, before installation onboard RV Investigator.
