The big day is here: RV Investigator’s Welcome to Port
Posted: December 12, 2014 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, RV Investigator, welcome to port 3 Comments
RV Investigator will be formally commissioned in Hobart today.
The day has finally arrived: our new 94 metre, A$120 million research vessel (RV) Investigator will be commissioned in Hobart today.
This marks Investigator’s transition from being a CSIRO ship building and commissioning project to being Australia’s new Marine National Facility ship, ready to embark on its maiden voyage in March 2015.
You may have noticed we’ve been making quite a bit of fuss about the Investigator recently. Here’s three* good reasons why.
First of all, she’s good news for Tasmania. Between them, Investigator and the Marine National Facility pump somewhere between $7 million and $11 million a year into the local economy. In the last ten years Hobart has become a marine and Antarctic science hub. CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship and the University of Tasmania’s $45 million Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) headquarters are located there, along with a large number of other marine and Antarctic bodies. Investigator will enhance this.
Secondly, she’s good news for Australia in general. We will be using the expanded scientific capability of the Investigator to work on projects that are specifically selected to benefit our nation, like:
- helping increase aquaculture productivity,
- giving us a better understanding of the dominant role of the ocean in weather and climate variability,
- revolutionising fisheries science and management, and
- providing a greater understanding of the changing dynamics of the ocean floor (such as the movement of tectonic plates, which can trigger tsunamis).
And third, as Federal Industry Minister the Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP explains, she brings greater capacity to do research across Australia’s marine territory. For example, we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our deepest oceans, and only 12% of the ocean floor within Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone has so far been mapped. With the Investigator we will now be able to map the ocean floor to any depth, search for resources, better understand our fisheries, collect weather data 20km into the atmosphere and much more.
Now that we’ve covered off the broad strokes, it’s time to take a closer look at the ship itself! First, check out this cool time lapse video of Investigator being built, from beginning to end:
And once you’re finished with that, take a tour inside:
She’s an awesome sight. If you’re in Hobart this afternoon, be sure to come down and check out the official Welcome to Port event. We’d love to see you!
*An extra super bonus reason we love the Investigator? Nautical puns.
RV Investigator’s maiden voyage southward bound
Posted: December 12, 2014 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility, Media Releases | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, RV Investigator Leave a commentMarine National Facility media release, 12 December 2014
Today at the Welcome to Port Celebrations in Hobart, Investigator will transition from being a CSIRO ship building and commissioning project to being Australia’s new Marine National Facility ship ready to embark on its maiden voyage in March 2015.
The Chair of the Marine National Facility (MNF) Steering Committee, Dr Ian Poiner, said the maiden voyage is a collaboration involving the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, the Integrated Marine Observing System, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, and will be led by Professor Tom Trull.
“Professor Trull’s research will continue to contribute to the global understanding of the Southern Ocean, which plays a dominant role in the movement of heat throughout the world’s oceans as it moderates the Earth’s weather, its variability, and rate of change,” Dr Poiner said.
“The voyage will redeploy the Integrated Marine Observing System’s Southern Ocean Time Series and Southern Ocean Flux Station moorings, reestablishing essential monitoring infrastructure providing time series measurements critical for our understanding of the Southern Ocean.”
“In a time of global interest in the Southern Ocean, this voyage will reinforce Australia’s research investment in the region, and will help us better understand this vast ocean’s influence on weather and rainfall in Australia and globally.”
“The 94 metre Investigator is capable of 10,000 nautical miles, or 60 days in a single voyage, and the maiden voyage is the first on which Australian researchers will have access to an enviable suite of scientific equipment that will dramatically improve Australia’s national marine knowledge, putting our country at the forefront of marine research internationally.”
“The MNF Steering Committee is very excited about managing the $120 million ship on behalf of the nation and enabling research crucial to managing our vast ocean estate,” Dr Poiner said.
“Research enabled by the MNF contributes to Australia’s national benefit, and informs government and industry to support decision making in fisheries management, geological resources, regional and global climate, coastal and offshore developments and marine operations.”
“Australia has the third largest marine jurisdiction globally, with sovereign rights over much of this vast estate and associated fishing, biotechnological, mineral, and petroleum resources.”
“These resources and their associated industries contribute to the vitality and sustained success of the Australian economy, in 2009 the national value of production across all marine-based industries was valued at AUD$ 42.3 billion, contributing to more than 10 per cent of GDP.
A full list of voyages for the next three years is available on the Marine National Facility website www.mnf.csiro.au
Investigator goes to sea, to see what it can (3-D) see
Posted: December 11, 2014 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility, Media Releases | Tags: 3-D mapping, Investigator, sea bed mapping, sea floor mapping, Southern Surveyor, welcome to port Leave a comment
By Hannah Scott
Tomorrow will mark the official Welcome to Port for the new research vessel, Investigator – however science success is already happening on board!
Over the last few weeks hydrographers on board the Investigator have created the first 3-D images to come from the vessel of the ocean floor around Tasmania: and the results are spectacular.
The impressive ship is equipped with sonar that will map the sea floor in 3-D to any depth, and a sub-bottom profiling system that can look further up to 100 metres into the actual sea bed, to determine its composition.
The team responsible have been setting out 120 nautical miles north east and south east of Hobart to test and calibrate a range of equipment and the sea floor data is being collected as they go.
An area of sea floor mapped by the Investigator recently.
While there have previously been images of Tasmania’s surrounding sea floor collected in sections, the Investigator has allowed the data to be collected at a higher resolution than ever before. To put this into perspective, the sonar on the previous research vessel, Southern Surveyor, operated to 3000 metres and the Investigator can map in detail to any ocean depth.
Investigator has recently undertaken sea trials off the coast of Tasmania to test and calibrate around $20 million worth of scientific equipment in preparation for research voyages in 2015.
The Welcome to Port Celebrations for RV Investigator will be held on the CSIRO Wharf at Battery Point, Hobart, on Friday 12 December 2014, which will mark the official handover of the ship from CSIRO to the Marine National Facility for operation.
The public are invited to come down to the CSIRO Wharf from 3pm to 8pm, where there will be science education activities for all ages, science equipment on display and the chance to win a ship tour of RV Investigator. The event is free.
New underwater footage from Lord Howe Island Marine Park
Posted: March 7, 2013 Filed under: Marine National Facility, Media Releases, RV Southern Surveyor | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, Ball's Pyramid, Brendan Brooke, Deep water corals, Geoscience Australia, Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve, Lord Howe Island Marine Park, Southern Surveyor Leave a commentYesterday we were able to bring you news of Professor Colin Woodroffe’s research voyage to Ball’s Pyramid, onboard Australia’s Marine National Facility Research Vessel, Southern Surveyor.
The team, led by Professor Woodroffe from the University of Wollongong, which included researchers from Geoscience Australia, has been filming the ancient relics of coral reefs formed around 8000 years ago, around a remnant volcano in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park that sits within the new Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
Today we can show you some of the video footage from 30 metres below the ocean’s surface, near Ball’s Pyramid, which is part of the marine park.
[An underwater camera is towed by Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor. The camera captures images of sea whips and the seafloor]
[An underwater camera is towed by Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor. The camera captures images of the seafloor which is made up of ancient corals and an angel fish swims past]
[An underwater camera is towed by Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor. The camera captures images of the seafloor which drops away from the camera and small fish swim past]
Research allows scientists to time travel 8000 years
Posted: March 6, 2013 Filed under: Home, Marine National Facility, Media Releases, RV Southern Surveyor | Tags: Australia's Marine National Facility, b, Ball's Pyramid, Brendan Brooke, Deep water corals, Geoscience Australia, Lord Howe Island Marine Park, Professor Colin Woodroffe, Southern Surveyor, The University of Wollongong 2 Comments
THIS MEDIA RELEASE WAS ISSUED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG ON 6 MARCH 2013.
New underwater footage allows researchers to time travel 8000 years
Researchers from the University of Wollongong and Geoscience Australia have been filming the ancient relics of coral reefs formed around 8000 years ago, around a remnant volcano in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, which sits within the new Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
Onboard Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor, the team led by Marine Geologist, Professor Colin Woodroffe, has been mapping and taking samples in shallow waters around Ball’s Pyramid, 600 kilometres east of Australia’s mainland.
“We have been able to map large sections of the seafloor in the shallower areas around the pyramid,” Professor Colin Woodroffe said, “and discovered that coral flourished there in the past.”
This research is a further collaboration between the University of Wollongong, Geoscience Australia, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the managers of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. The researchers are working closely with the park managers to ensure that the results of the study can be incorporated into future management and monitoring plans.
Geoscience Australia Geologist, Dr Brendan Brooke said the ancient coral system indicates that around 8000 years ago the sea level was about 30 metres lower than it is today.
“The seafloor samples collected here will help us understand how coral reefs responded to changes in ocean temperature thousands of years ago, and can provide an insight into how today’s reefs may respond to current and future environmental changes” Dr Brooke said.
The underwater video of the fossilised reef provides further information about the seabed habitats of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. Interpreting the habitats is a part of a doctoral thesis that will be undertaken by Michelle Linklater, from the University of Wollongong, in collaboration with the Marine Park Authority.
Here are some photos from the research voyage.
Calling for applications for Next Wave and the Transit Voyage Science Program
Posted: March 1, 2013 Filed under: Home, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor Leave a comment
Each year Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel Southern Surveyor undertakes a number of transit voyages between the ports where one research voyage finishes and the next commences.
Between June and September 2013, Southern Surveyor will undertake three transit voyages.
These transit voyages have come about due to the extension of Southern Surveyor’s research schedule from March to September 2013 to meet requirements of Australia’s Marine National Facility (AMNF) program until the new research vessel RV Investigator arrives.
Southern Surveyor’s extended 2013 schedule is on the MNF web site at http://www.marine.csiro.au/nationalfacility/schedules/1213.htm and shows the newly scheduled transit voyages between June and September 2013.
The transit voyages provide an opportunity for researchers, early career researchers and students to carry out underway or opportunistic science.
There are two Programs available: Next Wave (for early career researchers and students) and the Transit Voyage Science Program (for researchers).
Any transit voyage may accommodate both Next Wave and the Transit Voyage Science Program.
Australia’s Marine National Facility is now calling for Applications for Next Wave and the Transit Voyage Science Program between June and September 2013.
The Call for Applications will open on Friday, 8 February 2013 and close at 17:00 on Monday, 11 March 2013. For more information and to download an Application Pack please go to http://www.marine.csiro.au/nationalfacility/transitvoyages/index.htm.
Southern Surveyor locates resting place of WW2 shipwreck
Posted: February 5, 2013 Filed under: Marine National Facility, Media Releases, RV Southern Surveyor | Tags: Ballina, Limerick, shipwreck, Southern Surveyor, WW2 Leave a comment
MV Limerick off Ballina
THIS MEDIA RELEASE WAS ISSUED BY ROBYN PARKER MP, MINISTER FOR HERITAGE
Wreck of the Limerick sunk by the Japanese in 1943 found off Ballina
One of NSW’s wartime mysteries has at last been solved with the discovery of the wreckage of the MV Limerick off Ballina on the NSW far north coast, Heritage Minister Robyn Parker announced today.
Ms Parker said that while a lot is known about the sinking of the MV Limerick in 1943, it has taken almost 70 years and the opportunistic use of Australia’s Marine National Facility research vessel, Southern Surveyor, to identify the ship’s final location.
“Limerick was one of the largest vessels sunk by Japanese submarines off Australia’s east coast during their offensive submarine patrols through 1942 and 1943,” Ms Parker said.
“Local fishermen using modern depth sonars identified a large shipwreck in about 100 metres of water some 18 kilometres off the coast late last year.
“Following their discovery, NSW Water Police assisted the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) in an initial survey of the deep site with a side scan sonar but due to bad weather they were unable to conclusively identify the shipwreck as being Limerick.”
OEH then approached Australia’s Marine National Facility (AMNF), which operates Australia’s ocean-going research vessel, the 66-metre Southern Surveyor.
Owned and operated by the CSIRO and funded by the Commonwealth, AMNF is a research facility which is available to all Australian scientists and their international collaborators.
“The team at AMNF were contacted by OEH and coincidentally a research voyage was already scheduled to operate in the suspected wreck area. OEH approached the lead scientist on board to see if they could assist in locating the wreck,” Ms Parker said.
The research voyage, led by University of Sydney geologist, Associate Professor Tom Hubble, left Brisbane on 18 January to conduct geological research along the continental slope and shelf between Yamba and Fraser Island.
In the lead up to identifying the Limerick, the Southern Surveyor’s research team found evidence of large submarine landslides that had the potential to generate a tsunami.
A landslide can be triggered by a moderately large and shallow earthquake measuring more than 6.5 or 7 on the Richter Magnitude Scale, an event which might happen once every 5,000-10,000 years.
“When the team at AMNF contacted me to see if we could locate the wreck from on board Southern Surveyor we were pleased to assist,” Dr Hubble said.
“Confirming the wreck as MV Limerick is in the national interest. We were already in the area, we had the necessary technology and technical expertise and in the end it didn’t take long to create a 3-D image of the wreck.
“It was amazing to see the seafloor images come to life through Southern Surveyor’s sea floor mapping technology which transformed the data into a 3-D graphic of the ship wreck”.
The Minister for the North Coast, Mr Don Page, said the New Zealand-owned Limerick was part of a coastal wartime convoy from Sydney to Brisbane when struck by a torpedo at night on ANZAC Day, sinking the next morning on 26 April 1943.
“Four other vessels in the convoy survived, including the two naval minesweeper escorts, HMAS Colac and Ballarat. Seventy survivors were pulled from the water over many hours,” Mr Page said.
“Two of Limerick’s crew were killed after jumping into the sea, including NSW resident and the ship’s third officer Mr John Edgar Willmott of Edgeroi and a New Zealand national.
“This is a reminder of the huge sacrifice paid by merchant seamen during the war on the home front keeping food, materials and supplies going.”
Ms Parker said OEH was consulting with the NSW Office of Veterans’ Affairs in order to notify next of kin.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local fishermen, Forfar Petrie and Neville Poynting, for reporting this site as soon as they realised it was of possible historic value,” Ms Parker said.
“We are also grateful to Dr Hubble for offering his valuable research time in order to positively identify the wreck as the MV Limerick.”
