Professor Anya Waite: Enabling Research and Collaboration through the Marine National Facility
Posted: May 14, 2012 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor Leave a comment
Professor Anya Waite
Professor Anya Waite is an oceanographer whose primary research interests are the links between ocean physics, biology and biogeochemistry. She has explored the open Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern oceans, and investigated the coasts of Alaska, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, East Timor and Australia.
Following an undergraduate degree in Biology with a thesis in Forestry, Anya completed a PhD in Biological Oceanography at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She was Post-doctoral Scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is now a Professor at the Oceans Institute and School of Environmental Systems Engineering at The University of Western Australia.
Lobster larva (image courtesy M. Saunders).
How does Professor Anya Waite use the MNF?
One of the things Professor Waite and her team use Southern Surveyor, for is to track patches of plankton in the ocean. Initially they look at satellite images to identify eddies that might contain important biota like western rock lobster larvae.
By tracking eddies and understanding how currents work, they have been able to discover what drives our ocean productivity in certain areas.
Professor Waite has used equipment such as CTDs, the SeaSoar, an EZ net, tracking buoys and the wet laboratory for analysing rock lobster larvae, while out at sea. (image courtesy M. Saunders).
What scientific outcomes have been achieved on the MNF?
One of the more notable voyages Professor Waite and her team had on Southern Surveyor was in 2006, in what has become known as the ‘vortex voyage’. It was during this research trip they discovered a massive 200 kilometre wide vortex off the coast of Rottnest Island, Western Australia.
The eddies research voyages have resulted in more than 20 international journal papers.
Josh Dornan (Dept of Fisheries) and Jonathon Saville (student volunteer, University of Cape Town) select larvae from the net hauls with special high-tech implements (Rock Lobster Voyage 2, 2011).
What kinds of collaborations have been possible on the MNF?
On board research voyages on Southern Surveyor Professor Waite has worked with scientists and researchers from:
- University of Tasmania
- Murdoch University
- University of Queensland
- Queensland Department of Primary Industries
- Department of Fisheries, WA
- CSIRO, and
- from overseas institutions in South Africa, New Zealand, France, Spain, Canada, Germany, and the United States.
Nik Sachlikidis from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, working with rock lobster larvae in pseudokrysal tanks (kindly loaned by the QDPI), on board Southern Surveyor.
“With the increase in scientific berths on RV Investigator, we’re looking forward to being able to do large basin-scale projects with more facets and more international collaborators. Most of the work we do could benefit enormously from more people on board.”
Professor Anya Waite.
Investigator looking ship shape
Posted: May 9, 2012 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor, The Future Research Vessel Project Leave a commentAustralia’s new Marine National Facility vessel will start looking ship shape today as hundreds of tonnes of steel are lifted into place to form part of the keel of RV Investigator.
CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Megan Clark said significant progress has been made since construction of the 93.9 metre blue water research vessel started in January at the Sembawang Shipyard, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine in Singapore.
“Two sections of the keel, each weighing around 140 tonnes, will be lifted into place, ready for welding together, to form the foundation of the vessel,” said Dr Clark.
The contract to design, build and commission the vessel was awarded to Teekay Holdings Australia, which partnered with the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore because of its track record and strong commitment to new technologies and innovation.
“The hull is a very clever design, as it reduces the amount of air drawn under the vessel while it’s moving,” said Megan Clark.
“This helps to minimise interference when mapping the seafloor, using multibeam echo sounders, profilers, fish finding sonars and other acoustic sensors.
“The hull on the ship will also house a gondola fitted with the latest marine scientific equipment and a retractable section of the keel includes a camera to improve observations.”
Investigator will be operated by CSIRO and will be available to all Australian marine scientists. It replaces the existing Marine National Facility ship, Southern Surveyor, which is 40 years old.
In 2009 the Australian Government committed AU$120 million to the purchase of a new research vessel for the Marine National Facility. The project is an initiative of the Australian Government being conducted as part of the Super Science Initiative and financed from the Education Investment Fund.
Transiting from Brisbane to Fiji on Southern Surveyor.
Posted: May 8, 2012 Filed under: Home, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor Leave a commentDr Rob Beaman from James Cook University (pink t-shirt) with some of the team on the Brisbane to Fiji transit voyage onboard the Marine National Facility Vessel, RV Southern Surveyor. This photo was taken while the ship was tied up in Brisbane on May 2. Check out the science happening on this transit voyage in the post below – Searching for an end to the Reef.
Check out Dr Bronte Tilbrook’s video about life onboard Southern Surveyor!
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: Home, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor 1 CommentThe Future Research Vessel Project and the MNF are taking part in the Australian Museum’s new exhibition called ‘Deep Oceans’. As part of the exhibition CSIRO rustled up some of its scientists, and the MNF and P&O threw in some hidden talent of their own, to produce three video stories, aimed at 7-12 year olds.
This first video is presented by CSIRO Oceanographer Dr Bronte Tilbrook, who explains what life is like onboard the Marine National Facility vessel Southern Surveyor.
If you’d like to learn more about Bronte Tilbrook and his work: http://www.cmar.csiro.au/research/co2/co2.html#tilbrook.
And you can find out more about the Deep Oceans exhibition: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Deep-Oceans-upcoming-exhibition-2012
Searching for a new end to the Reef
Posted: May 1, 2012 Filed under: Home, Investigator, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor Leave a commentThis year as the Marine National Facility Vessel RV Southern Surveyor heads out on research voyages, we’re going to fill you in on some of the exciting science happening on board the ship.
James Cook University’s Robin Beaman will lead a joint JCU/University of Sydney research voyage to test whether long-term climate change could see the Great Barrier Reef head south.
Dr Beaman’s team will use multibeam mapping and rock dredging equipment onboard the Marine National Facility vessel RV Southern Surveyor, to investigate the Gardner Bank near Fraser Island, to determine if it could become an extension of the Great Barrier Reef.
A marine geologist at JCU’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dr Beaman said Gardner Bank is in a tropical/temperate transition zone ideal for a possible shift from a cooler-water, algal-dominated environment, to a warmer-water, coral-dominated environment.
“A detailed study of the sediments and marine life will provide the baseline data to compare against changes in the future,” Dr Beaman said.
The researchers will also map previously un-surveyed volcanic seamounts off the Queensland coast – some as high as 3,000 metres – and giant coral atolls near New Caledonia.
Owned and operated by CSIRO, the Marine National Facility is available to all Australian scientists. Additional opportunities are given to early career researchers and students to carry out underway or opportunistic science during transit voyages. Dr Beaman is the Chief Scientist on the ‘Next Wave’ transit voyage between Brisbane and Fiji, which departs on 2 May.
“The ‘Next Wave’ transit provides a wonderful opportunity for our students to participate in ocean-going research and to collaborate with other marine scientists,” Dr Beaman said.
Other projects occurring onboard the ‘Next Wave’ transit voyage are:
- deep crustal volcanic studies by the University of Queensland,
- measurements of greenhouse gases by the University of Wollongong, and
- the distribution and fate of marine debris by CSIRO/University of Western Australia.
In 2013 RV Southern Surveyor will be replaced by RV Investigator, heralding a new era in Australian marine and atmospheric research – https://csirofrvblog.com/.
Contacts:
Dr Rob Beaman – or .
JCU Media: Jim O’Brien – or
The latest graphics for RV Investigator
Posted: April 16, 2012 Filed under: Investigator, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor, The Future Research Vessel Project Leave a commentAs the new Marine National Facility vessel starts to take shape this year, we’ll be bringing you more and more images of the steel works and assembly.
Here are the latest graphics from the ship building team.
The coloured boxes on the bow and back deck of Investigator are science container laboratories. They’re kind of like the world’s biggest travel suitcases for scientists. The laboratories are built in shipping containers, so researchers can take all of their equipment and tools with them wherever they go. There’s room for 10 of these kinds of labs on board the new ship.
RV Investigator is a very clever ship!
Southern Surveyor can accommodate two container laboratories, and to give you an idea of what they look like, here’s the BGC Clean Laboratory container on the back deck of Southern Surveyor as well as inside the container.
Fast Fact!
Posted: April 16, 2012 Filed under: Fast Fact!, Investigator, Marine National Facility, RV Southern Surveyor, The Future Research Vessel Project Leave a commentMeteorology: Southern Surveyor measures solar and terrestrial radiation to determine ocean heating. Investigator will be able to collect this data nearly year round and in a wider scope of locations.
