Flagship of opportunity

By May 19th, 2006

The Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship is embarking upon a major joint research program designed to provide Australia with a key capacity to realise the substantial economic and environmental benefits of its oceans, the Flagship’s Director, Craig Roy, said in Singapore today.

“The charter for the Flagship, in partnership with industry and R & D collaborators, is to realise, responsibly, the potential of our oceans in a way that balances economic benefit with environmental need,” Mr Roy said.

In an address to the Oceans’06 Asia Pacific Conference, Mr Roy said the Flagship’s research portfolio, which is designed to gain a true understanding of Australia’s vast ocean environment, will provide the scientific foundation and knowledge required for sustainable use of Australia’s marine resources.

“The sheer size of our ocean territories and the economic opportunities they represent, were the key drivers behind the establishment of the Wealth from Oceans Flagship,” Mr Roy said.

“Australia is one of the world’s largest island nations and while its surrounding seas make up almost twice the area of the country’s landmass most of this rich ocean resource still awaits discovery.

“In order to understand what’s there, one of the Flagship’s four major research themes aims to ensure we can characterise and predict our oceans’ physical, biogeochemical and seabed systems.

Australia is one of the world’s largest island nations and while its surrounding seas make up almost twice the area of the country’s landmass most of this rich ocean resource still awaits discovery

“To that end, in partnership with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the Royal Australian Navy the Flagship is developing an operational ocean modelling and prediction system for Australia.  This will build on a substantial international effort and seeks to optimise its predictions in relation to the vast waters in the Australasian region.”
 
The Flagship will also collaborate on R&D designed to exploit the climate information residing in the oceans to support Australia’s climate sensitive industries, as well as projects designed to develop Australia’s most sensitive and valuable marine regions through multiple-use management strategies.

The OCEANS’06 Asia Pacific IEEE Singapore conference is organised by the Oceanic Engineering Society (OES) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

Wealth from Oceans is one of Australia’s six National Research Flagships. The Flagship, led by CSIRO, is one of the largest scientific undertakings in Australia’s history, bringing together the scientific and commercial communities to tackle major issues facing the nation such as climate change, farm yields, national security and the environment.

Fast facts

  •  The charter for the Flagship, in partnership with industry and R&D collaborators, is to realise responsibly, the potential of our oceans in a way that balances economic benefit with environmental need
  • Australia’s surrounding seas make up almost twice the area of the country’s landmass