The Barrier Reef is Still in Hot Water
quality with revegetation projects and work to reduce soil erosion; and ending gillnet use in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by 2027.For at least a century, cattle, sugarcane and other farmers have relied on rivers to take animal waste and fertiliser runoff away from their properties. In much of Queensland, that means the runoff heads for the Great Barrier Reef instead. We did see some improvement under the Coalition government, which put A$443 million into trying to solve the issue. Labor has put in a further $150 million. But the water quality problem is still not solved.Ending gillnet use in the
Australia Creates Permit-Free, Autonomous Marine Tech Test Area
For the first time in Australia, autonomous marine technology developers have a location to safely test autonomous vessels without needing to apply for a permit. The Australian Institute of Marine Science’s ReefWorks inshore test range, near Townsville in north Queensland, was granted regulatory sandbox approval for uncrewed vessels from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).It’s the first approval issued under a proposed Australian Maritime Regulatory Sandbox advocated by Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS), AIMS and AMC Search. The five-year agreement allows for permit-free
CSIRO Aims to Create a 'Weather Service' for Water Quality
mangrove forests.The AquaWatch Mission brings together CSIRO with SmartSat CRC and a network of collaborators to develop and implement the system including government, the ACT Government’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate; NSW Department of Planning and Environment; Queensland Department of Environment and Science; South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI); Western Australia’s Department of Water and Environmental Regulation; along with industry BiOceanOr; Hunter Water; universities and research organizations including ANU Institute for Water
Modeling Shows How Nuclear War Would Devastate the World’s Oceans
Biogeochemical Modelling, IMAS, University of TasmaniaCheryl Harrison, Assistant professor in oceanography and coastal sciences, Louisiana State UniversityKim Scherrer, Postdoctoral fellow at the department of Biological Sciences, University of BergenRyan Heneghan, Lecturer in Mathematical Ecology, Queensland University of Technology(Source: The Conversation
Wonder Reef: Where Engineering Meets Art, Subsea
into the offshore energy market, diversifying into coastal and port infrastructure as well as engineered reefs. It’s that last bit that made him and his company a natural for the Wonder Reef project, a project with a $4m budget, designed to enhance dive and tourism business off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.“The Wonder Reef is an underwater dive destination two kilometers off the Gold Coast, inspired by local dive enthusiasts and the Gold Coast City Council to attract dive tourists to stay at the Gold Coast,” said Allen. The seeds for the project were planted in 2018 via an
Great Barrier Reef Hit By Bleaching as UNESCO Weighs 'In Danger' Listing
sections there were reports of corals dying, it said."Corals across the Marine Park remain vulnerable to the ongoing elevated temperatures," the authority said.UNESCO experts will be in Australia for 10 days from March 21 to meet scientists, regulators, policymakers from the Australian and Queensland state governments, and members of the public, a federal environment department spokesperson said.The team will report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which is due to meet in June.Australia's conservative government has come under fire for not doing enough to save the world's most
Carnegie Launches Wave Energy Device to Power Moored Vessels
;s CETO Technology - Credit: CarnegieThe project's academic and industry partners include DNV GL Australia, Advanced Composite Structures Australia, University of Tasmania, Climate KIC/Australian Ocean Energy Group, AMC Search, and the University of Queensland. The project is supported by $1.35m cash from the Blue Economy CRC, $265k cash from Carnegie, and $1.8m of in-kind support from all the project partners.Carnegie said: "MoorPower was developed by Carnegie with the goal of decarbonizing the energy needs of offshore operations, particularly
From Protecting National Sovereignty to Protecting the Reef
drive rapid technological innovation in marine research and monitoring. Today, on International Women in Engineering Day, the AIMS Team Leader for Technology Development Engineering shares her unique journey.Growing up in a third-generation farming family near the small settlement of El Arish in north Queensland, Melanie Olsen thought engineers were train drivers.When a James Cook University engineering lecturer visited her small rural high school with a quad helicopter, Mel knew she’d found her career path and studied computer systems engineering at James Cook University.She was accepted into the
Need a Survey? There’s a USV for That
of data is required for any specific job.“These units are operational and we are delivering two large survey scopes in Australia for the Australian Hydrographic Office,” says de Jong. The first was a 1,000sq km survey in the Gulf of St Vincent the second was in the Torres Strait in northern Queensland covering 1,200sq km. Over four months (starting May) another survey is being done north of Broome. Both have seen a parent vessel and USV deployed from that vessel, using a dedicated LARS, performing survey operations, as part of Australia’s HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP)
February 2024
