Wendy Laursen
Contributing Writer-
Australian Quantum Sensor Company Raises Seed Funding
Deteqt, an Australian deep tech company building one of the world's most compact quantum magnetic sensors, has closed a A$5 million ($3.6 million) seed round led by Main Sequence, with participation from ATP Fund, BOKA Capital, Beaten Zone Venture Partners, Uniseed, and the University of Sydney.Deteqt's breakthrough is a chip-scale quantum magnetometer: an exquisitely sensitive sensor that combines a diamond crystal with a custom semiconductor chip…
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Plan for More Deep Seafloor Observations Might Find Something “Weird”
Only 0.001% of the deep seafloor has been visually observed despite covering more than half of the planet’s surface.On April 1, the Ocean Discovery League set out to build on that 0.001% with the launch of the Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals, an international effort to visually explore 10,000 strategically selected locations across the deep seafloor.The target locations were selected with the aim…
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Australian Quantum Technology to Support National Defence Strategy
A new quantum clock technology developed in Australia has now been deployed in space.Developed by QuantX Labs, TEMPO delivers up to 10 times the performance of current GNSS-based timing systems. In space, that translates to more resilient communications, more accurate navigation and harder-to-disrupt synchronization between satellites and ground systems – capabilities that matter when GPS is jammed…
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Methane Hydrate Mining Could Soon Become Economically Viable
In October 2025, the flame used in the lighting ceremony for China's 15th National Games was sourced from methane hydrate, or combustible ice, harvested from a depth of 1,522 meters in the South China Sea.Symbolic of the rising interest in methane hydrate as an energy source, the move coincides with increasing attention from researchers in Asia and around the world.Gas hydrates are a crystalline solids that look and act much like ice but contains huge amounts of methane.
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Evolving Strategies for Subsea Cable Security
Last week, the British military exposed a covert Russian submarine operation in and around UK waters. The operation was considered part of a Russian bluff while other specialist vessels conducted nefarious activities near critical underwater infrastructure.Incidents like these continue to spark industry comment, and this week Iain Grainger, Chief Executive of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)…
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Integrated, Multi-Domain Port Security
An Australian Federal Police commander, noting the billions of drugs intercepted as they entered Australia last year, said: “No matter how creative these criminals attempt to be, our message is clear – we are on to you."It’s a challenge that Lemvos Robotics offers help for. The company’s LM450 multirole USV supports sonar, ROV/AUV launch systems and UAV docking, enabling environmental monitoring, defense/security and seafloor mapping tasks.
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The Politics of a Subsea Data Cable Link to Antarctica
Antarctica is the only continent without a fiber-optic connection.The technology required to get one there is available, but the creation of such infrastructure raises geopolitical questions, including its potential military use, say researchers from Germany.The US National Science Foundation has plans to build a subsea data cable link from New Zealand or Australia to its McMurdo research base in Antarctica.
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Quantum: The Bigger the Battery, The Quicker it Charges
Australian scientists have demonstrated proof-of-concept for a quantum battery.Like conventional batteries, it charges, stores and discharges energy. However, unlike conventional batteries, it leverages unique properties of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement rather than chemical reactions.The battery has a multi-layered organic microcavity and is wirelessly charged with a laser.
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The Fate of Macroalgae and Why it Matters
Macroalgae, or seaweeds (including kelp), are highly productive coastal habitats capable of absorbing significant quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Previous studies have estimated that globally, 4–44 teragrams (1Tg = one million metric tons) per year of macroalgal-derived carbon may reach depths of 200m, where it may be sequestered for at least 100 years.TheFebruary issue of Marine Technology Reporter magazine includes a feature on the fate of macroalgae in southwest Greenland.
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The Coldest Place in the Universe
A UK company has reached a temperature of minus 273.149996°C in the quantum technology it uses in its atomic clock, effectively creating the coldest place in the universe. It’s a high-tech solution for an age-old problem: accurate navigation at sea without the support of satellite systems.Alexander Jantzen, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer at Aquark Technologies, explains: “At the beginning of the 18th century…
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Taking Quantum Logic to the Edge
Jason Turner, Chairman and CEO of Entanglement, started the AI quantum computing company in 2017. He quickly realized it was too early. Rather than focus on quantum computing hardware, which is still on the journey to maturity, he chose to focus on quantum logic, and quantum inspired algorithms applicable to existing compute technologies.He and his team therefore turned their attention to using quantum logic.
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More to Consider than CO2 in CCS Leakage Risks
Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark have highlighted that taking a comprehensive view of the chemical composition of potential fluids leaking from geological CO2 storage reservoirs raises new questions about the potential risks.The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Management, says, albeit small, the risk of failures during operations and storage does exist.Different…
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Robotics Essential to Coral Reef Preservation Efforts
Will 2026 be the year when coral reefs pass their tipping point?Samantha Garrard, Senior Marine Ecosystem Services Researcher at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, asked the question in The Conversation on January 5.“Tropical coral reefs cover less than 1% of the seafloor, yet support 25% of all marine species. They are also incredibly vulnerable. Over the past few decades, an estimated 30%-50% have already been lost.”Garrard concludes: “To help these biodiversity powerhouses survive the 21st century…
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Subsea Cable Risk a Mix of Bathymetry and Geopolitics
A new study undertaken by a group of researchers from the UAE, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan collates a range of statistics and expert opinion to address an urgent puzzle: Where and under what conditions do states prioritize cable security?The researchers focused on three contrasting cable systems: Unity/EAC Pacific (Japan–U.S.), Asia-America Gateway (Guam–Hawaii), and Tata TGNTata Indicom (India–Singapore).The risk to such cables varies predictably with geopolitical tension…
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2025: Fascinated with Subsea Discovery
Our fascination with the depths of the ocean revealed itself in some of our most-read stories of 2025.What’s really down there? asked New Wave Media President Greg Trauthwein in his interview with Matt Grove, Regional Segment Manager Offshore at Seequent in September, in the most watched Offshore Engineer TV show.Working underneath the world’s waters is a challenge in and of itself, a challenge exacerbated…
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Australia Opens a Wave Data Portal
Nearly 90% of Australians live within 50 kilometers of the coast, and Australia’s State of the Climate Report 2024 found that the nation’s weather, climate, and ocean conditions continue to change. Rising sea levels pose a significant threat to coastal communities and coastal ecosystems by amplifying the risks of coastal inundation, storm surge, erosion, and saltwater intrusion into groundwater systems.For most of Australia…
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New Technologies Boost Wave Power Potential
This week, Swedish wave energy developer CorPower Ocean was put in charge of $35 million (€30 million) European projectaimed at improving the competitiveness and bankability of wave energy farms, with large-scale validation work planned in UK waters.CorPower noted research indicating that wave energy, under a high-growth scenario supported by a modernized UK supply chain, could deliver more than $40…
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Protecting Nature is Not Only About Preserving Beauty
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero spoke on November 23 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, saying: “Protecting nature is not only about preserving beauty; it is about safeguarding life itself for future generations.” She was recounting an Uzbek conservation principle.The government of Uzbekistan is hosting the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES this week. The conference on the Convention…
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Watch: Sleepy Joes Found Together Again in their Hundreds
Scientists have again found aggregations of hundreds of Port Jackson sharks – sometimes known as Sleepy Joes.Scientists from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies of the University of Tasmania found the sharks when they revisited the depths of Beagle Marine Park in Bass Strait using a custom-made Boxfish ROV.Most were females. Males and females often live apart except when mating, but it’s…
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Subsea Technology Helps Coral Larvae Find Home
This week, researchers at Australia’s Southern Cross University and CSIRO gave hope that millions of coral larvae on the Great Barrier Reef can help replenish degraded reefs thanks to the development of a “larval seedbox.”Results from the first trial have found coral settlement to be up to 56 times higher across thousands of square meters of reef. Large scale operation is achievable as tens of millions…
February 2026
