CAPSTAN sea training voyage 01

Voyage Number

IN2017_T02

Voyage Dates

14 Nov, 2017 to 26 Nov, 2017

Voyage Location

Fremantle to Hobart

Chief Scientist

A/Prof Jochen Kaempf

Institution

Flinders University

View the full voyage

Voyage summary

Transit voyage from Fremantle to Hobart to relocate the vessel in preparation for IN2017_V01. The transit will be used to support the CAPSTAN (Collaborative Australian Postgraduate Sea-training Alliance Network) sea training program.

This will be the first voyage in the three year pilot program for CAPSTAN. The program is being administered by Macquarie University and is being supported by a commitment of sea time on RV Investigator by the Marine National Facility. The voyage will give 30 postgraduate students and trainers direct experience with the equipment, systems and techniques on board a modern research vessel, as well as the opportunity to experience life at sea.

Find out more about CAPSTAN.

The study area for this voyage will be the far western Great Australian Bight, a region that is largely uncharted and has been sparely surveyed. Students will learn multidisciplinary skills in the areas of oceanography, biology, geoscience and atmospheric sciences whilst on this voyage.

Voyage outcomes

CAPSTAN offers an important contribution towards building Australia’s future generations of marine experts, and sustaining Australia's 'Blue Economy'.

In addition to educational outcomes, this voyage delivered real world research and allowed the collection of unique, multidisciplinary data from a remote Australian coastal region. These data are a valuable resource for increasing our understanding of Australia’s marine environment.

As a result of this voyage, researchers have:

1. Provided valuable training for 20 postgraduate students (including honours students) in marine data collection and scientific research
2. Acquired a better understanding of natural factors shaping the upper continental slope of the continental margin surrounding the Bremer Canyon
3. Mapped, for the first time, the bathymetry of the shelf break and upper continental slope of the continental margin surrounding the Bremer Canyon
4. Deployed four ARGO floats during this voyage. Maintaining and upgrading Australia’s fleet of ARGO floats in the oceans is an important international commitment to monitoring climate-change effects in the ocean.