Voyage Number
IN2025_V06
Voyage Dates
Voyage Location
Chief Scientist
Dr William White
Institution
CSIRO
Voyage livestream
Follow our 36-day voyage of discovery to the Coral Sea and stay tuned for special deep-sea broadcasts from our Deep Towed Camera.
DTC live broadcasts
Come explore the ocean depths with us! We're broadcasting live vision from our Deep Towed Camera (DTC) as we investigate seafloor life in the Coral Sea.
See below for planned timings of DTC broadcasts. However, due the dynamic nature of at-sea science, these timings are an estimate only and subject to change. Please check back regularly to see when a DTC survey is being broadcast.
| DATE | WHEN (AEDT) | LOCATION | DEPTH | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 16 Oct | Night | Marion Plateau | 3800 m | COMPLETE |
| Fri 17 Oct | Afternoon | Marion Plateau | 2200 m | COMPLETE |
| Sat 18 Oct | TBC | Marion Plateau | TBC | TBC |
Voyage summary
RV Investigator will undertake a 36-day research voyage to the Coral Sea to investigate benthic (on or near the seafloor) marine life in the southern and eastern areas of the Coral Sea Marine Park.
The Coral Sea Marine Park is the largest marine park in Australian waters, covering 989,836 km2 and reaching depths of 6000 metres. The marine park is managed by Parks Australia and protects 34 vast reef areas, and 67 cays and islets.
Researchers will focus their surveys on two of the three key ecological features of the marine park: the reefs of the Marion Plateau and the Tasmantid Seamount Chain. This will be the first modern deep-water investigation of marine life found on the extinct volcanic peaks of the northern Tasmantid Seamount Chain, which rise over 3000 m from the seafloor, and the offshore Kenn Plateau. This research will be critical for understanding of regional biodiversity and natural values of the Coral Sea, helping to inform management of the marine park by Parks Australia.
The voyage has a strong focus on education, outreach and engagement with public audiences, and support for these activities is being provided by Bush Blitz and The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census.
There are 3 other projects on the voyage:
- A deep dive into chemosynthesis: how do microbes sustain current and future oceans? (Francesco Ricci, Monash University): profiling seawater microbial composition.
- Dropline survey of seamounts in the Coral Sea Marine Park (Will White, CSIRO): collecting crucial biodiversity data for large, active fish species in the Special Purpose Zones where commercial fishing can occur.
- Developing Jonathan: on-vessel Automated Seabird Detector (Carlie Devine and Rich Little, CSIRO): seabird counts using an automatic on-vessel seabird detector.
This voyage has 38 science participants from 12 institutions and 23 ship crew from Cyan Renewables. There are two Indigenous students on the voyage under the Indigenous Time at Sea Scholarship (ITSS).
Voyage outcomes
Voyage outcomes will be published approximately 3-6 months after the completion of the voyage.