Voyage Number
IN2026_T02
Voyage Dates
Voyage Location
Chief Scientist
Dr Olaf Meynecke
Institution
Griffith University
Voyage summary
RV Investigator will undertake a training voyage from Fremantle to Hobart as part of the Collaborative Australian Postgraduate Sea-training Alliance Network (CAPSTAN) sea training program. This is the 5th CAPSTAN voyage following the relaunch of the program in 2024.
CAPSTAN is a maritime education and training initiative of CSIRO, the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and the Australian and New Zealand International Scientific Drilling Consortium (ANZIC). The voyage will provide university students and trainers with direct experience with the equipment, systems and techniques on board a modern research vessel, as well as the opportunity to develop professional networks and experience life at sea.
The study area for this voyage includes various sites in the Great Australian Bight. The voyage will deliver a cross-disciplinary science training program including: seafloor mapping including sub-bottom profiling, sediment sampling, environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys, CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth instrument) and TRIAXUS deployments, net trawls, and seabird and marine mammal surveys. Students will also receive training in practical maritime skills such as knot tying.
Several shipwreck surveys will be conducted during the voyage to expose students to the procedure for conducting underwater cultural heritage surveys. The primary survey target is the 150-metre ocean liner SS Pericles, which was lost off Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia on 31 March 1910.
In addition to the training program, there are three other projects on the voyage:
- Globalising Marine Biodiversity Observations (GLOMBO): autonomous genomic sampling (Sahan Jayasinghe, CSIRO – on shore): development of an autonomous environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling system that can be integrated into RV Investigator's underway seawater system.
- Argo float deployments (Gabriella Semolini Pilo, CSIRO – on shore): deployment of Argo floats in support of the International Argo Float Program.
- Looking for Karenia: a multidisciplinary approach to HAB species identification (Ruth Eriksen, CSIRO – on shore): sampling the phytoplankton community to identify harmful algal bloom (HAB) species.
The voyage includes 38 participants, including 6 trainers and 20 students from 18 Australian universities from nearly all states and territories, along with CSIRO technical staff and 20 ship crew from Cyan Vessel Operations.
CAPSTAN partners CSIRO and the Australian and New Zealand International Scientific Drilling Consortium (ANZIC) receive funding for this activity from the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
About CAPSTAN
CAPSTAN is a first-of-its-kind training initiative that offers Australian university students and trainers experiential training onboard Australia's dedicated ocean research vessel, RV Investigator.
Watch the video below to follow the journey of students on the 4th voyage in the CAPSTAN program to see their experience living and working on the high seas to apply their knowledge, develop new skills and create new networks.
Voyage outcomes
Voyage outcomes will be published approximately 3-6 months after the completion of the voyage.