Voyage Number
IN2024_V04
Voyage Dates
Voyage Location
Chief Scientist
Dr Bernadette Sloyan
Institution
CSIRO
Voyage summary
Research voyage from Sydney to Brisbane to undertake an oceanographic, geophysical, and biological survey of seafloor canyons along the continental shelf off NSW.
On narrow continental shelves adjacent to intense boundary currents, such as the East Australian Current (EAC) along Australia’s east coast, the impact of open-ocean circulation on the shelf system is immediate. It drives significant movements of water, nutrients, heat and marine life at various scales. If we are to understand, better predict, mitigate, and successfully adapt to the changing oceans that surround Australia, we must better understand changes to the boundary current systems and their broader impacts on the physical, chemical, and biological environments, as well as infrastructure, along the Australian seaboard.
This research seeks to better understand the coastal-ocean exchange processes that are key controllers of coastal ocean water properties and are important to marine ecosystem functioning. Researchers will examine if cross-shelf flow is enhanced by seafloor canyons when compared with surrounding, non-canyon regions, as a result of the canyons providing a pathway to deliver cool, nutrient rich off-shore water onto the continental shelf. Globally, quantitative estimates of such processes are rare.
There is one other project on this voyage:
- Investigation of an unidentified shipwreck (Dr Brad Duncan, Heritage NSW): An investigation of an unidentified shipwreck off the NSW coast.
The voyage has 31 science participants from 11 institutions, including CSIRO, Parks Australia, University of NSW, University of Tasmania, University of Wollongong and Minderoo Foundation, as well as 20 ship crew from MMA Offshore.
The science party also includes two Indigenous Sea Country Rangers who represent part of the sea country of the study area: Gumbaynggirr and Yeagl Country.
COVID Protocols
To safeguard the health and well-being of participants, strict COVID protocols apply to all activities on this voyage. This includes PCR testing of all participants for COVID prior to boarding the vessel.
Voyage outcomes
This voyage was highly successful in achieving its objectives and the accurate information obtained will enable quantification of the links between physics, marine ecosystem function and geomorphology of two significant canyon systems off the east coast of Australia. This information is particularly important as changes in the environment are already underway.
The multidisciplinary data set collected will increase understanding of the connection and controls of the East Australian Current on the marine biodiversity within two significant east coast canyons and along the entire eastern Australian coastal region. The observations will enable us to provide science-based knowledge to the marine park management plan for the Temperate East marine park network and a baseline for monitoring the health of this important marine estate. The data collected suggests that the two canyons interact with the EAC very differently and this promotes differences in benthic biodiversity.
The research included working closely with Traditional Owners of the Sea Country in which the voyage operated – Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Yeagl First Nations – and the new data will offer an important understanding of how the canyons and East Australian Current influences the coastal shelf region.
Voyage media
Creatures of the canyons
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