INTEGRATED MARINE OBSERVING SYSTEM NCRIS 2013 PROJECT PLAN

Transcription

1 INTEGRATED MARINE OBSERVING SYSTEM NCRIS 2013 PROJECT PLAN 1 DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT PLAN The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) was established under the Department s National Collaborative Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) in It has been enhanced and extended through further funding from the Education Investment Fund (EIF) Marine and Climate Super Science initiative, and the Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (CRIS). Development of this Project Plan has therefore been strongly influenced by the seven years of IMOS planning and implementation that precede NCRIS This approach is consistent with the requirement that NCRIS 2013 funds can only be used to maintain currently operational national collaborative research infrastructure facilities. The IMOS Office designed and implemented the process to develop this Project Plan using established methods (as for NCRIS 1, EIF and CRIS) and our approved governance framework ( Proposals were submitted by Facility Operators and moderated by the IMOS Office in order to match plans with available resources in the context of long term strategy and science planning, and ensure compliance with NCRIS 2013 funding guidelines. This part of the process involved extensive consultation with designated Operator Representatives and other relevant staff from the operating institutions. Targeted cross-institutional ( all parties ) meetings were held as required to address specific issues, involving staff from the Facilities as well as key users from the IMOS science Nodes. A draft plan was then reviewed by the Node Steering Committee and adjusted where necessary before submission to the IMOS Advisory Board for approval. The IMOS Advisory Board includes the UTAS DVC (Research) as an ex-officio member. In summary, we are confident that the project plan submitted is well understood and widely supported by the IMOS community, including the lead agent (UTAS) and sub-contracted operating institutions. NCRIS 2013 funding is very welcome, as CRIS minimum funding alone would have seriously disrupted the IMOS program. A large number of data streams would have been truncated, creating gaps in time series that could never be recovered. Investment in IMOS has been at $18M per annum over the last four years ( to ) and the program has been sized accordingly. Funding available for the and years is not at this level, and prioritisation decisions have needed to be made. Components of the Deepwater Mooring Facility have been wound back in the short term as delays in delivery of RV Investigator mean there is no suitable vessel available between October 2013 and April Scope of the National (Shelf and Coastal) Mooring Network, by far the largest IMOS Facility, has been reduced to maintain balance across the portfolio. Expansion of Deepwater Glider activity and development of the Australian Ocean Data Network will progress much more slowly than under EIF. Funding beyond June 2015 will need to address these issues so as to ensure the scope of IMOS is not permanently reduced. 1

2 2. PROJECT OVERVIEW 2.1 Overview (Scope, Objectives, Benefits) IMOS is now in its eighth year of operation, routinely deploying and recovering a wide range of ocean observing equipment and making all of the data openly accessible. Its scope encompasses open-ocean, continental shelf, and coastal environments around Australia, measuring physical, chemical and biological variables. This integration across scales and variables has been designed to address five major research themes multi-decadal ocean change, climate variability and weather extremes, major boundary currents and inter-basin flows, continental shelf and coastal processes, and ecosystem responses. All data is available through the IMOS Ocean Portal ( providing both map-based and search-based views into the data archives. Figure 1: Screen shot of the IMOS Ocean Portal, showing a map-based view of all data holdings. IMOS is built around three fundamental constructs - Facilities, Nodes, and Partners. There are 12 IMOS Facilities ( Ten of these are technology platforms used to undertake the observations and deliver the data streams. There is also a Marine Information Infrastructure Facility making all of the data discoverable, accessible, usable and reusable, and an IMOS Office (Management and Governance Facility). 1. Argo profiling floats 2. Ships of Opportunity 3. Deepwater Moorings 4. Ocean Gliders 5. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 6. National Mooring Network 7. Ocean Radar 8. Animal Tagging and Monitoring 9. Wireless Sensor Networks 10. Satellite Remote Sensing 11. Marine Information Infrastructure 12. IMOS Office Each of the Facilities has one or more Operating Institutions that are contracted and funded to deliver various components of the system. These Facilities are not standalone entities. They represent a carefully selected portfolio designed to deliver a nationally integrated set of marine observations and data streams. This portfolio approach has been adopted for two reasons. It enables the marine and climate science community to access the multi-platform observations required to address really big science questions, such as ocean warming from the surface to the deep. And it provides operational efficiencies through Facilities that have broad utility across multiple research themes. 2

3 Nodes are the mechanism by which the Australian marine and climate science community has organised itself to guide the design and implementation of IMOS and drive the uptake and use. There are six Nodes a Bluewater and Climate Node covering the open ocean, and five regional Nodes covering Australia s continental shelf and coastal waters ( These six Nodes have ~600 members in total, with leaders drawn from nine different institutions. Under guidance from the IMOS Office, Node Science and Implementation Plans have been developed around the five major research themes. The portfolio of IMOS Facilities has been constructed to provide the observations and data required to address these research themes in the most effective and efficient manner possible. All of the Node Science Plans have been internationally peer reviewed, and undergo periodic revision and updating. Partners are crucial to the success of IMOS, as providers of capability and capacity, coinvestors in the program (both cash and in-kind), and pathways for uptake and use of the observations and data to undertake science and research. As one measure of the significance of partnerships to IMOS, committed co-investment to June 2013 totals $126M, $36M cash and $90M in-kind. The Operating Institutions (nine Universities, three PFRA s, and one State Research Institute) are core partners, providing $68M (or 54%) of the coinvestment. Other partners include Australian Government programs and institutions (24%), State Governments (17%), International Collaborators and Industry partners (5%). State Governments have co-invested $14M in cash to date, extending IMOS into areas of priority within State coastal waters. A high level of co-investment by Partners will continue under NCRIS 2013 (see Section 5). The objectives of IMOS remain as set out in 2006 i.e. 1. To provide sustained ocean and associated observational data and infrastructure capability that meets the broad needs of the Australian marine, oceanographic and climate research communities, 2. To provide free and timely discoverability of and access, by electronic means, to quality assured observational data to the marine research community, and 3. To involve the marine and climate research community in defining future needs and to strengthen the technical and operational capability of the marine community and hence sustain the marine observing paradigm into the longer term. IMOS has been demonstrably successful in meeting these objectives to date, providing the Department with a high degree of confidence that NCRIS 2013 funding will meet the requirements of the Funding Agreement. The benefits of ongoing investment in IMOS derive from the opportunities and challenges for Australia as a marine nation. Australia has the third largest ocean territory on the planet, and derives huge economic benefit from marine industries, estimated to contribute $44bn pa to the current economy and projected to increase to $100bn pa by Australia also has marine biodiversity of globally significant conservation value, ranging from the high tropics to Antarctica. In addition, the ocean provides critical ecosystem services through climate and weather systems that are heavily ocean influenced (drought, flood, and extreme events), and through nutrient cycling, food provision and recreational values relied on by our highly urbanised population, living predominantly on or near the coast. 3

4 Australia s oceans are therefore vitally important to our economy, society, and environment. Science, research and education are essential to ensuring the benefits of Australia s ocean territory are realised by current and future generations. There is much we are yet to know and understand. And as a nation, we cannot expect gain this knowledge and understanding by relying on foreign satellites observing the ocean surface, and a national research vessel fleet that is modest by global standards. A sustained and coordinated approach to broad scale in-situ observing is required, from the surface to the deep. Figure 2: Australia s total area of marine responsibility covers 14% of the world s oceans IMOS has a unique role to play in providing the longitudinal ocean information required to improve knowledge and understanding at this scope and scale. There is a clear case of market failure in the operation of a national, integrated marine observing system. No one institution has the capability, capacity, resources or mandate to do this. Through the NCRIS approach, Australian has demonstrated that it can be done well via an appropriately funded national collaboration. IMOS has been carefully designed to ensure the potential benefits of sustained observing and data access can actually be translated in better economic, social and environmental outcomes. It is operated by the most capable marine research institutions nationally, bringing strong international collaborations with them. Making all of the data openly available ensures this collective observational power can be used by the entire science, research and education sector in generating a wide range of scientific outputs, from PhD s to ocean forecasts. By aligning with all relevant national research and innovation frameworks, IMOS ensures that it is underpinning science, research and education most relevant to the grand challenges facing Australia as a marine nation. Figure 3: The circle diagram (read from inside to out) illustrates how IMOS Facilities operated by institutions can be used by the entire sector, to generate scientific outputs that deliver benefits across all relevant sectors of Australia s economy, society and environment. 4

5 2.2 Participating Organisations: Organisations participating in IMOS have a range of roles, which can be summarised into the following broad categories: Lead Agent the organisation that signs the Funding Agreement, and oversees the IMOS governance, project management and legal arrangements. Operator an organisation which receives NCRIS funding via a subcontract with the Lead Agent, under two sub-categories: o Principal Operator supports the leader of a Facility o Associate Operator supports the leader of a Sub-facility Contributor / collaborator an organisation which does not receive NCRIS funding, but contributes cash or in-kind resources to a Facility Node Sponsor an organisation which supports a Node leader and provides resources towards Nodes activities Stakeholder an organisation which does not receive or contribute resources, but which is key to the uptake and use of IMOS data Organisation University of Tasmania CSIRO Key roles and responsibilities Lead Agent: Funding recipient through the Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth Government. Responsible for setting up the national IMOS Office and implementing the governance (including appointment of the Advisory Board after consultation), receiving and subcontracting the NCRIS funding, and meeting legal and contractual requirements. Principal Operator: emarine Information Infrastructure / Australian Ocean Data Network Associate Operator: Australian Bluewater Observing System Satellite Remote Sensing Contributor / Collaborator: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Animal Tagging and Monitoring Node Sponsor: Bluewater and Climate Node; Tasmanian IMOS Stakeholder: All other IMOS Facilities and Nodes. Principal Operator: Argo Australia Ships of Opportunity Australian Bluewater Observing System Australian National Mooring Network Satellite Remote Sensing Associate Operator: emarine Information Infrastructure / Australian Ocean Data Network Contributor / Collaborator: Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Animal Tagging and Monitoring Node Sponsor: Bluewater and Climate Node; Tasmanian IMOS; Western Australian IMOS Stakeholder: All other IMOS Facilities and Nodes. 5

6 Australian Institute of Marine Science Bureau of Meteorology Curtin University James Cook University South Australian Research and Development Institute Sydney Institute of Marine Science (includes The University of Sydney, Macquarie University, The University of New South Wales and University of Technology Sydney) University of Western Australia Australian Antarctic Division Principal Operator: Facility for Automatic Intelligent Monitoring of Marine Systems Associate Operator: Ships of Opportunity Australian National Mooring Network Satellite Remote Sensing Contributor / Collaborator: Australian Bluewater Observing System Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network Animal Tagging and Monitoring Node Sponsor: Queensland IMOS Stakeholder: Western Australian IMOS and Bluewater and Climate Nodes Associate Operator: Ships of Opportunity Australian Bluewater Observing System Satellite Remote Sensing Contributor / Collaborator: Argo Australia Stakeholder: Bluewater and Climate Node Associate Operator: Australian National Mooring Network Stakeholder: Western Australian IMOS and Bluewater and Climate Nodes Principal Operator: Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network Stakeholder: Animal Tagging and Monitoring Facility; Queensland IMOS Associate Operator: Australian National Mooring Network Contributor / Collaborator: Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network Animal Tagging and Monitoring Node Sponsor: Southern Australian IMOS Stakeholder: Bluewater and Climate Node Principal Operator: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Animal Tagging and Monitoring System Associate Operator: Australian National Mooring Network Node Sponsor: New South Wales IMOS Contributor / Collaborator: Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network Stakeholder: All other Facilities; Bluewater and Climate Node Principal Operator: Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders (ANFOG) Node Sponsor: Western Australian IMOS Stakeholder: All other Facilities; Bluewater and Climate Node Contributor / Collaborator: Argo Australia Ships of Opportunity Australian Bluewater Observing System Animal Tagging and Monitoring 6

7 Stakeholder: Bluewater and Climate Node Australian Contributor / Collaborator: Climate and Argo Australia Ecosystems Ships of Opportunity Cooperative Australian Bluewater Observing System Research Centre Animal Tagging and Monitoring Stakeholder: Bluewater and Climate Node Environmental Contributor / Collaborator: Ships of Opportunity Protection Stakeholder: Southern Australian IMOS, Tasmanian IMOS, Bluewater and Agency, Victoria Climate Node Other major Contributors / Collaborators / Stakeholders Federal All Federal Governments departments with a science, research, marine, climate, Government defence or environmental remit State All State and Territory Governments with a marine jurisdiction. Government Industry and Major industry and industry bodies with an interest in the marine jurisdiction. In Other Australian particular oil and gas, tourism, fisheries. International Peak international bodies linked to IMOS areas of expertise. 2.3 Management and governance arrangements The management and governance arrangements for IMOS under NCRIS 2013 will continue along the same lines as those developed for NCRIS 2006, refreshed under EIF Super Science, and continued under the CRIS funding. Those key roles and responsibilities are outlined in the IMOS Policy framework see The key aspects of these governance and management arrangements are as follows: University of Tasmania (UTAS, Lead Agent) entered into an agreement with the Department on 2 August 2013 for the implementation of the NCRIS 2013 IMOS Project, receives the funding and will be accountable to the Department for execution and performance of the Project. IMOS Office - UTAS hosts and operates the IMOS Office. Under the guidance of the Advisory Board, the IMOS Office provides strategic leadership and management of the consortium of Operators for implementation and operation of IMOS. The IMOS Director Tim Moltmann holds a UTAS position (on secondment from CSIRO) reporting to the UTAS Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). The Director will have a leading role in facilitating the next stage of IMOS past July Advisory Board - The Chair of the Advisory Board Dr Ian Poiner has agreed to continue in that role until June Members appointments are currently to June 2014 Prof Lee Astheimer, Dr Nick D Adamo, Mr John Gunn, Prof Rob Lewis, Dr Bruce Mapstone, Prof Jason Middleton, Cmdr Robyn Phillips, Dr Peter Rogers, Dr Neville Smith. Ex officio members are Prof Paddy Nixon, UTAS DVCR and Mr Tim Moltmann, IMOS Director; Secretary is Mrs Jo Neilson, IMOS Project Manager. The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board will continue as per existing arrangements. Nodes The six Nodes agreed under EIF Super Science will continue under NCRIS These are the Bluewater and Climate Node for the large-scale oceans around Australia, and five regional Nodes (Queensland, Western Australia, Southern Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales). The Nodes are an essential part of the forward planning 7

8 planning, development and implementation of IMOS. Review of the IMOS Node structure will be conducted during the term of NCRIS 2013 to ensure these are appropriate for the future of IMOS. Steering Committee the IMOS Director Tim Moltmann (Chair), IMOS Node Leaders (Bluewater and Climate - Steve Rintoul and Peter Strutton; NSW IMOS - Martina Doblin, Tim Ingleton and Robin Robertson; TasIMOS - Peter Thompson and Kerrie Swadling; SAIMOS Simon Goldsworthy and Sophie Leterme; WAIMOS Ming Feng and Gary Kendrick; QIMOS Peter Doherty and Russ Babcock), emii Director Roger Proctor, and IMOS Scientific Officer Shavawn Donoghue form this Committee. Its key focus is to oversee IMOS national science planning and related Node plans, and also to assist with assessment of annual plans and reports. The Steering Committee met during the development of this Project Plan, to endorse the key aspects prior to the Board endorsement. The Steering Committee aims to meet twice yearly, and as necessary to address IMOS science planning matters. Operators are the individual institutions which own and operate designated equipment for the purposes of IMOS or provide services under IMOS. UTAS will subcontract with the Operators to allow funds to flow to Facilities (and Sub-Facilities) for the work outlined in this Project Plan and the Attachments. The Operators will be responsible for and accountable to the IMOS Office for NCRIS 2013 funding subcontracted to them, for securing co-investments related to those Facilities (and Subfacilities), and reporting against the relevant performance indicators. The Operators during the term of NCRIS 2013 are Australian Institute of Marine Science, Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, Curtin University, James Cook University, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, University of Tasmania and University of Western Australia. Facility and Sub-facility Leaders each Operator will nominate a lead scientist / manager for each Facility and Sub-facility it is sub-contracted to lead. Sub-facilities will be linked by a Facility Leader nominated by the IMOS Office in consultation with the relevant lead scientists / managers. The Facility Leader will be responsible under IMOS for the operation of the Facility and maintain and be responsible for the execution of the operational plan for the Facility. Where Sub-facilities contribute to a larger Facility (in the case of Ships of Opportunity, Australian Bluewater Observing System, National Mooring Network and Satellite Remote Sensing) the Facility Leader will work with the Sub-facility Leaders to ensure where appropriate they are operated according to a common set of standards and protocols and/or to coordinate overall planning and reporting for the Facility. As appropriate each Facility will set up an associated user group (with membership from relevant Nodes, Sub-facility leaders and other interested personnel), to work on the development of operational plans, technical matters and training of users. Facility and Sub-facility Leaders are named in the Management and Governance section of Attachments A.1 A.11. 8

9 2.4 Access and Pricing The value from infrastructure investment in integrated marine observing lies in the coordinated deployment of a wide range of equipment aimed at deriving critical data sets which in turn become infrastructure for a wide range of research at a variety of scales. Open access to IMOS observational data is central to this value proposition. A cultural shift to open access occurred with the establishment of IMOS, to enable deployment and access to equipment to grow from community based strategic planning (rather than researcher based proposals) with the ensuing data flows being freely available for researcher use. This is essential to retain the approach of integrated marine observing and discourage fragmentation of the use of equipment into small scale process studies that do not support the longer term goals of integrated marine observing. In keeping with this cultural shift, ease of access and broad utility are central tenets of the IMOS approach and require all participants in IMOS to commit to the following: 1. Scientific strategic plans for open-ocean and coastal ocean observing Nodes agreed by the marine community be used to provide the guidance for deployment of the fixed infrastructure and its evolution through time and the deployment of portable infrastructure. Where appropriate, researchers will be able to use the fixed infrastructure for deployment of additional specialist instrumentation providing the proposals have been subject to appropriate peer review or authorisation (e.g. ARC or funded projects from national/international or institutional programs) and meet logistical and operational requirements and any additional costs. The deployment must not create any significant risk to achieving the objectives of IMOS. 2. The strategic plans will be supported by Annual Business Plans developed by the Lead Scientist or Coordinator for each facility in concert with the IMOS Node Leaders and emii. The plan will detail operational, calibration, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and data accessibility protocols and maintenance schedules. Where appropriate, provision and protocols for researcher access will be built into these operational plans. 3. Timely, free and unrestricted access to all data, associated metadata and products generated under the auspices of IMOS will be delivered through systems and processes agreed by emii for data and information management. 9

10 2.5 Key Performance Indicators The template provided for this Plan asked that performance indicators be written at the level of each Facility (See Attachment A.1 A.12). As agreed under previous IMOS contracts, we set a number of central KPIs which all Facilities respond to this enables much better assessment of outcomes across the whole IMOS portfolio. The set of indicators which has been developed for IMOS use in monitoring annual performance across the Project has specific performance indicators addressing the following areas: Providing research infrastructure o Details of new infrastructure o Continuity of one key time series of data Quality of research infrastructure o Benchmark against similar overseas infrastructure Fostering collaborative development of infrastructure o Participation in international programs collecting similar data streams o Other collaborations Research projects ongoing and new research projects using IMOS data Postgraduate research projects using IMOS data Publications using IMOS data: o Journals o In press o Book chapters o Conference proceedings o Community white papers / technical papers o Reports o Thesis Details of participation by IMOS in: o Conferences, symposia or workshops o Public seminars Reanalysis Products using IMOS data o Ocean state estimates o International data bases o Climatologies 10

11 3 PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE 3.1 The Sub-projects Components to be undertaken are described in A.1 to A.11 of this project plan. 3.2 Assets No Assets (ie tangible property with a value over $100, ) are to be acquired or created, or partially acquired or created, using the Funding. 4 RISK MANAGEMENT 4.1 Risk management is an ongoing activity for IMOS, focused around the risks associated with successful deployment and recovery of marine observing platforms and sensors, and availability and use of marine data for science, research and education activities of national significance. The majority of risks assessed at Facility level are in the low to medium range, with the high level risks (and associated risk management strategies) as follows: Loss of equipment in the harsh, remote Southern Ocean. o Risk is managed by partnering with the most experienced Operators, leveraging international collaborations, staging implementation, carefully reviewing successes and failures, and insuring against material loss (where appropriate). Loss of equipment due to cyclone activity in the tropical North. o Risk is managed by partnering with the most experienced Operators, leveraging regional collaborations, staging implementation, carefully reviewing successes and failures, and insuring against material loss (where appropriate). Increasing reliance on the Marine National Facility to support deepwater moorings when the MNF is transitioning from RV Southern Surveyor to RV Investigator. o Due to delays in commissioning RV Investigator, this risk will become acute in the period. As noted in Section 1, components of the Deepwater Mooring Facility have been wound back in the short term as delays in delivery of RV Investigator mean there is no suitable vessel available between October 2013 and April IMOS is managing this risk by working closely with the MNF Steering Committee to ensure that where possible, alternate vessels are sought and coinvestment committed so any additional costs are not charged to the IMOS funding. Risk of funding discontinuity. o Risk is managed by ensuring a high level of delivery against performance indicators, clear articulation of needs and benefits, focus on high quality science relevant to policy and management, and development of long term strategy with active engagement of stakeholders. IMOS is working closely with the Department and the broader marine and climate science community to ensure optimum uptake and use of observations and data so as to strengthen the case for funding post July In some cases, what can be delivered under NCRIS 2013 has been affected by the fact that between December 2012 and August 2013, we were planning on CRIS minimum funding. Where this is an issue, activities are being ramped up to NCRIS 2013 levels as quickly as possible. 11

12 5 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION 5.1 Initial arrangements Core tasks to be completed for the Project between 2 August 2013 and 31 December 2013 are: Due by Description 25 Sept 2013 Advisory Board approve Draft Project Plan 30 Sept 2013 Draft Project Plan submitted 30 Nov 2013 Finalisation of Project Plan 31 Dec 2013 Operator sub-contracts negotiated and signed The overall aim of the work to be undertaken during the period from execution of the Agreement to 31 December 2013 is to: finalise all arrangements for the funding of the Project; prepare the Project Plan; Enter into agreements with the Operators for the suite of work which each will lead, including setting milestones; and develop performance indicators consistent with the Project Plan. An Overview and key activities for each of the Facilities is described in A.1 to A.11 of this Project Plan, and will be further outlined in the Annual Business Plan (due 31 March 2014). 5.2 Financial Projections A summary of the Financial Projections for the Integrated Marine Observing System is outlined in the tables below. Detailed statements for each of the Facilities are shown in the relevant Attachment A.1 to A Summary of overall income and expenditure for the Project (GST Exclusive) $ (GST Exclusive) Financial Year Total INCOME NCRIS 2013 Cash contribution 8,083,842 10,288,526 18,372,368 Recipient and Other Cash contribution 1,629,346 1,629,346 3,258,692 Subtotal (NCRIS 2013 and Co-Investment) 9,713,188 11,917,872 21,631,060 In-Kind Contribution 7,975,740 7,975,740 15,951,480 Total Income (NCRIS 2013, Co-Investment and In-Kind) 17,688,928 19,893,612 37,582,540 EXPENDITURE Total Expenditure (Cash and In-Kind) 14,517,183 23,065,357 37,582,540 12

13 Declaration by authorised representative of the lead agent I, Tim Moltmann, make the following declaration: 1. that I have authority to make this declaration on behalf of the lead agent, University of Tasmania, ABN number ; 2. that all of the information that I have provided to the Commonwealth (including the contents of this declaration and attachments) is complete, true and correct; and 3. I have taken all reasonable steps to ensure its accuracy. I understand that the Commonwealth is relying on the accuracy of the information provided by me (including the contents of this declaration) in determining the lead agent s funding under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme Signature Date 30 th September, 2013 Name Tim Moltmann Position IMOS Director 13

14 IMOS Facility: 01 Argo Australia ATTACHMENT A.1 This Facility is of High priority Argo is an essential element of the Global Ocean Observing System, and Australia benefits significantly by playing a leading role. Recent high profile publications and reports have reinforced the importance of measuring the sub-surface ocean and Argo is our principal tool. Deep Argo and Bio Argo are exciting new developments being pursued by the global community and it is important that Australia is positioned to engage. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $1,841,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $795,000 $1,046,000 Overview and key activities: Argo is planning to deploy 25 floats per annum with IMOS funding, plus co-invested floats from CSIRO (10 per annum), Bureau of Meteorology (5 per annum) and Antarctic and Climate Ecosystems CRC (15 in ). An annual deployment rate of 50 floats per annum (50% from IMOS, rest co-invested) will keep the standing array in the Australia region at ~ 360 floats, including pilot deployments in the ice zone. Effort is being redeployed to better manage delivery of delayed Mode quality controlled data and to develop QC of oxygen data funded at pilot level in the EIF phase. Argo has very strong support from the Bluewater and Climate Node, and is contribution is recognised by all Regional Nodes. Management and Governance: Lead Operator: CSIRO Facility Leader: Susan Wijffels Collaborating Institutions: Bureau of Meteorology, Antarctic and Climate Ecosystems CRC, Royal Australian Navy, Marine National Facility, Australian Climate Change Science Program Key international linkages: Argo Australia staff currently hold the position of co-chair of the two key leadership committees for Argo Susan Wijffels is co-chair of the International Argo Steering Team and Ann Thresher is co-chair of the International Argo Data Management Team. Access and Pricing: Refer part 2.4 of this Project Plan Outputs: Process real-time data and send data files to Argo GDAC Perform QA/QC on the data and send delayed-mode data files to the Argo GDAC Key performance indicators: Refer part 2.5 of this Project Plan 24 hrs from transmission < 12 months, but must be > 6 months from transmission 14

15 ATTACHMENT A.2 IMOS Facility: 02 Enhanced Measurements from Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) This Facility is of High priority: Most components of the SOOP measurements (expendable bathythermographs, biogeochemical, sea surface temperature SST and air-sea fluxes) are seen to be mature elements of the Global Ocean Observing System and provide an efficient means to collect sustained observations. IMOS added bio-acoustics and significantly enhanced continuous plankton recorders in the EIF period, and inclusion of more biological observations in SOOP is strongly supported. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $1,661,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $901,000 $760,000 Overview and key activities: The Ships of Opportunity facility utilises a combination of volunteer commercial vessels and, less frequently, research vessels to collect measurements related to physical, chemical and biological oceanography. As chartered research vessels are expensive and time consuming, the use of volunteer commercial vessels as oceanographic samplers while underway is a central, cost-effective component of the facility. Fitted with various sampling instrumentation such as expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) to record temperature profiles of the water column, commercial vessels form a system of repeat-line sampling of the ocean while undertaking their regular business. The Ships of Opportunity facility builds on similar pre-existing Australian programs by expanding to collect a wider variety of data and increasing the number of vessels fitted with sampling equipment. Target regions for the facility include the boundary current systems off Eastern and Western Australia, the Southern Ocean, the shelf seas across northern Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Operation of the facility is spread between several sub-facilities. SOOP is seen as most relevant to the Bluewater & Climate Node, though the role of XBT s to EAC and ITF work is recognised by the Regional Nodes. CPR is currently focused on the east coast (Brisbane to Adelaide), supplemented by voyage-based tows off research vessels including in the Southern Ocean. Uptake and use of Bio-Acoustics and integration with CPR and ocean colour will be a focus in the NCRIS 2013 period. Management and Governance: Lead Operator: CSIRO Facility Leader: Ken Ridgway Sub-facility, Leader and Operator: 2aa Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT), Ann Thresher, CSIRO 2ab Biogeochemical (BGC), Bronte Tilbrook, CSIRO 2ac Continuous Plankton Recorders (AusCPR), Anthony Richardson, CSIRO 2b Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels, Miles Furnas, AIMS 2c Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Sensors for Australian Vessels, Helen Beggs, BoM 2d Research Vessels Real-Time Air-Sea Fluxes, Eric Schulz, BoM 2e Bio-Acoustic, Rudy Kloser, CSIRO 15

16 Collaborating Institutions: Australian Antarctic Division, National Oceanography Centre Southampton (UK), National Institute of Water and Atmosphere Research (New Zealand), Royal Australian Navy, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (USA), Australian Climate Change Science Program, volunteer merchant and research vessels. Key international linkages: Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Program and Steering team (including XBT) Ships of Opportunity-Implementation Panel Southern Ocean Observing System Steering Committee Biogeochemistry panel of experts for the Framework for Sustained Ocean Observing/International Ocean Carbon Coordination Program (IOCCP) Surface Ocean CO 2 Atlas (SOCAT) Global Alliance of CPR Surveys (GACS) Shipboard Automated Meteorological Oceanographic System (SAMOS) Global Ocean Surface Underway Data Project (GOSUD) International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set World Meteorological Organisation Voluntary Ship Observing program (WMO VOS) Southern Ocean Network of Acoustics programs (SONA) International Council for the Exploration of the Sea - Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics, Science and Technology (ICES WGFAST) Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Access and Pricing: Refer part 2.4 of this Project Plan Outputs Process real-time data for XBT, BGC, SST, and Air-Sea Fluxes and provide data files to the Global Telecommunication System (GTS). Perform QA/QC on the delayed-mode data for XBT, BGC, CPR, Tropical Research Vessels, and Bio-Acoustic subfacilities. Key performance indicators: Refer part 2.5 of this Project Plan Near real time data within 24 hrs of transmission Delayed mode data varies from 3-12 months delivery dependent on sub-facility. 16

17 ATTACHMENT A.3 IMOS Facility: 03 Australian Bluewater Observing System (ABOS) This Facility is of High priority ABOS provides the coordination of national efforts in the sustained observation of open ocean properties with particular emphasis on observations important to climate and carbon cycle studies and ocean circulation (boundary currents and Antarctic bottom water formation). The major areas of research driving the facility include: tracking multi-decadal ocean change and predicting regional and marine impacts; understanding the modes and drivers of climate variability in the Australian region; improved understanding and prediction of ocean currents; and discovering the links between ocean and climate variability, marine chemical cycling and ecosystem structure and function at various time scales. The Deep Water Moorings facility is comprised of a number of moorings located in Antarctic, sub-antarctic and Tropical open-ocean waters around Australia. Depending on location, each of these deep water moorings is equipped with particular instrumentation to measure desired variables and to cope with local conditions. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $1,735,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $789,000 $946,000 Overview and key activities: ABOS plans to continue the mooring program funded under NCRIS and EIF in the sub-antarctic (Southern Ocean Time Series and Southern Ocean Flux Station), the Antarctic (Polynya), and Tropics (East Australian Current and Indonesian Throughflow). However it is noted that due to a key reliance on Australia s only blue water research vessel to deploy and maintain these moorings, the program will be curtailed over the next two years, and the budget reflects this. The Deepwater Mooring program is a high risk, high return component of IMOS which has been progressing very well. Dependence on the MNF has exposed us to additional risk during transition from Southern Surveyor to Investigator, and unfortunately delays in this process now overlap with the NCRIS 2013 timeframe. ITF will continue to deliver data now that we have secured support to recover and redeploy, Polynya will deliver data if ice conditions permit recovery, and SOTS/SOFS will deliver data from 3 months at the start and 3 months at the end of the NCRIS 2013 period. We plan to rebuild the East Australian Current mooring retrieved in September 2013 (due to uncertainty with the CRIS funding) and redeploy it in 2015 off the new RV Investigator. ABOS has very strong support from the Bluewater & Climate Node. The importance of EAC is recognised by the east coast Regional Nodes, as is ITF by WAIMOS. The Bluewater & Climate Node has expressed significant disappointment in the circumstances which have led to the deepwater mooring program being curtailed, and have made extensive efforts to avoid or at least minimise gaps in the deepwater observing program and related time series. IMOS is greatly appreciative of MNF support towards alternate vessel access (AIMS Solander for the ITF redeployment) and extension of Southern Surveyor operations (for SOTS / SOFS recovery). Management and Governance: Lead Operator: CSIRO Facility Leader: Tom Trull 17

18 Sub-facility, Leader and Operator: 3a Air-Sea Flux Stations (ASFS, SOFS mooring), Eric Schulz, BoM 3b Southern Ocean Time Series Observations (SOTS), Tom Trull, UTAS/CSIRO 3c Deepwater Arrays (ITF, EAC and Polynya moorings), Bernadette Sloyan, CSIRO Collaborating Institutions: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (USA), Antarctic and Climate Ecosystems CRC, Marine National Facility, Australian Antarctic Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA), AIMS Key International linkages: OceanSITES (global deep ocean moored observatories) Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC) CLIVAR Indonesian Throughflow Task Team SCOR - Working Group on Biogeochemical Sensors on Floats and Gliders Access and Pricing: Refer part 2.4 of this Project Plan Outputs Process real-time data from ASFS, SOFS mooring. Perform QA/QC on the SOTS, ITF, EAC and Polynya moorings and send delayed-mode data files to OceanSITES Key performance indicators: Refer part 2.5 of this Project Plan Near real time data within 24 hrs of transmission Delayed mode data varies from 3-6 months delivery dependent on sub-facility and timing of mooring retrieval. 18

19 ATTACHMENT A.4 IMOS Facility: 04 Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders (ANFOG) This Facility is of High priority ANFOG operates a fleet of autonomous underwater ocean gliders that undertake measurements from shelf and boundary currents in Australian waters. As traditional ship-based oceanographic observations are expensive and time consuming, the development of autonomous ocean gliders to sample the marine environment represents a technological revolution for oceanography. The gliders are relatively cheap, reusable and can be remotely controlled, making them a relatively costeffective method for collecting repeat subsurface ocean observations. They also allow for the acquisition of data under inclement weather conditions. Equipped with a variety of sensors, the gliders are designed to deliver ocean profile data. Furthermore, the unique design of the gliders enables them to move horizontally through the water while collecting vertical profiles. The use of these contemporary gliders provides a unique opportunity to effectively measure the boundary currents off Australia, which are the main link between open-ocean and coastal processes. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $1,636,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $987,000 $649,000 Overview and key activities: During the NCRIS 2013 period we plan to operate as follows: Slocum gliders quarterly deployments to be maintained in SW WA, NSW and SA; and 6 per annum for TasIMOS. Sea gliders quarterly deployments off Rottnest Island, WA and Coral Sea, Qld. Co-investment will enable quarterly deployments in Kimberley and Pilbara until March 2015; CSIRO deployments in the GBR for ereefs modelling; and BP work in the Great Australian Bight. DSTO will provide data from their own gliders to the AODN. The regional Nodes using Slocum gliders are strongly supportive of this work continuing, and feel they are learning to use the technology effectively. QIMOS now wishes it had been more involved, noting that we have commenced some activity in the region through ereefs. The Seaglider component is being focused in two Nodes (WA and Q) due to lessons learned about limitations in more energetic ocean conditions and colder waters (where bio-fouling is a problem). Gliders are an emerging component of the Global Ocean Observing System, and IMOS is engaged at the international level through European and US glider initiatives. The Slocum component (shelf/coastal operation) has settled down well, with evidence of uptake and use increasing. The Seaglider component has been refocused into a smaller number of multi-glider deployments to ensure that meaningful time series can be created from repeat transects. IMOS will conduct a review of its use of gliders during the NCRIS 2013 timeframe, with input from international experts. The level of interest of co-investors and collaborators is a positive, with WA Government, BP and CSIRO co-investing and DSTO collaborating and making their glider data available on AODN. Management and Governance: Lead Operator: University of Western Australia 19

20 Facility Leader: Chari Pattiaratchi Collaborating organisations: AIMS, CSIRO, BP, DSTO, SIMS, MISA, Western Australian Government, SARDI Key international linkages: Everyone s Gliding Observatories (EGO) Gliders for Research Observation and Management (GROOM ) Access and Pricing: Refer part 2.4 of this Project Plan Outputs Process real-time data for both Seaglider and Slocum gliders and send data files to GTS. Perform QA/QC on the data and send delayed-mode data to the IMOS Ocean Portal. Key performance indicators: Refer part 2.5 of this Project Plan Near real time data within 24 hrs of transmission Delayed mode data within 3 months of retrieval of glider. 20

21 ATTACHMENT A.5 IMOS Facility: 05 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility This Facility is of High priority The AUV Facility brings benthic biodiversity into IMOS, and is responding to the need for sustained observations through regular surveys at a national network of reference sites. Science productivity is high, as is stakeholder interest. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $451,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $264,000 $187,000 Overview and key activities: The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle facility provides precisely navigated time series measurements of benthic imagery using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) at selected locations on Australia s continental shelf. While very large-scale surface processes can be addressed adequately by remote sensing and ship-borne systems, characterisation of many marine processes requires the ability to sense at high resolutions in close proximity to the seafloor. The ability to conduct georeferenced, high resolution, repeatable surveys of marine habitats particularly those beyond diver depths represents one of the key benefits of AUVs. The facility incorporates a suite of observing programs that capitalise on the unique capabilities of AUVs and provides a critical observational link between oceanographic and benthic processes. To support a more complete understanding of natural, climate change, and human-induced variability in shelf environments, the facility generates physical and biological observations of benthic variables that cannot be cost-effectively obtained by other means. The plan is to operate and maintain current activity, noting that it will take a little time to ramp up from the CRIS minimum scenario (4 missions pa) to the preferred scenario (8 missions pa). There will be 5 missions undertaken in and 8 in The AUV Facility has strong support from all Regional Nodes. SAIMOS expressed interest in extending AUV operation into their region, but this is not affordable within the current budget. Management and Governance: Lead Operator: Sydney Institute of Marine Science Facility Leader: Stefan Williams Collaborating organisations: University of Tasmania, AIMS, WA Fisheries Key international linkages: NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) Access and Pricing: Refer part 2.4 of this Project Plan Outputs Perform QA/QC on the data and send delayed-mode data to the IMOS Ocean Portal Key performance indicators: Refer part 2.5 of this Project Plan Delayed mode data within 3 months of completion of AUV mission. 21

22 ATTACHMENT A.6 IMOS Facility: 06 Australian National Mooring Network (ANMN) This Facility is of High priority ANMN comprises a series of national reference stations and regional moorings designed to monitor particular oceanographic phenomena in Australian coastal ocean waters. The moorings network as a whole measures physical, chemical and biological parameters of these waters. The national reference stations are designed to deliver long-term time series observations and they significantly increase the number of such observations available for Australia both in terms of variables recorded, temporal distribution and geographical context. Prior to IMOS, existing reference stations were simple waypoints where regular boat-based water samples were taken. The inclusion of moored instrumentation at these sites significantly improves the quality and quantity of data that can be collected and used to inform management. The regional moorings monitor the interaction between boundary currents and shelf water masses and their consequent impact upon ocean productivity and ecosystem distribution and resilience. There is an increasing reliance on data from the regional mooring arrays to support development and validation regional ocean models. Is this Component/Sub-project receiving support under CRIS? Is support to extend the time period of operation? Is support to increase the capacity under CRIS Total funding sought from NCRIS 2013 to support operations from 1/7/13 to 30/6/15 $5,564,000 Estimate of eligible costs: salaries and on costs for technical staff infrastructure maintenance $2,683,000 $2,881,000 Overview and key activities: ANMN has been by far the largest and most complex Facility in IMOS since inception. As noted in Section 1, funding available for the and years is not at the level it has been since and prioritisation decisions have needed to be made. This has resulted in some reduction in the scope of ANMN relative to that under EIF. Prioritisation decisions have been informed by national science priorities, within-region science priorities, operational and logistical constraints, and stakeholder impacts. A summary of planned activities under this revised scope is as follows: National Reference Station (NRS) component: Seven of nine reference stations in the national network will be maintained with the full set of continuous sensor based sampling and monthly physical sampling (from small vessels). These stations include three long term sites (Maria Island, Rottnest Island and Port Hacking), three sites providing coverage in regions that had huge gaps before IMOS was established (Yongala, Darwin and Kangaroo Island), and one site which is critical to linking coastal and offshore processes, including collaboration with TERN and UQ (North Stradbroke Island). The other two sites (Esperance and Ningaloo Reef) will be discontinued. These have always been the most isolated sites where we have only ever been able to afford quarterly (vs monthly) physical sampling. It is considered preferable to maintain a smaller number of sites at full sampling strength rather than lower sampling rates at other sites across the network in order to maintain site numbers. Regional Mooring Array component: Moorings will be maintained in all regions, albeit with consolidation. To some extent this consolidation can be compensated by the combination of other IMOS observations and 22