Oceans

sailing ship at full sail

While underwater drones, robots and satellites have a well-earned place in monitoring the state of our oceans and climate, we also look to ship-based measurements for first-rate data.

yellow submersible at the sea bed

The next-gen of ocean robots are helping researchers understand one of the last, and greatest, frontiers.

bright yellow and blue capsule being lowered into the ocean with an island in the distance

A vast range of ocean moorings around Australia is uncovering the mysteries of what happens under the waves, gathering data on what the future holds.

three people backlit by colourful power point

As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. Decadal forecasting can provide an assessment of probabilities for the climate system over the next one to 10 years, important inside knowledge for industries affected by climate.

fish pens on the ocean

Scientists take a close look at what’s behind low-oxygen levels under salmon farms in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour.

diver looking down through blue waters at whale shark

They're elusive, whale sharks, so we're keeping an eye on them using satellite tracking to see how far they travel and, in a world first, taking DNA samples to see just how old they are. Here they are on Ningaloo reef.

school of striped yellow fish near reef

Here's one aspect of rising sea levels to think about - the loss in light reflected through ocean waters. Marine ecologists are asking, what are the limits, and threats, to coral skyscrapers? Because coral reefs don't just spread out - they also spread up.

vessel bow crashing into blue sea

The Southern Ocean has an enormously influential role on the Earth's climate, it reaches from the Antarctic into all the world's oceans. What research now shows is local ocean processes have global impacts.

photo of historic tidal marigram

We're dusting off old tide records, some dating back to the late 19th century, in a project to digitise these old hard-copy records so the data they contain can be used to analyse how extreme sea levels in Australia have changed over time.