Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

Enhancing Integration: the role of Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System in understanding our future oceans (#153)

Michelle Heupel 1
  1. Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), Hobart, TAS, Australia

The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is a national research infrastructure funded under the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Since 2006, IMOS has been routinely operating a wide range of observing equipment throughout Australia’s coastal and open oceans, making all of its data accessible to the marine and climate science community, other stakeholders and users, and international collaborators. Ocean observations collected by IMOS are made freely available via the Australian Ocean Data Network. These data holdings include long time series of essential ocean variables including physical, biological, biochemical and atmospheric variables. The existence of a sustained observing system provides a unique opportunity to integrate data streams to better understand key ecosystems and processes. The data IMOS collects are integral to coastal and ocean modelling which are crucial to understanding oceanographic patterns that can influence local conditions and drive the abundance and behaviour of a range of species. This presentation will highlight the applicability of IMOS infrastructure and opportunities for data integration to improve our understanding of our marine estate. This understanding is critical to defining and measuring change in our ocean ecosystems now and into the future.