16 Science Solutions to Maintaining Maritime Sovereignty, Safety and Security

Our marine estate is a vital yet challenging contributor to Australia’s sovereignty, national security, and safety. Marine stakeholders, including the shipping industry, coastal managers, port operators, the offshore oil and gas industry, defense, border protection, the aquaculture and fishing industries, tourism, recreational boating, coastal engineers and emergency managers, all require accurate and up-to-date information about sea state, atmospheric conditions, and geohazards to support their multiple uses of the jurisdiction.

‘Cargo Containers in Harbor’ by Bilal Ahmed used under a Pexels License

There is a constant need for information at timescales that stretch from hours to weeks—whether it is for industry operations, or for prediction, prevention, mitigation or compliance activities, out at sea or along the coast.

Meeting these needs is a constant challenge, but particularly so in the case of extreme weather events which remain poorly understood and a challenge to predict. Their impact is also disproportionately strong, and climate change is predicted to increase the intensity and frequency of some events.

These extreme events include both physical and biological natural hazards such as destructive winds, waves and storm surges, tropical cyclones, flooding, surface and subsurface currents, temperature extremes, beach erosion, algal blooms, coral bleaching, and invasive species

Science solutions to maintaining maritime sovereignty, safety and security

To maintain Australia’s marine sovereignty, and improve security and safety, we need a long-term strategy to better understand, monitor and predict sea state (winds, currents, and waves) and extreme events in Australia’s marine environment, including the vast area beyond our borders over which we have international search-and-rescue responsibilities.

To do this we need to:

• Create a comprehensive national observing system, covering open ocean to coastal and littoral zones, and which includes in situ measurements, remote sensing, and a national information infrastructure
• Develop short-to-medium range (days to weeks), uncoupled and coupled biophysical models for analyses and forecasts, from open ocean to coastal and littoral zones
• Support the above capability with state-of-the-art national computational infrastructure
• Use overseas experiences and expertise through collaboration wherever possible and appropriate
• Improve delivery of information and services to the private and public sectors
• Establish a national research focus on marine extreme events and a national committee of government, research community, industry and the Australian Defence Force, for short-term, fast-track priority implementation

‘Young Woman Using the Steering Wheel on a Boathouse’ by Kampus Production used under a Pexels License

IMOS

The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) brings together people and infrastructure to support Australia’s marine sovereignty, safety and security. Watch the video below to learn more about IMOS.

This text is from the “National Marine Science Plan 2015-2025: Driving the development of Australia’s blue economy.” by National Marine Science Committee is licensed under CC BY 3.0.