19 February 2008
- Glass-like animals known as tunicates
are early colonisers of the sea floor.Photo:
Antarctic Division. The return of the last
of three Antarctic marine science research
vessels marks the culmination of one of
Australia's most ambitious International
Polar Year projects, a census of life in
the icy Southern Ocean known as the Collaborative
East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC).
Australia's Aurora Australis
and collaborating vessels L'Astrolabe (France)
and Umitaka Maru (Japan) have returned from
the Southern Ocean, their decks overflowing
with a vast array of ocean life including
a number of previously unknown species collected
from the cold waters near the East Antarctic
land mass.
While the French and
Japanese ships have been examining the mid
and upper ocean environment over the past
two months, Aurora Australis had her eyes
fixed on the ocean floor, using both traditional
and innovative sampling equipment to capture
the diversity of life.
Aurora Australis voyage
leader Dr Martin Riddle says that their
expedition uncovered a remarkably rich,
colourful and complex range of marine life
in this previously unknown environment.
"Some of the video
footage we have collected is really stunning
– it's amazing to be able to navigate undersea
mountains and valleys and actually see what
the animals look like in their undisturbed
state," he said.
"In some places
every inch of the sea floor is covered in
life. In other places we can see deep scars
and gouges where icebergs scour the sea
floor as they pass by. Gigantism is very
common in Antarctic waters – we have collected
huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders
the size of dinner plates.
Ice bergs gouge the
sea floor - it doesn't take long to repopulate.Photo:
Antarctic Division
"This survey establishes a point of
reference to monitor the impact of environmental
change in Antarctic waters. For example,
ocean acidification, caused by rising atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels, will make it harder
for marine organisms to grow and sustain
calcium carbonate skeletons.
"It is predicted
that the first effects of this will be seen
in the cold, deep waters of Antarctica.
Our results provide a robust benchmark for
testing these predictions."
CEAMARC Project Leader
Dr Graham Hosie said that researchers are
only beginning to understand the complex
biodiversity that lies beneath the surface
of the Southern Ocean and its importance
in local, regional and global ecosystems.
"This research
will help scientists understand how communities
have adapted to the unique Antarctic environment.
Our work also has wider applications, for
example understanding fish community composition
and structure is particularly important
to explain the impacts of commercial trawling.
The sea-bed is covered
with a complex mix of creatures which form
a home for fish, starfish, sea urchins and
other organisms.Photo: Antarctic Division
"Specimens collected will be sent to
universities and museums around the world
for identification, tissue sampling and
bar-coding of their DNA. Not all of the
creatures that we found could be identified
and it is very likely that some new species
will be recorded as a result of these voyages."
CEAMARC is part of the
international Census of Antarctic Marine
Life, coordinated by the Australian Antarctic
Division, which will see some 16 voyages
to Antarctic waters during this, the International
Polar Year (2007-2009).
The Census of Antarctic
Marine Life will survey the biodiversity
of Antarctic slopes, abyssal plains, open
water, and under disintegrating ice shelves.
The census aims to determine species biodiversity,
abundance and distribution and establish
a baseline dataset from which future changes
can be observed.
Patti Lucas
+ More
$7.1M SOLAR POWER PLANT
FOR COOBER PEDY
19 February 2008 - Australia’s
largest off-grid solar power station is
set to be built at remote Coober Pedy in
South Australia’s far north.
Australian Environment
Minister Peter Garrett and South Australian
Premier Mike Rann announced the $7.1 million
project at the 3rd International Solar Cities
Congress in Adelaide today.
“This is a groundbreaking
solar project – a spectacular example of
the Rudd Labor Government’s commitment to
a clean energy future,” Peter Garrett said.
“There will be 26 dishes,
each one 14 metres high and tracking the
arc of the sun – an Australian design, delivering
the nation’s most efficient solar power
station.
“When it’s completed
at the end of 2009, it will generate about
1860 megawatt hours a year –
13 per cent of Coober Pedy’s total electricity
requirements.
“And it will cut diesel
consumption by up to 520,000 litres a year,
saving 1,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Australian Government
is providing $3.55 million under its Renewable
Remote Power Generation program, which helps
Australians who live outside of our major
cities and towns and who are not connected
to the main grid, to gain access to renewable
power supplies.
“This project will consolidate
South Australia’s reputation as a leader
in renewable energy initiatives,” Premier
Rann said.
“It reinforces our willingness
to collaborate and invest in practical solutions
to climate change in our communities.
“South Australia already
provides nearly half of the nation’s wind
power, more than 45 percent of the nation’s
grid-connected solar power, and is home
to more than 80 percent of all geothermal
exploration activity in Australia.
“And this announcement comes just days after
South Australia passed the nation’s first
solarfeed-
in laws which will see consumers get double
the retail price for surplus power they
feed back into the grid.”
Coober Pedy has been
chosen because it is not on the electricity
grid, and currently gets all of its power
from diesel generators.
Each dish will concentrate
the received sunlight by 500 times onto
an array of high efficiency photovoltaic
cells that directly convert sunlight into
electricity.
The State Government
is providing funding of $635,000 for the
project, which has been developed in partnership
with Solar Systems Pty Ltd, the District
Council of Coober Pedy and Wesfarmers subsidiary
Energy Generation Pty Ltd (enGen).
With this funding package
in place, the partners can now finalise
the necessary contractual arrangements.
For more information on renewable energy
in South Australia: www.climatechange.sa.gov.au
For information on the Australian Government’s
Renewable Remote Power Generation
program: www.environment.gov.au/renewable/rrpgp
Minister Garrett - Margot Marshall
Premier Rann - Lachlan Parker
