Media release
27 March 2013
In a world first, acoustic technology has
been used to successfully find, track and
study the biggest creature on Earth, the
Antarctic blue whale.
Blue whales are very rarely seen in the
Southern Ocean and yet by using this technology
scientists on a seven-week voyage to the
Southern Ocean were able to collect 57 photo
identifications, 23 biopsy samples and attach
satellite tags to two of these colossal
whales.
Environment Minister
Tony Burke said the researchers, working
from small boats in freezing Antarctic conditions,
were entertained and captivated by the remarkable
behaviour of the blue whales they encountered.
Mr Burke said the achievements
of this non-lethal research method clearly
show it is not necessary to kill whales
in order to study them.
“The Antarctic blue
whale can grow to over 30 metres in length
and weigh up to 180 tonnes, its tongue alone
is heavier than an elephant and its heart
is as big as a small car. Even the largest
dinosaur was smaller than the blue whale,”
Mr Burke said.
“The Antarctic blue
whale barely escaped extinction during the
industrial whaling era in the 1900’s when
around 340,000 whales were slaughtered,”
Mr Burke said.
“This research reinforces
Australia’s commitment to non-lethal research
of whales.”
The voyage was the inaugural
Southern Ocean trip of the Antarctic Blue
Whales Project, which aims to estimate the
abundance, distribution and behaviour of
this iconic species.
The 18-strong science
team of acousticians, engineers, whale tagging
experts and observers deployed passive acoustic
sonobuoys west of the Ross Sea area to locate
the blue whales.
Lead marine mammal acoustician,
Dr Brian Miller, said Antarctic blues have
a very deep and resonating song which can
be picked up hundreds of kilometres across
the Southern Ocean.
“The acousticians made
626 hours recordings in the sample area,
with 26,545 calls of Antarctic blue whale
analysed in real time. The researchers were
then able to triangulate the position of
the whales from their vocalisations and
direct the ship to the target area,” Dr
Miller said.
“A team in a small boat
was then deployed to gather skin biopsies
and photo identifications from the whales,”
he said.
Whale tagger, Dr Virginia
Andrews-Goff, said the researchers were
able to deploy satellite tags on two blue
whales.
“The tags transmitted
never-before obtained data on rapid longitudinal
movements during their summer feeding season
and their foraging behaviour in relation
to the edge of the Antarctic ice,” Dr Virginia
Andrews-Goff said.
“This method of studying
Antarctic blue whales has been so successful
it will now become the blueprint for other
whale researchers across the world.”
On the voyage the scientists
made a total of 720 cetacean sightings,
including humpback, minke, fin and bottle-nosed
whales, as well as collecting environmental
data and Antarctic krill samples.
The Antarctic Blue Whales
Project is a flagship program of the international
Southern Ocean Research Partnership involving
ten countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
Chile, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway,
South Africa and the United States.
The results from this
voyage will be shared with the International
Whaling Commission to assist in the conservation
and recovery of the Antarctic blue whale.
Marine mammal acoustician
Dr Brian Miller, and whale tagging expert,
Dr Virginia Andrews-Goff, will be available
for interview at the Australian Antarctic
Division on Wednesday 27 at 9:30AM.
Vision and pictures are available at:
ftp://ftp.aad.gov.au/Public/News_Media_Files/Blue_whale_return/
+ More
Science provides a new
understanding of Great Artesian Basin
Media release
27 March 2013
Management of the Great Artesian Basin will
benefit from an increased understanding
of how this nationally-important water resource
functions.
Today Amanda Rishworth,
Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability
and Urban Water, released the Great Artesian
Basin Water Resource Assessment (the Assessment)
and the Allocating Water and Maintaining
Springs in the Great Artesian Basin research
project (the GAB Mound Springs project).
Federal Water Minister,
Tony Burke, welcomed the release of the
reports.
“The Great Artesian
Basin is a resource of national importance
that we need to understand in order to manage
sustainably. These projects provide a robust
assessment of the extent and nature of the
water resources of the Great Artesian Basin
and of the operation of its artesian springs,”
Mr Burke said.
“Since 1980 the Great
Artesian Basin has generally been thought
of as a large, connected groundwater flow
system. We now know that the structure of
the Basin is far more complex.
“It can take many thousands,
if not tens of thousands, of years for water
to travel from its recharge areas in Queensland
to discharge areas such as the mound springs
in South Australia. The value of this assessment
is that we now more fully understand how
complex these flow paths are and we can
use that knowledge to better manage these
resources,’’ Mr Burke said.
The advanced understanding
gained by the Assessment reveals the Great
Artesian Basin to be an extensive and complex
groundwater system heavily influenced by
geological features including faults, ridges
and connections with other geologic basins.
These features all interact to influence
actual groundwater and flow conditions.
The GAB Mound Springs
project investigated surface and groundwater
interactions and mound spring characteristics
in the western area of the Great Artesian
Basin.
“Together with the GAB
Mound Springs project, the results of the
Assessment will guide decision making by
governments, industry and the community
and inform the development of future water
policy. It is good science informing good
management,” Ms Rishworth said.
The two and a half-year
Assessment was completed by Australia’s
leading research organisation the CSIRO,
in collaboration with Geoscience Australia.
The four-year Mound
Springs project, funded by the National
Water Commission and the South Australian
Government, pulled together a number of
project partners including: the South Australian
Arid Lands NRM Board, Flinders University,
Adelaide University, CSIRO, and the Northern
Territory Government.
For more information
about the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource
Assessment, visit www.csiro.au/en/Organisation-Structure/Flagships/Water-for-a-Healthy-Country-Flagship/Sustainable-Yields-Projects/Great-Artesian-Basin-Assessment.aspx
For more information
about the Allocating Water and Maintaining
Springs in the Great Artesian Basin research
projects, visit http://archive.nwc.gov.au/library/topic/groundwater
