IMOS Rides a Technology Wave

Australia has been one of the global leaders in establishing a national integrated approach to ocean observations and marine research, especially through the establishment of the Integrated Marine Observing System as a federally-funded partnership among major national research providers. Integrated monitoring methods are becoming more coordinated with sophisticated data accessibility options coming online to provide some data streams in near real time.

There is likely to be a technological revolution in marine research in the coming decades. Technologies ranging from fine-scale, near continuous measurements, to new low-cost genetic techniques, and from autonomous platforms through to super high-resolution satellites, are beginning to allow us to answer previously impenetrable marine science questions. The Kailani Telemetry Buoy is an example of this. Originally developed for Defence needs, the KTB implements the “Internet of Things at Sea for receiving real-time data from deployed instruments.