IMOS welcomes the investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) Cross-NCRIS Data Assets program.
IMOS is involved in two projects successfully funded through the Cross-NCRIS Data Assets program to support leading edge research:
- Data nexus: coupling genomic and oceanographic data to enhance integration
- Ecosystem data integration to support national environmental reporting
Data nexus: coupling genomic and oceanographic data to enhance integration
Every millilitre of the vast ocean ecosystem provides a habitat for millions of microorganisms that modulate ocean health and ultimately control global climate.
However, the scales, tools and data products used to study the ocean are very different to those used to study microbes, and both research disciplines require extensive, domain specific skills that have little overlap.
IMOS will lead this project in partnership with Bioplatforms Australia. The project will drive the integration of large DNA sequencing datasets that describe the composition and function of Australian marine microbial assemblages, with oceanographic datasets (e.g. water temperature, salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, current direction) that describe the form and dynamics of Australian ocean ecosystems.
The integration of these very different data types will accelerate our understanding of how changing environmental conditions drive the microbial processes that sustain the planet, while enabling non-microbial researchers’ direct access to key microbial insights that will enhance modelling of ecological and biogeochemical processes.
This type of data integration does not exist anywhere else in the world and will provide great advantages to the Australian research community.
The output dataset will exploit a wealth of existing information to develop data resources and tools that are compatible with ideas and needs from the community, including human health and wellbeing; management of protected/high value ecologies, and safeguarding Australian aquaculture and fisheries.
Ecosystem data integration to support national environmental reporting
The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment produces the State of the Environment report every five years to meet statutory reporting obligations and update all Australians and decision-makers on environmental state, pressures, trends and key issues. State of the Environment reporting relies extensively on high-quality national data.
This project will involve Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), Integrated Marine Observing System, and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) to develop new cross-facility data assets to support national environmental reporting. Integrated data products will have significant value beyond State of the Environment with use in the research sector, in related government programs.
The new national and highly visible environment reference collection will have application in areas including environmental accounts and impact assessments; land, inland waters, coastal and marine management; agricultural development and biosecurity; urban planning; infrastructure design; disaster and risk assessment.
Consolidating these assets in this way will serve as a showcase for NCRIS and for the significant contributions NCRIS capabilities are making to understanding the Australian environment. High-quality environmental information is also critical for Australia to meet its reporting obligations under international conventions (e.g. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, United Nations Land Degradation Neutrality).