Name of RON: OBIS Australia

Website:http://www.obis.org.au

Host Organizations:
National Oceans Office http://www.oceans.gov.au and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia http://www.cmar.csiro.au


Partner Institutions:

National Oceans Office
Australia’s National Oceans Office was formed in 1999. The functions of the Office include coordination of the development of Regional Marine Plans, and the overall implementation and further development of Australia's Oceans Policy. The National Oceans Office is a part of the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Heritage.


CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR) was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of CSIRO Marine Research and CSIRO Atmospheric Research. CMAR’s work encompasses the assessment of atmospheric and earth systems and the prediction of climate, weather and ocean processes; and research to integrate coastal management and ensure marine resources and industries are sustainable. The Division is an operational unit of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).


Funding Source:
National Oceans Office; CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research; Sloan Foundation via OBIS Project Office

Mission and Objectives:
OBIS Australia will showcase marine biodiversity data from Australia's region of interest. This Regional OBIS Node will be also will also be a conduit to channel Australian marine species data into the international OBIS network.


Datasets included:
CMAR research survey biological survey data including: Bivalves, Malacostracans, Fishes

Spatial Coverage:
E Indian Ocean
SW Pacific Ocean
Southern Ocean
Tasman , Coral, Arafura and Timor Seas

Temporal Coverage:
1978-1989 (in first instance)


Taxonomic coverage:
Mainly fishes in first instance, plus some invertebrates


Services offered:
“CAAB� master taxonomic database for marine species in Australian waters (www.marine.csiro.au/caab);
“Data Trawler� for access to all attributes of CMAR survey data, including associated oceanographic data (www.marine.csiro.au/warehouse/jsp/loginpage.jsp);
“c-squares� spatial data indexing and web mapping application (http://www.marine.csiro.au/csquares/);
"MarLIN" metadata directory (including survey metadata for research surveys) (http://www.marine.csiro.au/marlin/).


RON Manager: Alicja Mosbauer
Email: alicja.mosbauer(AT)oceans.gov.au

Technical Manager: Paul Tildesley
Email: paul.tildesly(AT)csiro.au

Team Composition: Alicja Mosbauer, Amit Parashar, Richard Wilson (National Oceans Office); Paul Tildesley, Tony Rees, Philip Bohm (CMAR)