New 'weather forecasting' system launched to detect threats in Australian waters
The new system will monitor water quality in real time, to help predict how quickly pollutants will reach fish.
Described as ‘weather forecasting’ for ocean water quality, the CSIRO has developed a world-first system to protect Australia’s fish stocks.
The project has been trialled around the Spencer Gulf west of Adelaide, in an aquaculture hub which the state government estimates is worth $238 million a year. Now scientists plan to roll out the system to other parts of the country.
AquaWatch uses satellite data combined with artificial intelligence as well as water sensors to provide scientists “near-real-time water quality monitoring and forecasts”. While some monitoring does already occur, it has traditionally been “time-consuming and labour-intensive” according to aquaculture experts.
The CSIRO plans to use the system to help local seafood farms predict marine event blooms from phytoplankton — a microalgae. With Australia’s weather becoming more severe and intense because of climate change, the tools could warn farmers of pollution events triggered by storms so they have time to prepare.
Are there environmental benefits to the forecasting system?
While the CSIRO's announcement focused on the commercial benefits of the technology, Australian satellite agency SmartSat, a project partner, has noted the importance of water as a "significant public resource" that is diminishing.
"In Australia, we live on the driest continent on earth and it is very important for us to ensure the quality of our rivers, our lakes and our dams, and of course our coastal areas are monitored, managed and safeguarded," SmartSat CEO Professor Andy Koronios said.
Dr Nagur Cherukuru, a senior scientist at CSIRO, told Yahoo News Australia the technology could also be used to monitor other natural water environments. This could include other parts of South Australia, or even Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour where poor water quality from salmon farms is known to be harming native species like the endangered maugean skate.
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How satellites and monitors are combined to predict threats to fish
The pilot program began in March and it has allowed researchers to understand how far and how quickly the water quality is changing using a two-pronged approach.
AquaWatch is able to monitor water quality in space and time, and help predict both immediate threats and those that will likely take decades to evolve.
“We have harmful algal bloom detectors targeted at specific wavelengths, Cherukuru said. “Another way is to use satellite sensors. Satellites have very advanced machine learning based remote sensing that can be trained, and you can detect a large spatial area to see which areas are impacted by phytoplankton."
Although there have been few costs in acquiring satellite data from NASA, the biggest investment for the CSIRO was in creating computer modelling to understand local ocean systems and creating water sensors.
The project was a collaboration between CSIRO, SmartSat and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).
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