The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) is a teaching and research institute of the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. IMAS was established in 2010, building upon the university's partnership with

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

Oceans and Atmosphere and the

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the ...

in cooperative

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

research and

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

research.
, IMAS Strategic Plan ''2012-2017'' Marine geophysicist Prof. Mike Coffin was appointed founding Executive Director of IMAS in 2010. Prof. Richard Coleman, an Oceanography, oceanographer and cryospheric scientist, was appointed Executive Director of IMAS in July 2015. Terry Bailey has been the Executive Director since July 2019.

Research themes

The Institute aims “to improve understanding of temperate marine, Southern Ocean, and Antarctic environments, their resources, and their roles in the global climate system through research, education, and outreach”. IMAS was established with a core research and education capability, through expertise in the following foundation themes:

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, and Oceans and cryosphere. These programs are linked by three key cross-disciplinary themes to meet integrative and multidisciplinary research goals:

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, Ocean-Earth systems, and Oceans and Antarctic governance The

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

's (ARC) Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiatives provide a specific benchmark for the core IMAS disciplines of oceanography and fisheries sciences, and in 2012 IMAS contributed to the University of Tasmania achieving grade 5 scores in oceanography, ecology, and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

, and in fisheries sciences.
Excellence in Research Australia Initiative

Facilities

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

A new 69,000m² building on the Hobart waterfront was completed in 2013, to co-locate IMAS, Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), and the Tasmanian Partnership for Advanced Computing (TPAC) staff and students. The building is adjacent to CSIRO, and aims to serve as a hub for collaborative marine and Antarctic studies. The project was an initiative of the Australian Government as part of the Education Investment Fund.
Australian Government Education Investment Fund Round 2 Information Planning is underway for existing research and educational infrastructure totaling ~4,500m², south of Hobart at

Taroona Taroona is a major residential suburb approximately 15 minutes drive from the centre of Hobart, Tasmania on the scenic route between Hobart and Kingston. Although on the edges of the City of Hobart, Taroona is actually part of the municipality ...

, to be significantly expanded with new

and controlled-environment experimental saltwater facilities. Planned new capabilities include temperate/polar ocean simulations and enhanced aquaculture research.

Partnerships

* Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre (to be co-located with IMAS) *

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) is one of the current 8 Business Units (formerly: Flagships) of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's largest government-supported science research agency. Histor ...

* Integrated Marine Observing System (to be co-located with IMAS) * Tasmanian Partnership in Advanced Computing (to be co-located with IMAS) * National Centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability at the AMC (NCMCRS), * Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Technology, University of Tasmania * Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Research institutes in Australia Schools and Faculties of the University of Tasmania Hobart Research institutes established in 2009 Oceanographic organizations Antarctic research Australia and the Antarctic Education in Hobart 2009 establishments in Australia Science and technology in Tasmania