Teaching & study

The Tiwi Marine Ranger Program commenced in 2001 and was the first Indigenous Marine Ranger Program in the Northern Territory (NT). The program was developed in response to Traditional Owners wanting a more active role in sea country management.

We’re offering a unique opportunity to participate in a new project that will combine ocean data collection using novel ocean sensors to crowd-source ocean data in collaboration with Marine Rangers of the Tiwi Islands around the Sea Country in and adjacent to the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park.

Marine Parks Australia has funded a 3-year collaboration between UNSW, Charles Darwin University (CDU), and Elysium EPL in the NT to commence ocean temperature observation with Sea Country Rangers.

Aims

This project will demonstrate the feasibility of collecting baseline subsurface water temperature data with Tiwi using cost-effective technology to: 

• Provide an affordable and locally appropriate observation network for long-term temperature monitoring in the Tiwi region and the Oceanic Shoals Marine Park
• Provide contextual oceanographic data to culturally significant values (e.g. turtle habitat) and commercial ventures (e.g. commercial oyster farms) in the coastal areas of the Tiwi Islands to understand their potential and vulnerability.

Student Benefit

Learn modern ocean data collection techniques including crowd sourcing of ocean data in collaboration with Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System. Learn to analyse ocean temperature data. Learn to code in R or Python. Learn validation and assessment of ocean models and understanding of marine extremes. Participate in fieldwork in the remote NT (fishing charters with Tiwi Rangers). Learn how to braid traditional ocean knowledge with ocean data.

Supervisors

Your supervisors will be Prof. Moninya Roughan (UNSW School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, mroughan@unsw.edu.au), Dr Ruth Patterson (Elysium EPL, ruthpatterson@elysiumepl.com.au) and Dr Rachel Groom (Charles Darwin University, rachel.groom@cdu.edu.au).

Candidate Profile

• Recently completed BSc degree in marine biology, oceanography or environmental sciences.
• You will have a passion for the ocean and will be technically minded and keen to explore new data sets
• You will have some previous experience in quantitative analysis, statistics, and data management or willingness to learn
• Willingness to develop intercultural communication competency based on a high level of cultural sensitivity
• You have basic knowledge in at least one programming language (e.g Python, Matlab or R)
• You will be comfortable working independently at times
• Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander candidates are particularly encouraged to apply

Peer reviewed publications in quality journals, and prior knowledge of physical and/or biogeochemical oceanography, and data collection methods are not essential but will be viewed favorably (e.g for PhD level project).

Scholarship deadline:

Post graduate students (MSc / MPhil or PhD) Students will be enrolled through the Higher Degree Research Training Program at UNSW Sydney. Domestic and International students can apply for either the Domestic Research Scholarship or International Research Scholarship through the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP, $38,438 per annum for 3.5 years). PhD applicants need to have first class honours or a research Masters degree, a publication in a quality journal will enhance scholarship ranking chances. Please note that international students need to have co-authored a quality peer-reviewed publication to be considered.

Applications for scholarships close on

• 13th September 2024 for start in Term 1 2025 (domestic) or Term 2 or 3 2025 (international) or
• 17^th January 2025 for start in Term 2 2025 (domestic).

If you meet these criteria, Expressions of Interest should be submitted to Prof. Moninya Roughan (mroughan@unsw.edu.au) with subject line “Honours/Masters application for Fishing for Data project”. Please attach a single PDF file that includes:

-      Brief cover letter/statement of interest and experience (one page maximum)

-      CV including publication list and the names and contact details of two academic referees

-      Academic transcript showing courses and grades in English.

Beyond the closing date expressions of interest will still be accepted and may be considered for subsequent rounds.

Scholarship information

International students: https://research.unsw.edu.au/international-research-scholarships

Domestic students: https://research.unsw.edu.au/domestic-research-scholarships

Dr. Robert Mason, Dr. Marina do Valle Chagas Azaneu, Prof. Moninya Roughan.

The coastal ocean of south-eastern Australia is one of the world's most dynamic marine environments and a recognised hotspot of ocean warming. Recent years have seen unprecedented marine heatwaves, cold-spells and extreme rainfall events that have dramatically altered coastal ocean conditions. While satellites provide an excellent view of surface variability, many of these events extend throughout the water column, and yet their subsurface evolution and impacts remain poorly understood.

Since 2008, the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) has maintained one of Australia's longest-running autonomous underwater glider observing programs, with regular cross-shelf deployments off the New South Wales coast providing high-resolution measurements of temperature, salinity and biogeochemical properties throughout the water column. The Fishing Ships of Opportunity (FishSOOP) program has complemented these observations by collecting subsurface temperature measurements around Australia since 2021. Together, these observing systems provide a unique opportunity to investigate how marine extremes evolve beneath the ocean surface.

This research project will synthesise long-term IMOS glider observations with FishSOOP measurements to characterise recent subsurface variability and extremes across the south-eastern Australian continental shelf. The candidate will investigate the three-dimensional structure, evolution and spatial extent of these events, providing new insights into the physical processes driving coastal variability. The project will advance Australia's coastal ocean observing capability and improve our understanding of marine climate extremes, with outcomes that can support ecosystem management, fisheries and climate adaptation.

More info full project description and information

Dr. Fernando Sobral, Prof. Moninya Roughan in collaboration with ECMWF

Brief description of the Project

Pacific Island communities are frequently exposed to tropical cyclones, yet accurate forecasting for intensity change remains limited by the scarcity of subsurface ocean temperature observations across the region. These data are critical because ocean heat content and subsurface thermal structure strongly influence cyclone intensity and development. 

Improved tropical cyclones forecasts (with more accurate prediction of path and intensity) would support earlier preparedness, helping governments, communities, and emergency services reduce risks and minimise the impacts of extreme events. Since early 2025, the Pacific Islands Fishing Vessel Ocean Observing Network (PI-FVON) has been collecting novel subsurface ocean observations from fishing vessels operating in the region. These observations will be assimilated into global ocean-atmosphere coupled models through collaborations with ECMWF. 

This project will use these model products to evaluate whether the assimilation of PI-FVON observations improves the representation of atmospheric and subsurface ocean conditions and contributes to better tropical cyclone forecasting in the Pacific Islands region.

Click here for project details

Dr. Cláudio Cardoso
Prof. Moninya Roughan

Brief description of the Project: 

Cyclonic eddies are frequent features of the East Australian Current (EAC) system, particularly within the increasingly energetic eddy field south of the typical EAC separation zone (Everett et al., 2012; Li et al., 2022; Malan et al., 2021). Large anticyclonic eddies shed from the EAC have been extensively studied (e.g., Li et al., 2021; Oke et al., 2019; Pilo et al., 2015; Rykova & Oke, 2022) and are projected to increase in number and intensity in the EAC southern extension (Oliver et al., 2015). However, cyclonic eddies have received less attention, and their physical and biogeochemical characteristics remain comparatively poorly understood (Everett et al., 2012; Schaeffer et al., 2017). Previous work on cyclonic frontal eddies has demonstrated their ability to entrain productive shelf waters, uplift isopycnals and nutriclines, enhance chlorophyll-a, and retain planktonic communities (Everett et al., 2015; Mullaney & Suthers, 2013; Suthers et al., 2023). Likewise, larger cold-core cyclonic eddies can drive strong vertical displacements, upwelling, and enhanced chlorophyll (Everett et al., 2012; Macdonald et al., 2016). However, the broader population of cyclonic eddies, their biogeochemical characteristics, and their role in driving northward flow along the shelf remain poorly understood.

This honours project will investigate the biogeochemical implications of cyclonic eddies in the eddy-dominated region of the EAC separation zone, giving special attention to the region south of 35°S, corresponding to a recently proposed third EAC separation zone (Nogueira Calmon Sobral, 2026). The study will primarily use available in situ observations, including Argo profiles, glider deployments, and ship-based oceanographic surveys, together with satellite observations. Where observational coverage is insufficient to resolve eddy structure or evolution, output from a 20-year ROMS simulation coupled to the bio_Fennel biogeochemical model (Rocha et al., 2019) may be used to provide complementary dynamical and biogeochemical context.

The student will identify cyclonic eddies and examine their three-dimensional physical and biogeochemical structure, including temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, vertical circulation, and water-mass signatures. A key objective will be to assess whether these eddies enhance northward flow along the shelf and contribute to the northward advection of Tasman Sea and Bass Strait waters. Remote-sensing products, including sea surface temperature, ocean-colour chlorophyll-a, conventional sea-surface height, and higher resolution SWOT data, will be used to identify and characterise eddy surface signatures. Argo floats, gliders, and ship-based observations will provide information on their vertical structure, while model output may be used to investigate processes that cannot be adequately resolved from observations alone.

Skills you will learn: 

The student will gain knowledge of cyclonic eddy dynamics and submesoscale biogeochemical processes in the EAC system. They will develop skills in processing and analysing in situ observations, satellite remote-sensing products, and large output datasets from a coupled physical–biogeochemical ocean model. Coding in Python will be central to the project, particularly for working with multidimensional NetCDF datasets, developing reproducible analysis workflows, and producing scientifically accurate figures. The student will also develop scientific communication skills through written and oral presentation of the results.

Background / interest needed : 

The student should be comfortable coding in Python and have an interest in physical oceanography, marine biogeochemistry, ocean modelling, or marine ecosystems. Experience with NetCDF files, xarray, Linux/bash, or high-performance computing environments would be useful, but not required.

Dr. Robert Mason, Dr. Veronique Lago, Dr. Marina do Valle Chagas Azaneu, Prof. Moninya Roughan

The south coast of New South Wales is warming faster than any other part of the east Australian coast with severe impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems (eg. penguin colonies on Montague Island). While studies (e.g. Philips et. al. 2019, Malan et. al. 2021) have addressed this mean warming trend and its drivers in a general way, detailed understanding of how temperature dynamics and variability are changing has yet to be reached. The area is strongly influenced by the increasing intensity of the East Australian Current's southern eddy-field, as well as the so-far unexplored subsurface equatorward flow of cold shelf water. This study aims to leverage a decade worth of detailed in-situ mooring observations of both temperature and velocity in order to understand the changes in temperature structure, variability, stratification and extreme events at 36°S

Skills you will learn

In this project, the students will gain a knowledge of multi-scale ocean processes, and work with a wide range of both moored and satellite ocean observations, there is also an opportunity to include some work with a regional ocean model.

Background / interest needed

This project requires a background of physical oceanography and shelf ocean dynamics, and experience of scientific programming and data analysis, preferably in Python. An interest in the future marine ecosystems and the role of temperature extremes would be an advantage.

Background reading ABC news article on south coast ocean warming

[1] Carroll, G., Everett, J. D., Harcourt, R., Slip, D., & Jonsen, I. (2016). High sea surface temperatures driven by a strengthening current reduce foraging success by penguins. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22236

[2] Malan, N., Roughan, M., & Kerry, C. (2021). The Rate of Coastal Temperature Rise Adjacent to a Warming Western Boundary Current is Nonuniform with Latitude. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(3), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090751

[3] Phillips, L. R., Carroll, G., Jonsen, I., Harcourt, R., & Roughan, M. (2020). A Water Mass Classification Approach to Tracking Variability in the East Australian Current. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7(June), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00365