1Thanks to all of you for coming along today to hear about how the robotic float project is helping with ocean research.
2Well, first of all, we'll look at what a robotic float does and its use.
3So let's start with the device itself.
4It looks a bit like a cigar and it's about one and a half meters long.
5More importantly, it's full of equipment that's designed to collect data.
6So, it can help us in building up a profile of different factors
7which work together within the world's oceans.
8Sounds like a big project - isn't it too big for one country to undertake?
9That's quite true but this project is a really good example of international co-operation.
10Over the last five years, scientists from thirteen countries have been taking part in the project
11and launching floats in their area of ocean control.
12And next year this number will rise to fourteen when Indonesia joins the project.
13That's impressive.
14But let's move onto how floats work.
15The operational cycle goes like this.
16Each of the floats is dropped in the ocean from a boat at a set point and activated from a satellite.
17Then the float immediately sinks about 2,000 meters...
18that's two whole kilometers down in the water.
19It stays at this depth for about 10 days
20and is carried around by the currents which operate in the ocean at this level.
21During this time it's possible for it to cover quite large distances
22but the average is fifty kilometers.
23So, what is it actually recording?
24Well, at this stage, nothing,
25but as it rises to the surface, it collects all sorts of data,
26most importantly variations in salinity,
27that's salt levels, and the changes in temperature,
28a bit like underwater weather balloons.
29Then, when it gets back to the surface all the data it's collected is beamed up to the satellite.
30After about five hours on the surface,
31the float automatically sinks, beginning the whole process again.
32What happens to the data?
33Well the information is transferred direct to onshore meteorological stations...
34like our one in Hobart...
35and within four hours the findings can be on computers
36and they can be mapped and analysed.
37You say you're building models of the world's ocean systems but...
38how're they going to be used, and more importantly, when?
39Some of the data has already helped in completing projects.
40For example, our understanding of the underlying causes of El Nino events is being confirmed by float data.
41Another way we're using float data is to help us to understand the mechanics of climate change,
42like global warming and ozone depletion.
43That's part of an ongoing variability study but the results are still a long way off.
44However, this is not the case with our ocean weather forecasting.
45Because we know from the floats what the prevailing weather conditions will be in certain parts of the ocean,
46we can advise the navy on search and rescue missions.
47That's happening right now
48and many yachtsmen owe their lives to the success of this project.
49In addition, the float data can help us to look at the biological implications of ocean processes.
50Would that help with preserving fish stocks?
51Yes, and advising governments on fisheries legislation.
52We're well on the way to completing a project on this.
53We hope it will help to bring about more sustainable fishing practices.
54We'll be seeing the results of that quite soon.
55It sounds like the data from floats has lots of applications.
56Yes it does.
57It's also a powerful agricultural tool.
58If we were aware of what the weather would be like, say, next year,
59we could make sure that the farmers planted appropriate grain varieties to produce the best yield from the available rainfall.
60That sounds a bit like science fiction,
61especially when now we can't even tell them when a drought will break.
62I agree that this concept is still a long way in the future,
63but it will come eventually
64and the float data will have made a contribution.