The University of the Sea 2005 - School of Geosciences - The ...

The University of the Sea 2005:
Port Moresby to Darwin
24 June to 8 July

Network Members and Sponsors
Research Center for Marine
Technology
Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries,
Indonesia
University of the Sea 2005 2

Contents
Foreward__________________________________________________________ 4
Participants ________________________________________________________ 5
Cruise Report ______________________________________________________ 7
Cruise Diary ______________________________________________________ 10
Group Photo 7 July 2005
From left to right: Rita Rachmawati (Indonesia), Jock Keene (Australia), Rachel Liu
(China), Marisa Torombe (Papua New Guinea), Paul Poloka (Papua New Guinea),
Yuko Isozaki (Japan), Satoshi Horiike (Japan), Nilanthi Wadanahaluge (Sri Lanka),
Chung-Leong Li (Australia), Rose Berdin (Philippines), Azlan Mohd Supian
(Malaysia), Luke Strotz (Australia), Zoe Dubleday (Australia), Susan John (Papua New
Guinea), Paul York (Australia), John Rogers (Australia), Francisco Monteiro (Timor
Leste), Sheree Tidswell (New Zealand), Patrick De Deckker (Australia), Roni Fitrianto
(Indonesia), Chris Golding (Australia) and Tom Coughlin (Australia).
University of the Sea 2005 3

Foreward
The University of the Sea is a collaboration between the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission of UNESCO and several leading universities and research institutions in the Asia
Pacific region. It was established to build on the success of the IOC UNESCO Training
Through Research Program, which has operated in the northern hemisphere since 1990.
The University of the Sea is dedicated to building marine science capacity in the Asia Pacific
region. It aims to bring together senior researchers and young local scholars to address marine
science issues of direct interest to the region. The programme endeavours to give these students
the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge required for participation in the global debate
on the use of the ocean.
We must congratulate our first students, a diverse group drawn from 10 countries in the region.
They displayed great enthusiasm and commitment to improving our understanding of the ocean.
We look forward to a continuing relationship as we build an extensive regional marine science
research network.
The establishment of the University of the Sea was made possible by a grant from the Toyota
Foundation of Japan. We are particularly grateful to the Toyota Foundation for their support of
the University of the Sea office. The University of the Sea research and training programme
would not be possible without a modern research vessel. For this we are exceptionally grateful
to the French Polar Institute and thank the Director, Dr Gérard Jugie, for providing access to the
wonderful research vessel the Marion Dufresne. We would also like to acknowledge the
contribution of Mr Yvon Balut, the ships Operations Manager for his tireless assistance in
facilitating the inaugural University of the Sea cruise. In addition we are extremely thankful to
the following institutions for their financial support: The Asia Pacific Network for Global
Change Research, The Australian National University and the ARC Network for Earth System
Science.
The first University of the Sea cruise was lead by Professor Patrick De Deckker from the
Australian National University in association with Dr Jock Keene from the University of
Sydney. Together they volunteered an enormous amount of their time, which resulted in a
comprehensive and exciting learning experience for the student participants. The success of the
programme depends on the contribution of senior marine scientists who act as instructors and
mentors to the students.
Executive Committee
Dr Elaine Baker, University of Sydney
Professor Patrick De Deckker, Australian National University
Mangement Committee:
Dr Ehrlich Desa, The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
Associate Professor Mathew England, University of New South Wales
Dr Miguel Fortes, IOC WESTPAC
Dr Hi Il Yi, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI).
Dr Jock Keene, University of Sydney
Professor Pinxian Wang, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Tongji University Shanghai.
Dr Shubha Sathyendranath, Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO),
Associate Professor Greg Skilbeck, University of Technology Sydney
Professor Ryuji Tada, Department of Earth and Planetary Science University of To
University of the Sea 2005 4

University of the Sea Participants
Rose Berdin
Australian National
University
Australia
Tom Coughlin
James Cook University
Australia
Zoe Doubleday
University of Tasmania
Australia
Roni Fitrianto
Bogor Institute of
Agriculture
Indonesia
Chris Golding
University of Sydney
Australia
Yuko Isozaki
University of Tokyo
Japan
Susan John
University of PNG
Papua New Guinea
Chung-Leong Li
University of Melbourne
Australia
Rui Liu
Tongji University
China
Mohd Azlan Mohd
Supian
Curtin University of
Technology
Australia
University of the Sea 2005 5

Francisco Monteiro
Advisor
H.E. President of the
Democratic Republic of
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Timor-Leste
John Rogers
Australian National
University
Australia
Luke Strotz
Macquarie University
Australia
Sheree Tidswell
Waikato University
New Zealand
Marisa Torombe
University of PNG
Papua New Guinea
Nilanthi
Wadanahaluge
National Aquatic Resources
Development Agency
Sri Lanka
Paul York
University of
Technology, Sydney
Australia
Rita Rachmawati
Research Centre for
Marine Technology
Indonesia
Patrick De Deckker
Australian National
University
Australia
Jock Keene
University of Sydney
Australia
University of the Sea 2005 6

Cruise Report
The first “University of the Sea” training program took place in the Coral Sea – Arafura Sea
region onboard the French research vessel Marion Dufresne between June 24 and July 8, 2005.
The ship sailed from Port Moresby (PNG) to Darwin (Australia).
During this two-week period, twenty students representing ten countries [Australia, P.R. China,
East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and
Sri Lanka] got “hands on” practical experience in both marine data collection and marine
research problem solving. The students were under the supervision of Professor Patrick De
Deckker (Australian National University) and Assoc. Professor Jock Keene (The University of
Sydney).
The University of the Sea worked in conjunction with a previously planned research program.
This program was formulated and funded by university scientists from France, USA and Japan.
They, along with their post-doctoral and post-graduate students and technicians, formed the
official scientific party for the cruise. The cruise was under the auspices of the international
paleoceanography scientific program known as IMAGES http://www.imagespages.org/HOME.html
The two principal research aims of the expedition, named MD148 PECTEN, were:
1. to analyse past climate change and ocean conditions as recorded in sediment cores from the
continental shelf, slope and abyssal sea floor in the Gulf of Papua (northern Coral Sea) and
Arafura Sea, and,
2. to determine the processes and rates of sedimentation at the critical interface on the sea
floor between sediments from Papua New Guinea and the corals of the northern Great Barrier
Reef so that adjacent buried systems bearing hydrocarbons can be better modelled.
This unique opportunity for practical training enabled University of the Sea students to gain
skills in navigation, multibeam mapping, seismic profiling, plankton sampling, and seafloor
sampling using box, piston and gravity coring. Students learned how to map and sample both
the shallow shelf (

University, the University of Aix-Marseille III, the University of Tokyo and Rice University,
who were carrying out their own research programs during the cruise.
This theoretical research training given during lectures was put into immediate use as the
samples came onboard and the students were encouraged to make preliminary interpretations of
the data. This included the reasons for changing sea surface temperature, the origin of features
discovered on the sea floor, and the source of composition and structure variations in the
sediments recovered.
Students were also involved in processing the data collected and assembling it for presentation
in the Cruise Report to be published by IMAGES. A draft report was prepared on the ship prior
to our arrival in Darwin. The students will be acknowledged in this report when it is published
in hard and electronic versions. These reports provide the basis for future research on the
samples collected.
Students were divided into teams and prepared posters on one of the following topics:
1. Seismic sub-bottom profiling. How the 3.5KHz sub-bottom profiler is used to measure
seafloor sediment thickness, sediment type and selection of coring sites.
2. Multibeam mapping and ocean properties. How the multibeam system works and the role
of water temperature, salinity and pressure in sound propagation in the ocean. Presenting the
data and interpreting the sea floor environments and habitats.
3. Plankton productivity and microfossils. Plankton tows were used to measure the diurnal
variations in plankton types and abundances. Sediment from the sea floor contained the
microfossils of these plankton.
4. Box coring and sampling. Principles of box coring – advantages and disadvantages.
Determining sampling locations for particular outcomes to meet scientific objectives. Sampling
methods for particular analyses.
5. Piston coring and gravity coring. Principles of coring – advantages and disadvantages.
Determining sampling locations for particular outcomes to meet scientific objectives. Sampling
methods for particular analyses.
6. Core logging, MST and colour spectra. How to log cores to determine sediment properties
and interpret environment and processes of deposition.
These posters were printed and put on display in the mess. Students gave an oral presentation of
their poster. French and US scientists selected the best posters and prizes were awarded.
Each student was also required write a personal report of their scientific activities during the
cruise and summarising the skills they had gained. These were read and commented upon by
Professors De Deckker and Keene.
A reception was held in Darwin and each student was presented with a certificate confirming
participation and completion of the research and training tasks. These certificates were
presented by the French Ambassador who had flown from Canberra to meet the ship.
The concept of the University of the Sea is to bring together young marine scientists, train them
in many aspects of marine science so that they will maintain communication among themselves
and thus build a network of future researchers and managers of the oceans in the Asian-
Australasian region. The responses from the survey of the participants indicate that this aim
University of the Sea 2005 8

was achieved. It is our sincere hope that such a successful program will be repeated every year
and that, consequently, a large network of scientists will help enhance our knowledge of the
oceans across national boundaries.
A 2006 University of the Sea program is currently being planned. It involves 2 weeks on the
Marion Dufresne, sailing from Sydney to New Caledonia, scheduled at present to depart in
early March. The research will be undertaken with scientists from Geoscience Australia and
includes mapping an ancient landslide on the edge of the eastern Australian continental shelf,
modelling the tsunami that would have been generated by this slide, mapping an ancient extinct
volcano and examination of the associated biological community, and coring gas hydrates on
the Lord Howe Rise. Applications for students to participate in this cruise are now available on
our website –
http://www.usims.org.usyd.edu.au/floating.html
Associate Professor Jock Keene
Professor Patrick De Deckker
University of the Sea 2005 9

Cruise Diary
Day 1
June 24/25, 2005
Group Photo 1
area where sea-surface temperature is
generally 28 degrees C all the year round,
and as a result a lot of moisture escapes to
the atmosphere.
During the morning most people spent time
getting used to the motion of the ship [some
of the students were very quiet... and there
were even a few 'grey' faces to be seen but,
by the afternoon, everybody seemed to be
smiling again!].
Hello everyone.
We have been at sea for one day and a lot of
activities have already occurred. We were
greeted on the ship by a banquet arranged in
the honour of the French Ambassador, who
had been asked to visit the ship. Soon after
we arrived on a small pilot boat [as the
Marion Dufresne was anchored in the
middle of the harbour], we were shown our
cabins. We then proceeded to the dining
room where we were each served half a
lobster for an entree, with several additional
delicious items following.
Most of us went to bed fairly early because
it had been a long day. Personally, I had left
Canberra at 5am and it was about zero
degrees Celcius (C) then, and on arrival in
Port Moresby I had cope with a temperature
of 30 degrees C. We definitely had arrived
in the 'Warm Pool' of the world, being the
We had some introductory talks about
safety procedures and about how members
of the group would be asked to behave,
especially at the rear of the ship where
many operations are performed. Discussion
followed about the lecturing schedules for
each morning, which would be followed by
practical experiences in the afternoon.
Today, all students visited the scientific
laboratories of the ship and were given a
brief outline of the type of work to be done.
This was followed by a visit to the
operation room, being the 'brain' of the ship.
There were several very impressed faces, as
there are so many computers [well over 30]
linked to various instruments, many of
which are continuously registering data
about the nature of the sea floor, sea water
salinity and temperature etc.
While all this was happening, the scientific
crew continued their own tasks. In fact,
many of us were awoken at about 3am with
lots of noise coming from the rear of the
ship, as a long sediment core was brought
University of the Sea 2005 10

ack on deck. Just imagine a 50 metre long
stainless steel pipe returning from a depth of
2000 metres, full of grey mud, with what
many on deck believe holds a record of
environmental change at the coring site.
More on this later, with photographs.
So, in 24 hours, the scientific crew had
obtained 3 cores. Many of the French
students on board assisted with cutting
those cores, which showed a medium grey
colour, and at times some sandy layers,
thought to consist of volcanic ash.
At 5pm, the ship stopped to wait for Jock
Keene who had been delayed in Cairns the
day before and had missed his flight
connection. He came in a small boat, and he
had to climb a small ladder on the side of
the ship. This he did well, but got a little bit
wet on the way. After his arrival, the ship
started moving again and we are now
heading to the northwest. We should reach
the next coring site by midnight. This is
going to be another busy night for many.
University of the Sea 2005 11

Day 2
June 26, 2005
Associate Professor Jock Keene lecturing
to students in the conference room.
Associate Professor Jock Keene explaining
the local topography of the region, using a
somewhat improvised map.
Despite being a Sunday, there were lots of
work-related activities on the ship. The day
started promptly with a traditional French
breakfast [being a Sunday], with pain au
chocolat and strong coffee. Lectures for us
started at 8h30 with an introduction to
navigation, charts and descriptions of some
of the navigation equipment used for
supporting the scientific research.
While all the students were in the lecture
room, activities on the ship proceeded as
usual with several cores being taken,
including some that had been commenced
in the middle of the night. Usually, after a
core is taken, it must be labelled after it is
cut in 1.5 metre sections. Following that,
each core is sliced along its side to give 2
half sections, which will be used for
different tasks. One half is immediately
wrapped with thick plastic and then placed
in a long box looking a bit like a solid gutter
pipe that is rectangular in cross section.
This section is then placed in a cold room at
4 degrees C, being the temperature that is
ambient on the sea floor near 1000-m depth.
This half of the core will be referred to as
the 'archive', which hopefully will never be
processed, but kept for comparison with
other cores taken in the region. The other
half of the core is then photographed using
an expensive digitiser that functions when a
small conveyor belt pushes the core at a
steady speed under the camera. Other
observations are made such as scanning the
core for colour changes. Other
measurements involve examining the
physical properties of the sediments in the
core such as density, mineral matter [fine
iron particles for example] and water
content. Our own students will participate in
such activities from tomorrow onwards.
This afternoon, the ship went to a shallow
place near the head of the Gulf of Papua
where water depth was about 300m, and the
researchers expected to bring back on deck
a long tube full of sediment. Unfortunately,
due to the nature of the sea floor that had
University of the Sea 2005 12

never been explored before, the corer
returned on deck strongly bent. It looked
like a gigantic banana! This meant much
time lost, as it takes several hours to cut the
bent parts of the corer and extract its
contents. The outer pipe of the corer is
made of thick stainless steel and very
powerful saws are used to cut the bent
portions. Nevertheless, the ship started
moving towards the next coring station
further up north in the Gulf of Papua to
arrive there by midnight.
In the meantime, 2 teams started working
with great efficiency to be ready for another
coring operation. The first team started to
prepare for another core, while the others
processed the sediment core. The core was
bent as it impacted against a hard layer,
which we now think was full of volcanic
ash, as it contained some volcanic glass.
Nevertheless, a suitable core more than 10
metres in length was recovered, but the
researchers were too busy finishing cutting
and logging a much longer core taken a few
hours earlier. All I could see in most
sections of the long core was grey mud and
some layers [approximately 1 to 2 cm thick]
of volcanic ash with a sandy appearance,
but frequently darker than the surrounding
mud. The muds in this part of the Gulf of
Papua consist of fine clays transported to
sea by large rivers. Therefore, there must be
a lot of fluvial clays in suspension in the
oceans and they eventually sink to the sea
floor.
sucking 16 litres of air per minute. That
represents a volume of 6720 litres over 7
hours. I had a quick look at the filter under a
binocular microscope, but could only see a
few tiny fibres and a few black particles. I
prefer to carry out the examination of the
filter in a clean environment to prevent any
possible contamination. This will be done in
Canberra.
This photo shows the students being briefed
on a newly printed map, displaying recently
discovered features on the sea floor,
including an ancient buried reef.
Here is our 'giant banana'. Note the
technicians cutting the core with an electric
saw.
In the meantime, I commenced an
experiment at the very front of the ship
where I installed a pump which
continuously sucks air into a small
container the size of a cup. At the bottom
of this there is a filter with a mesh of 0.2
microns. My hope is to suck into the
container particles and possibly microorganisms
that are in the air near the surface
of the ocean. On average, the pump is
University of the Sea 2005 13

University of the Sea 2005 14

Day 3
June 27, 2005
This photograph shows students cutting the
35 m-long core in 1.5 m sections, for eventual
processing and archiving.
This photo shows Jock Keene explaining
aspects of the instrumental recordings.
Today, the weather has been kind to us,
with several clouds in the sky above making
it easier to work outside. A strong breeze
also kept us cool. It is now 6pm local time
and we are heading for the next coring site.
After that exercise, I hope to throw a
plankton net overboard and tow it for 5 to
10 minutes, with the ship moving at slow
speed [approximately 1 knot, being a little
less than 2km/hour]. I am curious to know if
we will catch, in our plankton net, some
bioluminescent organisms which apparently
are common in the Gulf of Papua. The air
temperature is currently 28.93 °C, the water
at the surface 26.6°C and sea water salinity
34.8 [this represents about 34.8 grams of
'dissolved salts' in a litre of water; in other
words if you were to completely evaporate
one litre of sea water from here you would
end up with 34.3 grams of salt; although
this is not entirely accurate as some
compounds would evaporate too]. In
contrast, yesterday's salinity had dropped
down to 29.6. This low value can be
explained by the huge Fly River discharging
much freshwater into the Gulf, and
therefore the oceanic water there is diluted
with respect to its dissolved salt content.
Lectures started this morning at 8h30, and
we have decided to start much earlier
tomorrow, as there are so many activities on
the ship to participate in. Lectures are a very
important part of our program. Today's
lectures dealt with sea floor mapping, and
the nature of the ocean in the region, and we
eventually finished with a brief talk about
Bass Canyon, which Jock Keene has
investigated over many years. Lunch was
early for the students, as the dining room is
not large enough to take on everyone at
once. There are almost 60 researchers,
students and engineers involved in many
different aspects of research. From today
onward, the University of the Sea students
will participate in the tedious tasks of
cutting, labelling and opening cores and
putting loose material in plastic bags, as
either reference or teaching material. In
University of the Sea 2005 15

fact, last night a bit after midnight, I
witnessed the return of the large box corer
that had been used under 636 m of water. It
was quite a tricky exercise as this box corer
measures 12 m and weighs about 1,000 kg
when full. When this box is returned on
deck, everybody has to be very careful, as at
times the corer is lifted by one of the cranes
above the rear deck, and could move in
unpredicted directions. Helmets are
OBLIGATOIRE !
This photograph shows a collection of steel
pipes, which will eventually contain inside
them a PVC pipe of equal length. This will
penetrate the sea floor and, if all goes well,
return a long tube full of sediments.
It is amazing to see all these activities in the
middle of the night. This is possible with
the many spotlights illuminating the rear
deck, where people work on the core
brought back on board. This is in contrast
with the front of the ship at night, which has
to remain in total darkness, as people on the
bridge (high up on the ship) are
continuously monitoring the horizon for
possible traffic.
A large part of the early afternoon was
spent with Jock Keene talking to students
about instrumentation, and on how to plan
the next coring site [see photo on previous
page].
Last night I went to retrieve my 'dust
container' in the dark, but was grateful that a
bit of moonlight helped me negotiate all the
steps to reach the front of the ship. Tonight,
I will go there with a torch, which will be
much easier.
I could not see much at the bottom of my
small container that would have filtered air
for over 12 hours, simply because the fine
filter itself is white [its mesh is about 0,2
microns]. I will definitely examine the
samples back in Canberra with an extremely
powerful Scanning Electron Microscope
[SEM for short].
As it drizzled a bit last night and I
consequently found a few drops of water at
the bottom of the container, one of the
technicians offered to make a little umbrella
above the dust collector to stop water falling
into it. Nevertheless, I am sure this new
feature will not interfere with my sampling
as the winds are fairly strong and
consequently dust and other particles, if
present in the ambient air, will be sucked
into the container. Someone suggested that
most of the dust particles fall during rainy
episodes. I will have to devise something
different if it rains, to check this idea.
Maybe I will specifically filter air on a rainy
day without the umbrella.
University of the Sea 2005 16

Some students are now attached to research
teams and they have to participate in all the
tasks. Hopefully, the students will gain a
variety of experiences before the end of the
cruise by being involved in many different
activities.
Lectures tomorrow will deal with topics
including marine snow [this represents all
the organic and inorganic particles that fall
though the water column, and even includes
faecal pellets i.e. poo from many of the
organisms which live in the upper part of
the water column]. I will also continue my
lecture on the characteristics of the Warm
Pool
[http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories
/s214917.htm]. I will talk briefly about
marine habitats, but this part of my talk may
be shortened, as one the engineers who is an
expert on seafloor mapping will make a
presentation to all the students. I really
appreciate the offer from this person, who
will have been on the night watch.
It is time to change the 'dust' container, and
after that I will prepare the deployment of
the plankton net. I will provide a report of
our findings in a day or so.
University of the Sea 2005 17

Day 4
June 28, 2005
Jock Keene explaining many of the different
features of the sediments visible in the box
core.
with fine apertures to let water pass though,
but small enough to prevent the plankton
from escaping. The mesh of our net is
approximately 150 micron in diameter, so
the smaller phytoplankton [algae etc] is not
retained.
Students examining the plankton collection
under a binocular microscope.
Detailed view of a portion of the sediment in
the core, which displays some disturbance
caused by organisms and bottom currents.
Another day filled with many activities.
The first one consisted of towing a plankton
net from the rear of the ship for a bit less
than 10 minutes, with the ship moving very
slowly at a rate of 1 knot [a bit less than 2
km/hour]. Attached to the net there is a jar
We were able to examine some of the
plankton and found large numbers of
copepods, which can be considered to be
the 'cows of the sea', as many of them feed
on the smaller phytoplankton, resulting in a
large quantity of faecal pellets which will
slowly sink to the bottom of the ocean. In
comparison with our cruise of 2 years ago
with the same vessel [ refer to:
http://www.oceans.gov.au/auscan/], the
plankton catches in the Gulf of Papua are
definitely much smaller than those
recovered in the cooler waters offshore
Kangaroo Island. The area here is
considered to be 'oligotrophic', meaning that
it is not very productive biologically. In our
first sample we also retrieved pteropods
University of the Sea 2005 18

[commonly called 'sea butterflies' as they
are related to snails but in the case of
pteropods, their foot is transformed into
wings which allow the organism to move
around very efficiently]. Apparently,
pteropods can travel down to 500 m of
water depth.
We collected a second plankton sample this
evening and the fauna was quite different,
and more diverse. This could be explained
by the fact that organisms migrate to be
near the surface during the night.
layers such as those seen in the cores, and
consequently affect the record of
environmental change registered in the
sediments.
The sediment in the core is being carefully
prepared for photography before sampling.
One of the excitements this morning was
the opening of a long box corer which
returned 8.5 m of sediment. We took the
opportunity to examine the corer in some
detail, because there was evidence of an
alternation of different types of sediments,
ranging from almost black to grey, and with
some beige and pink-coloured layers near
the top.
We interpreted the dark layers to be rich in
organic carbon, and the grey layers to be
clay rich, with the clays obviously
originating from the Fly River. The upper
part of the core was beige and represents
very different conditions at sea.
Does that mean that climate and the
conditions in the Gulf of Papua today, and
for the time represented by the deposition of
the beige sediments, are/were different from
the time interval represented by the gray
and black layers?
I am sure it will take much time in various
laboratories to study the sediments in close
detail. Investigations make take well over a
year.
We also noted that some of the layers had
been disturbed by organisms living on the
sea floor, or inhabiting the sediment. These
phenomena, combined with small currents
at the bottom of the ocean, can destroy the
While the cruise continued its coring
operations, we returned to the conference
room to attend lectures on marine habitats
and productivity in the oceans. At the end of
the morning, Xavier Morin, one of the
electronics engineers, gave a lecture to the
students on the principles of mapping the
sea floor and in particular how swath
mapping is achieved.
After an early lunch, several of the students
started joining the research groups, who
work in 4-hour shifts, and started to
acquaint themselves with different tasks
from cutting cores, logging them,
photographing them and finally scanning
University of the Sea 2005 19

them for physical properties of the
sediment.
At some stage, work stopped for a short
while to get the cameras out to photograph
another bent core which must have hit a
very hard layer below the sea floor.
Nevertheless, 2/3 of the core contains
sufficient good material suitable for
investigation back in the researchers'
respective laboratories.
Several students have also found the
container that has been turned into a
miniature swimming pool.
University of the Sea 2005 20

Day 5
June 29, 2005
The University of the Sea students helping
others process cores at the rear of the ship.
Students examining the plankton catch in the
jar at the bottom of net.
find that we hit an ancient reef system
which must have formed when sea level
was much lower, compared to today.
Remember that about 20,000 years ago, the
world overall was much colder [with a large
part of North America covered by ice, as
was Scandinavia, Ireland and a large portion
of the British Isles] and during that time, sea
level had dropped by the order of 125 m.
Australia then was very dry and colder. The
Warm Pool I introduced you to earlier on in
my reports very likely remained the same,
except that it had shrunk to some extent.
Hence, corals were growing in shallow
waters several thousands years ago and
when sea level rose, as a result of ice
melting in the northern hemisphere, reefs
started forming along the continents and
islands located in the tropics/subtropics. It is
likely that the core mentioned above must
have hit one of those reefs that grew when
sea level was lower.
Amazingly too, during the night, sea surface
salinity had dropped down to a value 25.5,
equalling a drop of some 24% from the
value we are encountering today.
Last night proved to be a very busy one,
with several cores being taken after
midnight, including one that hit a lot of
coral debris and consequently caused the
core barrel to bend. This core was taken in
very shallow water [a little bit more than
120 m] and it is of no surprise therefore to
Several people got distracted for a while by
a tern that landed on the rear deck and
eventually stood on the cruise leader's hand
and refused to fly away for a while. This
bird seemed not to be affected by all the
flashes triggered by the many camera
people keen to photograph this intruder.
The lectures commenced promptly at 8am
[despite the fact that some students had
participated in some night working shifts]
and topics discussed ranged from primary
productivity in the oceans, to the role of
deep-sea canyons for transferring carbon
University of the Sea 2005 21

and other particles down to great depths in
the oceans.
We also showed computer animations,
which demonstrated the amazing sea floor
topography around Australia, with
particular interest to the seas linking
Australia, Indonesia and Papua New
Guinea.
Students examining plankton using two
different types of microscopes.
We also attended a talk by Stefan Rohte
who is the database manager on the ship
and whose role is primarily to acquire and
link all the data obtained during the cruise.
His talk proved popular as he provided
much useful information about where to
obtain data on any of the aspects of marine
palaeoenvironmental records obtained by
the Marion Dufresne. We were informed
that well over 600 deep-sea cores had so far
been taken as part of the IMAGES program
[http://www.images-pages.org/start.html].
The afternoon was spent by some helping
with the processing of cores, while others
collected plankton and examined the
material under the microscope.
Rapid investigations showed that in fact
diversity is still low, very likely as a result
of salinity fluctuations in the Gulf of Papua.
Other students spent time discussing many
aspects of marine science with other
researchers on the ship.
A little group discussion at the rear of the
ship.
University of the Sea 2005 22

Day 6
June 30, 2005
The box corer is lying on the rear deck and
is being prepared for its next deployment.
Note that it is totally dark outside. The
activities on the ship run non-stop, as teams
work for 4 hours, rest for 12 and then return
to work for another 4 hour shift. There are
3 of such teams and our students take part
in most activities.
We have spent a large part of the day
surveying the sea floor at shallow depths; in
most places, it is shallower than 100 metres.
Frequently, we observed that the floor of
the ocean is characterised by a rough
surface [in contrast with what we saw
earlier at greater depths where layers of fine
clays and the remains of many calcareous
organisms abound], which must have been
exposed to the atmosphere when sea level
receded worldwide. We passed over several
'drowned' reefs in the vicinity of Torres
Strait, and more particularly near Pandora's
Passage. At 9pm local time, we lowered the
large and heavy box corer in the hope of
collecting sediments and possibly fragments
of dead corals, but the ocean floor was
definitely too hard and the corer, upon
hitting the sea floor, must have fallen on its
side. This was interpreted by seeing the lack
of additional tension on the cable on its
return to the surface, when the corer was
pulled back to the side of the ship. Luckily,
there was no damage to the corer, otherwise
there would have been the need to spend
several hours repairing the equipment.
Tonight we will pass through Torres Strait,
which has to be negotiated very carefully
because of its many islands and
characteristically shallow depths. Earlier, at
sunset, we passed next to the volcanic
Murray Island. Names of surrounding
features such as Flinders Entrance and
Bligh Entrance, are obviously reminiscent
of past explorers.
Our American and French colleagues are
investigating the region around Torres
Strait, as they are interested in identifying
the timing and extent of sea level changes
for the last 20,000 years. We now know
fairly well, that between 22,000 and 19,000
years ago, sea level was about 125 metres
below the present level, as a result of much
ice and snow being stored over great areas
of the northern hemisphere. For example, a
huge ice sheet covered most of Canada and
extended as far south as what is now New
York. There was up to 4 km of ice in places
over Canada, and during that time
Scandinavia, Iceland and a large part of the
British Isles were also covered by ice. In
Australia on the other hand, a small glacier
University of the Sea 2005 23

existed in the Snowy Mountains and a
larger one occurred in the highlands of
Tasmania. Australia was much colder and
deserts had extended towards the coasts
during this period, which we call the Last
Glacial Maximum. During this period, it
was possible to walk between Tasmania and
the Australian mainland and the same
between Cape York and Papua New
Guinea. Around Torres Strait, the sea floor
was exposed, and all the reefs were dead
and were weathering and eroding away. Our
colleagues on the ship are keen to determine
the exact timing of sea level rise, when the
glaciers of the northern hemisphere started
to melt as a result of climate having
improved globally. A Japanese colleague on
the ship has already identified that, 19,000
years ago, sea level rose very rapidly by
over 15 metres over a few hundred years.
This must have been quite impressive,
especially for the humans who lived along
the coastline anywhere on the globe.
Lectures commenced at 8am. We discussed
several topics about the effect of windblown
dust and its chemical composition,
including its microbiology, on the oceans.
This represents a fairly new topic, which is
receiving much attention nowadays,
although not much is being investigated in
the Australian region yet. We also showed
several animations produced with the help
of intricate computer software, to display
the diversified topography of the sea floor
around Australia and SE Asia.
Discussion was also held about the nature of
the reports students are to submit before the
end of the cruise, including a poster
describing a particular aspect of a research
activity or equipment used on the ship.
Students are to work in groups, arranged
such that students from different
nationalities will work together.
University of the Sea 2005 24

Day 7
July 1, 2005
Map on TV monitor showing the position of
the ship in the Torres Strait area.
Sam Bentley explaining to the students the
intricacies of the Geotek equipment, used
to measure several physical properties of
the sediment cores, all at once.
Many of the students escaped from the
lecture to go and watch some of the islands
visible in the Torres Strait region.
Coring operations stopped last night as we
started heading towards Torres Strait. In
fact, we had to stop at 4am to pick up a
pilot, who helped guide the vessel through
the narrow and very shallow 'corridors'
among the islands. When we woke up in the
morning, we started seeing some islands at
a distance and some of us even mentioned
having seen a ship wreck. The sky was
unfortunately grey and therefore we could
not enjoy a nice sunrise over the 'tip of
Australia'. Despite the grey sky, the region
had undergone a substantial amount of
evaporation as sea-surface salinity had
reached a value of 35.1. What a contrast
University of the Sea 2005 25

from a few days ago, when salinity had
dropped down to 25.5!
We commenced the day with a lecture on
corals and their use for reconstructing past
environmental conditions. For example,
intricate chemical analyses of the skeleton
of corals, which are made of calcium
carbonate, can indicate on past oceanic
temperatures and salinities, among other
parameters. These results can be used to
determine past environmental conditions
against which we can determine patterns
and cycles of change in the oceans.
After lunch, Yvon Balut, the Operations
Manager on the ship took us on a tour,
going from the bridge down to the kitchen.
It was amazing to hear of the financial
investment put into this vessel, and to find
out more about the new technology employed
for ensuring this research platform to be one
of the best of its kind in the world.
After this lecture, we all went to the front of
the ship to watch as we passed very close to
Prince of Wales and Thursday Islands.
We also observed the topography of the sea
floor with the seismic profiler, to determine
that the sea floor in this narrow strait, at
present, is made of very coarse material,
probably gravel or shell debris, as a result of
strong bottom currents. A bit further west,
the sea floor topography was characterised
by huge sand ripples, again indicative of
fast moving water at the bottom.
We returned to the conference room to
attend a lecture by Samuel Bentley from
Louisiana State University, on the
equipment on board used for measuring
physical properties of sediments in cores.
After his talk, Sam took us to the container
laboratory where those measurements are
made continuously, while cores are being
obtained from the oceans. There are always
a few people in that laboratory, day and
night, taking measurements.
Detailed map to show the exact position of
the ship in the narrow and very shallow
Torres Strait.
University of the Sea 2005 26

Relaxation proved necessary after a solid
week at sea, and several students braved
the heat to go down to start a badminton
competition, on an improvised court near
the front in the 'bowels' of the ship,
where some of the coring equipment is
stored. This badminton court is not
exactly the coolest place on the ship, with
no ventilation or windows.
Thursday Island is visible through the rear
of the ship.
University of the Sea 2005 27

Day 8
July 2, 2005
Andre Droxler explaining features of the
sea floor in the Gulf of Papua.
Carpentaria is not very deep. Several of us
witnessed a nice sunrise around 6 am before
approaching land, from which we could see
and smell a lot of smoke. I replaced my air
filter at the front of the ship, in the hope of
collecting soot and other particles that
would be plentiful, as a result of the
abundant fires visible on the horizon.
One of the crew members is getting dressed
for fire drill.
Students relaxing at the front of the ship,
watching the approach to Gove and its
loading wharf.
During the night we headed towards Gove,
located near the tip of the peninsula on the
western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria,
where 13 Taiwanese members of our group
were to leave the ship. During the night, we
sailed over shallow water, as the Gulf of
Our lecture at 8am, given by Jock Keene,
was on the bathymetry of Bass Strait as well
as swath mapping. However, this was
interrupted, for us to see the bauxite loaders
in the harbour and to farewell our friends.
There was a bit of relaxation at the front of
the ship while slowly traversing the
harbour. We also saw quite a lot of small
fishing boats anchored near the entrance of
the harbour, assuming that they had been
confiscated by Australian authorities.
We made a quick turn and are now heading
towards Merauke in Irian Jaya [near the
University of the Sea 2005 28

PNG border], where we are to pick up
several Indonesian observers, before doing
more coring in the Aru Sea. We anticipate
arriving there tomorrow morning. We spent
a large part of the day attending lectures on
sea level change given by our colleague
Yusuke Yokoyama from the University of
Tokyo, preceded by another lecture given
by Samuel Bentley from Louisiana State
University, on the oceanography and
sedimentology of the Gulf of Papua. Sam
and his team spent one season last year with
the American ship Melville, surveying the
Gulf. Some of the data acquired previously
proved useful for deciding on coring sites
on this cruise.
Sam Bentley explaining to the students the
intricacies of the Geotek equipment used
for measuring many different physical
properties of sediments in the cores.
The last lecture had just ended when we
were all called to the upper deck of the ship
through the alarm system, for a rehearsal
fire drill [see photo on previous page],
during which all surnames were called by
the French crew. Several students did not
respond immediately to the call of their
names, as French pronunciations were
somewhat surprising. The evening is being
spent working on final reports and gathering
data for the poster presentations, for
assessment in 2 days' time, knowing that
tomorrow night we are all likely to have to
help out with the coring operations.
University of the Sea 2005 29

Day 9
July 3 2005
These photos are of students working in
groups to prepare their posters. Students
also have to complete an individual report.
close to land, as the ship's draft is about 7
metres. The water around us was obviously
very muddy and looked very turbid. In
places, we could see some patches of very
brown water, obviously loaded with river
clays. We remained stationary at the site
until 1pm, when a pilot boat came with the
observers, and also people from Customs,
who spent quite some time inspecting the
boat.
Apparently, lots of paperwork had to be
filled in. Everybody remained patient and
we eventually left the site at 3pm, many of
us with a great feeling of relief, knowing
that we had all lost many precious hours,
especially since there are many cores still to
be taken before reaching Darwin.
We arrived at a rendezvous point at 7am,
some 12 nautical miles from Mirauke in
Irian Jaya [close to the Papua New Guinean
border], where we had to meet a group of
Indonesian observers who were to board the
ship. We could not go any closer to shore,
as water depth there was some 5 meters, and
I still do not understand how we made it this
The lecture schedule continued as usual
with the first lecture commencing at 8am.
Jock continued his lectures on swath
mapping and we also benefited from
lectures from the research staff, who had a
day of reprieve from the intensive
geological investigations typical of the
previous days. Topics covered dealt with
the sedimentology of the Gulf of Papua and
also coccoliths, an amazing group of tiny
[just a few microns in diameter]
phytoplankton, which secrete a set of thin
calcareous plates, which are not only
indicative of particular marine conditions,
but also play a major role in the carbon
cycle in the oceans. These organisms can
reproduce at a rate of up to 2 generations
within a day!
During most of the day and night we sailed
over very shallow water [nearly always less
than 40 metres]. When the seismic profiler
did work, we could see evidence of ancient
University of the Sea 2005 30

channels having been dug during periods of
low sea level, by rivers which must have
travelled a long way to the edge of the much
exposed shelf. The latest channels would
have been dug less than 15,000 years ago.
The afternoon and evening were spent
collating information for the posters and
reports. The computer room, plus the small
laboratory, were the centre of activity. Jock
and I, and some of the technical engineers,
helped the students with some of their
poster preparation, but more particularly
explained concepts about various aspects of
marine research.
3.5kHz seismic profile across obtained while
in transit between Gove and Merauke. Note
the steep and deep [~40m deep] channel on
the left hand side, and the much broader
channel on the right hand side that probably
had been dug and refilled by several rivers.
The sea floor is shown by the horizontal,
dark layer at the top of the profile.
Time was still found for some relaxation, as
there is currently a table tennis tournament.
University of the Sea 2005 31

Day 10
July 4 2005
This is the furthest north we will have
travelled during this cruise. It is now 23h00
and we are currently coring the sea floor in
the middle of the Sea of Aru [about 5° 44'S
136° 28'E], to the east of the Island of Pu Pu
Aru. The water during most of the day has
been very turbid, and must contain a lot of
mud transported to the sea from Irian Jayan
rivers, and yet we are still very far from
land. The cores are returning very dark grey
[sometimes almost black] mud, interspersed
with fine layers of coarser sandy material
and shell debris. We have yet to check
under the microscope if some of the layers
consist of volcanic ash.
The dark coloured muddy sediment is very
reminiscent of what I saw years ago in the
Gulf of Carpentaria, but there sediments
were laid down when the Gulf was
disconnected from the ocean, and a large
part of the Gulf had turned into a lake which
was coined 'Lake Carpentaria'.
that are 4-hours long, and some students are
now working at night while completing
their reports and posters. It is encouraging
to see all students helping one another, and I
can already tell that some of the posters will
be excellent presentations of the different
tasks performed by the groups.
Photograph of the 3.5khz profile. The
wavy lines on the left relate to the many
small channels below some 35 m of water.
The much larger depression in the centre
has a rough floor. The dark band are
reflectors showing that at least 10 m of
soft sediments exist below the sea floor.
This type of profile informs us if there is
sufficient material for coring.
It has been surprising to find out that seasurface
temperature has not gone above 26
degrees C today, as I would have thought
that the restricted nature of the Sea of Aru
would have helped maintain somewhat
higher temperatures. Nevertheless, today's
strong winds would have helped cool the
surface of the ocean down. We also
experienced quite a few showers, but things
dried fairly quickly afterwards. Salinity, on
the other hand, dropped down to 33.5, and
this is easily explained knowing how much
run-off from the land there must be, as seen
by the muddy waters.
Since we lost the large group of Taiwanese
students in Gove, our students have been
asked to contribute fully to the work shifts
University of the Sea 2005 32

Day 11
July 5 2005
Photo of the container in which aerosols
are being trapped. This container is
replaced every 24 hours. Note the large
amount of flies on the rope used to keep
the pole upright.
Students are witnessing their poster
being printed.
Students putting the final touches to their
poster with the help of one of the ship's
staff, Xavier Morin.
We have remained close to the Island of
Aru for the entire day, where we have been
coring under the eyes of three Indonesian
observers. The sea temperature has
remained the same all day: 26.5°C. Salinity
in places did drop down to 33, but did not
go over 33.5.
At lunch there was much excitement, as a
school of dolphins was seen at a distance.
We estimated that there were well over 40
dolphins in this group, who were jumping
quite high. What a wonderful sight! Later
on in the afternoon, one person who was
resting at the front of the ship witnessed 2
other dolphins preceding the ship.
The computer lab and the other room
reserved for the students to work were like
beehives, with everyone preparing joint
posters and individual reports. Posters were
due for printing at 5pm today and it is now
10.30 pm and the last poster is finally being
University of the Sea 2005 33

printed. It is a wonderful sight to see
students from different nationalities and
backgrounds working in harmony together,
particularly with some people on a steep
learning curve as this was their first poster
preparation. All posters will be displayed
tomorrow and a committee will assess the
posters, with a prize going to the best one.
The topics for the posters cover:
Piston/gravity coring and sampling;
Seismic sub-bottom profiling;
Box coring and sampling;
Multibeam mapping and ocean
properties;
Plankton and microfossils;
Core logging, MST and colour spectra.
During the day, on my way to check the
dust sampler, I observed a lot of material
drifting in the sea, ranging from large tree
trunks to coconuts. This is not surprising,
because the currents appear quite strong
here, with the water depth still around 40 m
or less and the water still very murky. In
contrast, the water in the ship's improvised
pool is much clearer, although everyone
was too busy today for any relaxation. Even
the badminton court remained empty.
The big surprise for me, was to see a
number of flies resting on the small ropes
keeping the pole straight, at the top of
which the aerosol sampler is attached [see
photo on previous page].
The cores which we returned and opened on
deck contain much sand and shell debris,
further indicating strong bottom currents.
All the work done preparing posters was
performed in between the 4-hour shifts for
some, so I anticipate that people will
become progressively more tired.
University of the Sea 2005 34

Day 12
July 6 2005
Map photographed from the computer
screen in the operation room showing the
rest of the itinerary and proposed coring
sites.
Seismic profile photographed from the
screen, showing either drowned reefs or
possibly large blocks, that moved more or
less vertically and which are now buried
with a pile of more recently deposited
sediments.
Poster display in a small room adjacent to
the dining room. These posters will be
displayed when dignitaries will visit the
vessel in Darwin.
We are slowly heading towards Darwin, but
have yet to take a series of cores for our
colleague Yusuke Yokoyama from the
University of Tokyo. The first core was
eventually taken late in the evening and a
good 23m-long core was obtained in
shallow water. Yusuke is particularly
interested in sediments deposited during
periods of low sea level. This area has not
been well charted before, and we had to
gather information on the sea floor as we
passed over it. We eventually found a
suitable site, but on our way witnessed
some interesting features, like possible
drowned coral reefs or blocks that would
have moved as a result of faulting.
The posters related to specific activities
carried out during the cruise, have now been
placed in a room for inspection by all [see
photo], and tomorrow night the
international jury [not too difficult to
assemble on this ship] will decide on the
best poster and present a suitable prize.
University of the Sea 2005 35

During the afternoon, Rita Rachmawati
gave a presentation about Indonesian
fisheries and the issues around monitoring
and educating fishermen. With over 200
million people and some 17,000 islands to
account for, the issues are obviously
complex on a grand scale.
Cruise reports were also due at 2 pm today
and it is now up to Jock and me to read
them and provide feedback to the students.
The evening meal proved a lot of fun, with
many of the female students having been
asked to serve the meal (see photos this
page).
Luckily, the seas were not rough, and the
chef had kindly cooked food that was not
too difficult to serve. The students received
some preliminary training in serving food
with a fork and spoon, and were eventually
photographed by many during the meal.
This cruise is providing training of many
sorts.
University of the Sea 2005 36

Day 13
July 7 2005
Photo showing Rose Berdin and Susan John
being awarded the prize for the best poster
by Mr Yvon Balut, the Operations Manager
of the Marion Dufresne. Note all the students
are wearing costumes/dresses typical of their
own country.
a rush during the rest of the day and evening
trying to process the core, before putting it
into the cold container ready for transport to
Japan. Twenty eight meters of cores require
quite a lot of work, namely cutting the core,
photographing it, scanning it, describing it
and eventually packing it for safe transport.
Many teams worked profusely to finish this
part of the work, before cleaning up their
cabins and also completing several other
tasks.
I went to the front of the ship several times
to inspect the dust sampler, and saw lots of
small flying fish, but failed to get a suitable
photograph.
Group photo of all those who took part in
the University of the Sea.
Our group from the University of the Sea
met at 2pm, after Jock and myself had time
to read all the reports, to provide some
feedback to the students. This proved useful
to guide us for future programs about what
to include, what to avoid and also to provide
better communication among ourselves.
After that, we went to the poster room
where individual groups presented their
posters to the others. This proved very
informative.
There were a lot of activities today. These
started with a long Calypso core taken early
in the morning, and there has been much of
The day in fact went quite quickly and then
close to 4pm, winds became stronger and
the seas became a bit rougher, but still, this
was nothing to worry about for those people
who had finally become comfortable with a
continuously rocking vessel. We took a
final group photograph of the University of
the Sea at the front of the vessel under
windy conditions [see photo], followed by
another for all the people at the rear of the
vessel this time.
University of the Sea 2005 37

At 6.30pm, we assembled for a thank-you
drink to all those who helped us, and may of
our students dressed up for the occasion in
clothes of their country. This was much
appreciated by all and after that, Yvon
Balut, on behalf of a small committee,
awarded the price for the best joint poster.
This went to Rose Berdin of the Philippines
and Susan John of Papua New Guinea.
They both received a gift from Yvon. [See
photos on previous page].
The rest of the evening was spent
farewelling one another, and also packing
up bags in preparation for the Australian
customs inspection expected to occur in the
early hours of the morning.
The following photos show students making
oral presentations on their posters.
University of the Sea 2005 38

Day 14
July 8 2005
Francisco da Costa Monteiro from Timor
Leste receiving his certificate from the
French Ambassador to Australia, with Mr
Yvon Balut to the left.
Yuko Isozaki from Japan receiving her
certificate from the French Ambassador
to Australia, with Patrick De Deckker to
the right.
Nilanthi Wadanahaluge from Sri Lanka
receiving her certificate from the French
Ambassador to Australia, with Mr Yvon
Balut to the left.
We arrived in Darwin early in the morning,
but it was amazing how we could smell land
well before seeing it. Although we arrived
at 8am on the Friday, several of us could
actually smell smoke from bushfires the
night before, far at sea. I went to the front of
the ship at 6am to dismantle the air sampler
and the smell of smoke was very strong. I
hope to have recovered soot particles in my
sampler.
It took several hours for the ship to go
through the procedures which the French
University of the Sea 2005 39

call 'dédouanement', to get 'customs
clearance'. One person had a passport listing
her maiden name on it, and yet her visa to
enter Australia listed her married name
instead. That caused some delay and, on top
of that, one of the students had purchased
several souvenirs from a member of the
Madagascar crew, which required some
inspection.
several students for their own institutions,
but phone conversations and e-mails have
commenced aiming at discussing the 2006
University of the Sea. It is likely that the
Marion Dufresne will be in Australasian
waters next year, with a proposition to use
this superb vessel once again for training
several more of the new generation of
marine scientists from our region.
All in all, we were walking on the wharf by
about 11am and ready for a long walk to the
city. Personally, I found it hard to walk for
more than 2 km, not having done any
exercise for 2 weeks.
We all returned to the ship by 5pm, to be
ready for the local dignitaries and members
of the media who came to inspect this
wonderful research platform. All were
impressed. By 6pm, we all congregated near
the rear of the ship in the restaurant-bar area
for a few brief speeches, and more
importantly, for the distribution of the
certificates adjudicating the various tasks
and teachings the students of the University
of the Sea had undertaken during the
previous fortnight. The Ambassador of
France personally congratulated all the
students individually [see photos on
previous page] and this received much
applause from the large audience. The
ceremony continued afterwards for well
over 2 hours, complimented by suitable
well-known French beverages and hors
d'oeuvres prepared by the Marion Dufresne
staff. It was time to farewell one another as
some had to go to the airport that night
already, with others leaving in the early
hours of the morning. For some, reaching
home would not have occurred for 2 more
days.
The University of the Sea 'experiment' for
2005 happily ended, with much paper work
yet to be completed and lots of bills to be
paid, also with reports to be written by
University of the Sea 2005 40

Acknowledgements
Thank you to all, especially all the
staff on the ship and more
particularly:
Mr Gérard Jugie, Director of the French
Polar Institute, for access to the research
vessel, and,
Mr Y. Balut, the Marion Dufresne's
Operations Manager who is legendary
for making things possible in marine
science.
Thank you to the following institutions
for financial support:
The Toyota Foundation, The Asia
Pacific Network for Global Change
Research, the Australian National
University, the University of Sydney,
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission [IOC], The ARC Network
for Earth System Science, MARGO
Office for promoting marine geoscience
in Australia.
In addition:
Ms J. Reeks, from the University of
Sydney, put in a huge effort to ensure
the success of this program.
Luc Beaufort, the research cruise leader
and his associates, are thanked for
allowing us to participate in their
research program and for some
teaching.
April 2004. This was followed by a
lunch meeting the next day with Yvon
Balut outside the University of Paris
VII near Jussieu, who enthusiastically
declared that a different teaching
program could occur 'down under' in
2005. This proved a worthwhile
success.
This unique opportunity for practical
training enabled students to gain skills
in navigation, multibeam mapping,
seismic profiling, plankton sampling,
and seafloor sampling using deep-sea
piston and gravity coring. Lectures dealt
with many aspects of marine sciences,
including physical and chemical
oceanography, climate change,
palaeoceanography, deep-sea canyons,
sea-level change, physical properties of
sediments, age dating of marine
sediments, sedimentological processes,
marine habitats and productivity, coral
chemistry and microplankton.
Thank you "University of the Sea"
scholars.
May this happen again many times!
Professor Patrick De Deckker
Cruise Leader
University of the Sea
Jock Keene is particularly thanked for
presenting to us his wonderful
experience in all aspects of marine
science.
The whole idea of a University of the
Sea in the southern hemisphere started
from a discussion held with Elaine
Baker about the 'Université Flottante' in
the corridors of the IOC in Paris in
University of the Sea 2005 41