News_Archive1

Chief Scientist Professor William Bond received his fourth A1 rating (signalling 15 years of world-class excellence) from the National Research Foundation (NRF) at the annual NRF Awards Function held in Durban on 27 August 2015. A-Ratings are aimed at researchers who are unequivocally acknowledged by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields for the high quality and impact of recent research outputs. William is pictured here with his award and on the stage with Dr Damonse (NRF CEO), Dr Whitelock (SAAO) and Ms Pandor (Minister of Science & Technology).

SAEON Chief Scientist standing tall.

On August 7, 2015: SAEON placed a high-altitude automatic weather station in South Africa’s most critical water catchment. The site is in the Maloti Drakensberg Transboundary World Heritage Site on an isolated 3000m amsl peak only accessible by helicopter or rock climbing. The station forms part of an expanding national instrument array designed to research the impact of climate change on water delivery by observing changing climate and weather patterns in the very regions that supply water to the rest of the country. Data to be streamed & made availableonline. Sponsor: www.berghelicopter.co.za

 South African marine science, exemplified by SAEON and SAIAB, is world-class in the opinion of the distinguished Jane Lubchenco, the US Science Envoy for the Ocean and advisor to Pres Obama who visited South Africa during July 2015. She met with SAEON marine scientists in Cape Town and with National Research Foundation officials in Pretoria. Jane was especially interested in Operation Phakisa and shared experiences with the oil and gas industry from a marine science perspective. She emphasised the importance of research on marine acidification resulting from the rise in atmospheric carbon.

 

 

More than 90 delegates are attending the Offshore Oil & Gas Environmental Research Collaboration Project - Kick-start meeting in Cape Town today (23 July 2015) and tomorrow (24 July 2015). SAEON is the implementing agency for this Operation Phakisa B3 project. The purpose is to develop the terms of reference for a structure to coordinate research activities offered by marine offshore oil & gas industry explorations within South African waters, including ocean energy and data management and sharing arrangements. Project funded by Department of Science & Technology and facilitated by Egagasini Nodefor offshore-marine systems.

 

Today, 21 July 2015, the SAEON team of marine scientists was honoured to meet with the renowned US Oceans' Special Envoy Prof Jane Lubchenco, in Cape Town. She shared the US experience of their scientific engagement with oil and gas companies, valuable information for the Operation Phakisa B3 SAMREF project. SAEON showcased our coastal MPA work including the stereo BRUVs, the PEI work on climate change impacts, the offshore benthic trawl experiment, oceans modelling and the ASCA project. Prof Lubchenco advises US President Obama on science and environmental affairs.

 An article entitled "monitoring invasive species from icy islands to arid lands" appeared on Quest: Science for South Africa magazine, volume 11(2) of 2015. The article outlines Tshililo Ramaswaela's career prospects and what attracted him to choose his field of specialisation - which is invasive species. Tshililo is a Field Technician at SAEON's Arid Lands Node in Kimberley. An invasive species is a plant or animal that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species); and has a tendency to spread. Such species may cause damage to our ecosystems, human economy and/or human health. Click here to read the article.

 

 

 

 

NEWS UPDATE: Watch the amazing video of an under-ice research dive in the Antarctic 

 Dr Ali Götz of SAEON Elwandle Node participated in the first quantitative under-ice krill diving trip in the Antarctic winter. A video has been released on the pioneering international collaborative research cruise which undertook under-ice diving from moving floes, floating on top of ~5,000 metres of water. The data collected will be used to predict the impact of climate change and reduced sea ice in the Southern Oceans on krill, and the consequences of a shift in species composition for the pelagic ecosystem. Krill, in biomass, is the most abundant animal on Earth and prey of predators such as birds, penguins, seals and whales. Watch the video here and click below to read the article.

Diving under the ice: A first attempt at quantitative krill assessments in the Antarctic winter

Krill shape the structure of the Antarctic marine ecosystem due to their central position within the Southern Ocean food web as prey of a wide range of predators such as birds, penguins, seals and whales and as effective grazers on.

 

NEWS UPDATE: SAEON contracted to produce a Bio-Energy Atlas for South Africa

 Bio-energy is commonly seen as a viable alternative energy. To test this assumption, the Department of Science & Technology contracted SAEON to produce a Bio-Energy Atlas for South Africa. This week in Paris, the first 2-year phase will be reported on at the global conference"Our common future under climate change", preceding the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties. The project shows that bio-energy is a complex prospect and not necessarily a sustainable solution due to low biomass and inadequate technology. The Department recently extended the project.

For more information, please click here to read the article on Bio-Energy Atlas for South Africa.

NEWS UPDATE: Multinational marine project investigating the oceans

Multinational marine project investigating the oceans - EE Publishers. This article details how the Agulhas System Climate Array (ASCA), an international oceanographic project designed to provide long term observations of the Agulhas Current, achieves its objectives. It also provides details on the first mooring. Click here to read more.

 

NEWS UPDATE: Sharing views on the strategic challenges for environmental research organisations in Southern Africa

Sharing views on the strategic challenges for environmental research organisations in Southern Africa with the Okavango Research Institute (www.ori.ub.bw) of the University of Botswana. Prof Wellington Masamba, director of ORI, and Johan Pauw, MD of SAEON, met today to benchmark the experiences of their respective organisations. The topics were: organisational strategies & structure, research programmes, community engagement, financial sustainability, international collaborations, retention strategies, research infrastructure, ILTER (www.ilternet.edu) and future directions

NEWS UPDATE: The SA Agulhas II marine science open days

 

 

 

Oceans Month celebrated by raising awareness of marine science. The SA Agulhas II Open Days provided 800 grade 8,9 and 10 learners from 14 schools the opportunity to tour the new polar research vessel on 12 June. Interaction with exhibitors and scientists helped them to explore marine science careers and to understand how science work at sea. SAEON Egagasini Node exhibited some instruments used to measure changes at sea, e.g. an Argo Float (physical changes) and Ski Monkey Camera (biological aspects). The Magic Planet video globe (in pictures) was used to demonstrate Earth system dynamics.