The Australian Government has officially opened a major expansion of AIMS' world leading National Sea Simulator as part of the facility's $42.7 million expansion which nearly doubles the amount of experimental space available at the research aquarium complex.
This increased capacity will support more projects and accelerate scientific research, particularly in breeding heat-resilient corals at scale.
The Minister for the Environment and Water the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, who officially opened the facility, said that with the expansion acknowledged the importance of investing in critical marine science research infrastructure.
"SeaSim's state-of-the-art laboratories and experimental tanks underpin AIMS' world-renowned science," she said.
SeaSim facilitates globally important research, including coral reef adaptation and restoration. It enables national and international scientists to simulate, quantify, and predict the impacts of various stressors on marine and coastal ecosystems.
The expansion was mostly funded through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy .
Additionally, the government announced $7.1 million in funding for AIMS to continue its research to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Some of this funding will support the Reef Restoration Adaptation Program (RRAP) , the largest global effort to develop intervention methods to mitigate the impact of climate change on the Reef, led by AIMS.
SeaSim expansion
AIMS Chief Executive Officer Professor Selina Stead said SeaSim was one of the world's most advanced research aquariums.
"SeaSim is critical for helping formulate future scenarios from science that can inform management and policy decisions that strengthen ocean resilience to environmental change," she said.
Since its inception in 2013 through a $37 million investment from the Education Investment Fund, SeaSim has been a cornerstone of marine research in Australia.
SeaSim Director Craig Humphrey said the expansion enabled scientists to pursue new directions and types of research.
"One of the challenges we face in marine research is the rapid change in environments and ecosystems due to climate change, and new approaches to reef research are required," he said.
"The expanded facilities will accelerate crucial projects like the Reef Restoration and Adaption Program, oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning and blue carbon."
A portion of the expanded facility will support Australian and international researchers through a merit-based access program, available later this year.
"This will help cover their costs of using SeaSim and foster collaboration among international and national researchers with the AIMS team, James Cook University, and other research and educational institutions in the region," Mr Humphrey said.
Additional research funding
Ms Plibersek announced an additional $7.1 million of funding for the continued delivery of critical research to protect, conserve, and enhance the resilience of the Reef.
This includes funds to ensure the RRAP can continue to investigate new ways to help the Reef adapt and be more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
"This is both groundbreaking and exciting science, a combined effort by AIMS and other government agencies, universities, Traditional Owners, local stakeholders, and industry," she said.
