New Caledonia science delegates visit NZ agencies
A delegation from Noumea's South Pacific Integrated Observatory for Environment and Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity visited New Zealand recently as part of an agreement with NIWA to discuss mutual areas of research.
Transcript
A delegation from Noumea's South Pacific Integrated Observatory for Environment and Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity visited New Zealand recently as part of an agreement with NIWA to discuss mutual areas of research.
The agency known as GOPS consists of 17 universities and research centres from the Pacific region and its head Bernard Pelletier, told Jenny Meyer about what the organisation hopes to gain from the visit.
BERNARD PELLETIER: So we visited NIWA and ESR and also we had a presentation on Plant & Food, Landcare Research and AgResearch. So it's very important to establish collaboration and to propose a joint programme in the future.
JENNY MEYER: What kind of new studies are you looking to initiate with this collaboration?
BP: So the main issues addressed by GOPS are the marine ecosystems and the terrestrial ecosystems also programmes on climate viability and climate change. Also on the programme, the relationship between environment and health, also a programme about social science, so there is a wide range of programmes that can be done together.
JM: I understand that one of the focuses is biodiversity, can you tell me, what's your view of the nature of biodiversity currently with some of the climate change pressure?
BP: One of the objectives is to follow the evolution of climate and the impact of the climate on biodiversity. For example one important thing is the acidification of the ocean. We know very little about that. We are here to discuss the possibility of putting an observatory a long term observatory, in the South West Pacific to follow these kind of processes.
JM: Are you talking about marine research centres, small projects, large projects, what would constitute an observatory?
BP: The objective is to consider an observatory for long term observation. When I say long term that is five or 10 years or 20 years. Not only in marine sciences but also on land sciences. And the objective is to put an observatory on a large scale for all the South West Pacific and to connect the different countries.
JM: Can you give me any specific examples of areas in which you're focussing on either the marine environment or land environmental concerns?
BP: We have deployed about one hundred sensors from which we collect the data every six months or one year. And then we grab the data and put this on the website and it is free for everybody, for the community, for the scientists.
JM: So that's measuring the marine temperature, the sea temperature?
BP: Yes the marine temperature but only at the coast, the coastal domain, along the shore, in relation to the evolution of the reef, especially the coral reefs.
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