SAZ-SENSE Project Website

Voyage track
(click to enlarge)

Voyage map and citation

Original Australian Antarctic Science proposal

Bibliography: background papers

Deep-Sea Research II special issue MANUSCRIPTS: papers in progress and tracking tables

Upcoming Meetings and Conferences



Workshop planning

Workshop presentations and result templates

Conference presentations and poster gallery

SAZ carbon network

SAZ-SENSE is a study of the sensitivity of Sub-Antarctic Zone waters to global change. A 32-day oceanographic voyage onboard Australia’s ice-breaker Aurora Australis was undertaken in mid-summer (Jan 17 - Feb. 20) 2007 to examine microbial ecosystem structure and biogeochemical processes in SAZ waters west and east of Tasmania, and also in the Polar Frontal Zone south of the SAZ.

The voyage brought together research teams from Australasia, Europe, and North America, and was led by the ACE CRC, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and the Australian Antarctic Division.

The overall goal is to understand the controls on Sub-Antarctic Zone productivity and carbon cycling, and to assess their sensitivity to climate change. The strategy is to compare low productivity waters west of Tasmania (areas with little phytoplankton) with higher productivity waters to the east, with a focus on the role of iron as a limiting micro-nutrient. The study also seeks to examine the effect of rising CO2 levels on phytoplankton - both via regional intercomparisons and incubation experiments.

The purpose of this website is to assemble results from the voyage to aid in their synthesis and publication.