Researcher Kylie Maguire from CSIRO sits in front of a large computer screen. Her eyes dart around the page as she looks at the newly taken pictures from an expedition off Southern Tasmania, and her eyes stop at one of them. Kylie recognises what it is: an underwater nursery for the Antarctic skate! Her colleagues all stare at their own computer screens, peering at the images taken by the underwater picture takers Marimba, UMI and IMOS. This scene shows use of the IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System) and the UMI (Understanding of Marine Imagery project) which are showing the underwater world to scientists and the general public and building on to different projects.

Although these projects are for science, the researchers’ work can be accessed by the public. For example, Marimba—another photography device—needed CSIRO and a team at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California to help create the tool. When processing photos taken underwater, using Marimba, the images are given a location where the image was taken. This makes them searchable on Google Earth, or on websites like Seamap Australia and SQUIDLE+. There, the public can see the images and scientists can review them for further research. “Since there wasn’t a system available that could efficiently process and package our scientific marine image datasets while adhering to FAIR principles – we built one,” added Maguire.

            Chris Jacket from CSIRO claims that Marimba is coded by python and works in partnership with MBAR. “In the vast ocean of scientific data, finding, accessing, and marine imagery has long been a challenge for researchers worldwide, compounded by diverse data formats, rapidly increasing volumes of imagery, and inconsistent workflows,” says Jacket. The images from Marimba help everyday people understand what is on the sea floor of Tasmania, which is a place they most likely will not be able to go. On the seafloor, there is a layer of sandy sediment and, on top there are brightly coloured sponges, small gorgonian fans and soft fluffy bryozoans. To see the images, you can go to Seamap Australia or SQUIDLE+.