In the 1960s, Australia made a significant contribution to the first International Indian Ocean Expedition. Now, nearly six decades later, a second Expedition is underway, and in May 2019 a multi-institutional team of 30 oceanographers will head offshore from Fremantle with the Australian Research Vessel Investigator to study the oceanography of the SE Indian Ocean. On this month-long voyage we will to repeat the 110°E line from the 1960s, examine multi-decadal change in the physics, chemistry and biology of the water column, investigate microbes and biogeochemistry especially related to nitrogen and study the pelagic food web from plankton through to mesopelagic lantern fishes. The voyage will also enable ground truthing of bio-optical quantities like sea surface colour recorded by satellites as well as an acoustic survey of whales. For comparison, some of our work will use the original techniques employed during the first Expedition but these will be supplemented by a host of modern techniques and electronic technology that will assist us in better understanding the pelagic ecosystem at the western edge of Australias Exclusive Economic Zone.
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