From Buckets to Bits ... from Bits to Information ... from Information to Knowledge ... from Knowledge to Action ... from Action to Buckets

The Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) was initiated as part of the National Collaborative Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) funded by the Australian Government. The IMOS is a nation-wide collaborative program designed to observe the oceans around Australia, including the coastal oceans and the 'bluewater' open oceans. IMOS is providing data to support research on many of the critical marine issues facing Australia, including climate change and sustainability of ecosystems.

The nationwide reach of IMOS is achieved by integrating and coordinating operations across twenty-seven separate institutions. The data in IMOS range from physical parameter profiles gathered from robotic profiling floats in the oceanic waters around Australia, to the physically counted results of zooplankton samples from nets dropped over the side of coastal vessels.

Each element of the IMOS dataset has its own part to play in unravelling the role climate has in the oceans and vice versa. Each data stream has its own legacy with respect to format, interpretation and history. The success of IMOS to date has been in the breaking down of partisan barriers to develop a truly integrated marine observational programme across the clearly articulated scales. The ongoing challenges are the formal custodianship of a large public purse, open access data set and enabling its discovery and use by non traditional users.

This presentation aims to give an overview of IMOS, current status and a roadmap of possible future developments in the area of data discovery and delivery.