Institute of Marine Sciences (USIMS)
The University of Sydney Institute of Marine Science (USIMS) provides a cross-disciplinary focus for marine science undergraduate and graduate teaching and training. Opportunities for graduate training are enhanced by the wide range of disciplines in biological, geographical and earth sciences connected with the Institute. Graduate students are supervised in individual departments under the direction of the Institute. Staff liaise closely with several research units (where most of the graduate training occurs), including the Ocean Sciences Institute, the Coastal Studies Unit and the Centre for Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities. This multidisciplinary approach to marine research training is a unique feature of the marine sciences program.
University of Sydney Advantage
USIMS is an umbrella organisation for eight existing research centres including the Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities; the Coastal Studies Unit; the Ocean Technology Group; the Australian Ocean Drilling Program and the Centre for Geotechnical Research. USIMS coordinates the efforts of these centres and helps to facilitate research that crosses disciplinary boundaries. These research centres attract a significant amount of funding annually, which in turn attracts top local and international students, thus producing a challenging academic atmosphere that brings out the best that research students have to offer. USIMS is a partner in the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), a consortium involving all of the prominent universities in the Sydney region.
Facilities
Specific facilities for marine research include One Tree Island Field Station on the Great Barrier Reef, the Crommelin Biological Field Station in Broken Bay, the SIMS Research Station in Sydney Harbour and the Cape Banks Scientific Marine Research Area. Equipment in the Institute includes an 8m research boat, numerous smaller boats, a sidescan sonar, an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), CTDS, a vibro-corer, deep and shallow-sea seismic equipment and a comprehensive range of environmental monitoring equipment available within the individual departments. The Institute also has access to the University’s supercomputing facilities for modelling and visualisation, to the University’s Electron Microscope Unit and the Macintosh Quaternary Dating Centre.
Areas of Research
Biological sciences
There are research programs in temperate and tropical marine ecology, with a major emphasis on experimental coastal ecology, the behaviour and ecology of fish, photosynthesis in Marine phytoplankton and the effects of pollution on coastal or marine environments.
Earth and geographical sciences
There are research programs in the dynamics of beaches and surf zones, the impact of climatic change on coastal environments, the evolution of coastal margins, modelling and University Computer Centre, Modern Geographic Information System (GIS) of the coastal environment, continental margins and deep sea basins, marine geophysics, and the processes of marine sediment deposition.
Academic Programs offered
- Honours
- Graduate Diploma in Science (GradDipSc)
- Master of Science (MSc)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)