CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) is one of the current 8 Business Units (formerly: Flagships) of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's largest government-supported science research agency.

The CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) Business Unit was formed in 2014 as one of the then 10 "Flagship" operational units of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as part of a major organisational restructure; from 2015 onwards the term "Flagship" was officially dropped. This Business Unit was formed essentially as a synthesis of the pre-existing CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR), representing the scientific capability, and the previously established Wealth from Oceans (WfO) Flagship, which was the route via which much of the relevant Australian government research funding was directed. As at 2016, its Director is Dr. Ken Lee, previously WfO Flagship Director. The O&A Business Unit currently employs between 350 and 400 staff who are located at its various laboratories including Hobart (Tasmania), Aspendale (Victoria), Dutton Park (Queensland), Black Mountain (Canberra) and Floreat Park (Western Australia). For 2016 it was quoted as operating with an annual budget of $108M Australian Dollars with its research organised into the following the following programs: Climate Science Centre; Coastal Development and Management; Earth System Assessment; Engineering and Technology; Marine Resources and Industries; and Ocean and Climate Dynamics. Certain previous CMAR activities, notably those involving the operation of the Marine National Facility (research vessel) RV Investigator and certain scientific collections, are now managed within the separate CSIRO National Facilities and Collections Program.

The previous CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research was itself formed as a result of a 2005 merger between the former CSIRO Division of Marine Research, with laboratories in Hobart, Brisbane, and Perth, and CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research, with laboratories in Aspendale and Canberra; the Division of Marine Research was itself formed in 1997 as a merger between two previous CSIRO Divisions, the Division of Fisheries Research and the Division of Oceanography, both with their headquarters in Hobart. Additional details of the somewhat convoluted organisational history of the relevant Divisions and their predecessors is available here.

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