Halmahera next stop for deep sea exploration
The Jakarta Post 8 Jan 11;
JAKARTA: The success of the Indonesia-US joint deep sea exploration can open up opportunities for similar joint research in the future, an official says.
Last year, Indonesia and the US conducted joint exploration in the deep sea off the Sangihe-Talaud islands. Indonesia used the ship Baruna Jaya IV, which can take samples in shallow water, while the US employed Okeanos, which can explore in depths of up to 2,000 meters. The expedition revealed underwater volcanoes as well as many deep sea creatures.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said since Indonesia had a vast expanse of ocean, the nation needed to pay more attention to oceanic exploration and research.
“The joint exploration with the US’s technologically advanced equipment helped Indonesia to begin to explore its seas. We look forward to closer relations with the US in the future,” he said.
Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal said in a teleconference the next exploration would probably be in Halmahera, Maluku.
The island has much space for exploration – it lies on a double subduction tectonic plate, is part of the coral triangle, is on the Wallace line and has deep seas. —JP
Indonesia and the US to continue joint research in East Indonesia waters
Antara 7 Jan 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and the United States are to continue their joint maritime research activity in east Indonesian waters with a project to explore the waters around Halmahera island beginning in May 2011, a marine affairs ministry official said.
"The cooperation between Indonesia and the US will be continued in Halmahera waters next June," said Gellwynn Jusuf, secretary general of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry here on Friday.
He said the cooperation would be a continuation of a joint oceanic expedition conducted by Indonesia and the United States in Sangihe-Talaud waters in North Sulawesi in the middle of 2010.
The cooperation, according to Gellwynn, would be the implementation of a joint exploration program which would run for three years. The joint marine research project in Halmahera waters would last 40 days.
On the results of the previous joint research in Sangihe-Talaud waters, he said the study had resulted in the discovery of a total of 600 new species. The publication of these findings would be carried out through a series of seminars or symposium to be held in the near future.
In addition to the research program, Gelwynn added, the joint maritime exploration between the two countries was also dedicated to fisheries.
The research had helped in detecting various potential fishery locations in some Indonesian waters.
Indonesia-US oceanic expedition benefited both sides: minister
Antara 7 Jan 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Marine Resources and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said a joint oceanic expedition carried out by the US and Indonesia not long ago had yielded results of benefit to both countries.
"In the beginning, there was criticism against the project. I had to explain it to the public," Minister Fadel said in a teleconference and discussion on the Indonesia-US Oceanic Expedition in Washington DC on Thursday.
He said the critics claimed the joint deep-see exploration program would mean revealing Indonesia`s ocean data and contents to the US.
However, Fadel said, the criticism was incorrect because the expedition was purely for scientific research purposes.
The joint expedition involved Indonesian scientists and the results did not only belong to one party, in fact they were disseminated to enrich the world`s scientific knowledge, he added.
Indonesia had gained much benefit from the expedition because now it did not have to start from "zero" when exploring its waters.
Fadel said he now even wanted to establish further cooperation in the research field with the US as his ministry had allocated an adequate budget for research activities.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, when speaking in the discussion, said the Indonesia-US oceanic expedition was a project under the new comprehensive partnership agreement signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President Barack Obama.
The agreement was implemented in the joint exploration between Indonesia and the US in Sulawesi waters to discover new marine species, to map the ocean floor and to boost cooperation between the two countries.
The live broadcast teleconference also presented Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal and NOAA Administrator Dr Jane Lubchenko in Washington DC, the USA, as speakers in the discussion.
Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal said the scientific collaboration between Indonesia and the US needed to be intensified as it would bring many benefits to the world.
He added the future of Indonesia was in the hands of those with scientific literacy.
Dr Jane Lubchenka, meanwhile said, the joint exploration carried out in the June-August 2010 period was conducted to explore an uncharted part of the Pacific Ocean with combined capacities of two countries.
Indonesia, US discuss results of joining oceanic expedition
Antara 7 Jan 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian and US officials met in Washington DC Thursday evening to discuss the results of the two countries' joint oceanic expedition conducted in Indonesian waters not long ago.
Speakers at the discussion included Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, Indonesian Maritime and Fishery Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad, Dr. Bruce Alberts, White House Science Envoy, and Dr. Jane Lubchenco, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, according to information from the Indonesian embassy in the US capital on Thursday.
The discussion was broadcast live on the Internet (https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/science) to enable the public to interact with the speakers and experts at the discussion.
The US-Indonesian oceanic expedition called INDEX-SATAL 2010 was conducted to explore the ocean, and helping advance knowledge, use and protection of the ocean and its resources.
The 2010 joint expedition was staged from two ships: the NOAA's Okeanos Explorer and the Indonesian research vessel Baruna Jaya IV.
From June to August 2010, an international team of scientists and technicians both on ships and on shore conducted exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep sea habitats and marine life in Indonesian waters.
They focused on the water column and benthic environments in unknown ocean areas in SATAL - a contraction of Sangihe and Talaud - two island chains stretching northeast of North Sulawesi.
During the expedition US and Indonesian scientists worked side-by-side on two ships, the Okeanos Explorer and the Baruna Jaya IV, and at Exploration Command Centers (ECCs) ashore.
The joint expedition discovered interesting things such as previously unknown submarine volcanoes, a large hydrothermal field with a thriving exotic animal ecosystem and areas rich in deep-sea ocean animals.
