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39th Session of the Governing Council of SOPAC and the 39th Session of its Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
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The Thirty-ninth Annual Session of the
Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission
(SOPAC ) was held in Nadi, Fiji Islands, from
19th October to 22nd October 2010. It’s Council
Sessions including the joint session with
its Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and the
preceding two-day scientific meeting of its Science
Technology and Resource Network (STAR) were
all held at the Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi.
The STAR Meeting was its 27th with the theme
“Pacific Geoscience – Towards 2020 in the Face
of Dwindling Global Natural Resources”.
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General (G)
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Meeting
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2010
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Pacific Island Climate Update
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The Pacific Island Climate Update (ICU) project is implemented by SOPAC in collaboration with SPREP and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and supported by NZAID. The main output of the ICU process is the publication of a monthly seasonal climate bulletin for the Pacific region with the primary goal of assisting Pacific island countries make informed planning and management decisions across a range of sectors through the provision of timely and accurate seasonal climate forecasts. The ICU bulletin is published by NIWA, previously both in print and online, and distributed to end users across the Pacific region. Since 2009, the print version has ceased in order to devote more resources to develop an improved online presence and accessibility.
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Uncategorised (UC)
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Bulletin/Newsletter
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2010
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Regional Minerals Exploration Program
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Seek to integrate all existing information on geology and known mineral occurrences and establish a
minerals database. Offer advice to member countries and with the assistance of agencies such as
UNCTAD organise training courses on policy issues including negotiations with the private sector.
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Minerals (M)
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Programme
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1996
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Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) El Niño/ENSO Phenomenon Study R/V Alis
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Study the regional impacts at different time scales of El Niño/ENSO phenomenon. Different kinds of data are so used such as direct hydrological observations from in situ scientific equipment, sea surface temperature, salinity, oxygen, nutrients, and direct measurements both from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler measurements and a L-ADCP coupled with a Sea-Bird
CTD-Carousel Water Sampler lowered from the ship. Drilled massive corals samples used as proxies (through the chemical contents of their skeleton covering several centuries with a monthly or a weekly time scale).
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Cruises (C)
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Proposal
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2000
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Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) - Japan (Middle Management)
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Coordination and participation in the PIF annual
middle management programme.
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Energy (E)
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Programme
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2009
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SOPAC Bibliography and PIMRIS
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The Librarian will maintain the SOPAC bibliographic database and issue separate
member country compilations as required, and continue to assist the region with marine resources information through PIMRIS.
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Uncategorised (UC)
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Activity/Task
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1995
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Submerged Phosphate Deposit at Mataiva Lagoon
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An atoll lagoon of economic importance have been discovered at Mataiva Atoll beneath an average of 3m of water and 7m overburden. Economic evaluation of submarine phosphate deposit is underway. The deposit was discovered by drilling from a raft thus proving the theory that phosphate deposits do occur in lagoons and in some cases the combined thickness of water depth and overburden encourages mining.
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Coastal Processes (CP)
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Activity/Task
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1981
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Study Volcanism and Hydrothermal Deposits near Tahiti
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TAG was informed of the IFREMER programme proposed cruise is planned for December 1988 to January 1989 on submersible Cyana with mothership R/V Le Suroit by IGP (France) to study French Polynesia's submersible dives on active volcanoes and hydrothermal deposits near Tahiti (TEAHITIA) and in 1989, submersible dives to study cobalt-rich crusts in French Polynesia (NODCO 3).
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Cruises (C)
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Proposal
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1987
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A seabeam transit through Cook Island waters and a seabeam and precious coral survey in the Line Islands, Kiribati on RV Thomas Washington during Scripps roundabout programme leg 16, 4-20 March 1989: Pago Pago to Honolulu
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The Scripps research vessel Thomas Washington was scheduled to transit from PagoPago to Honolulu in early
1989, passing through the northern Line Islands. SOP AC requested the use of the vessel for a short mapping and tangle net survey near Tabuaeran Island in the Northern Line Islands of Kiribati to continue the search for Corallium, found there on an earlier cruise. During the passage, the ship made an oceanographic transect north of Tahiti which required a long detour eastward from PagoPago, much of it through Cook Island waters. The course then followed the length of the Line Islands to Tabuaeran. The Seabeam multi-beam echo sounding system on the ship was operated through the Cook Island and Kiribati exclusive economic zones (EEZ) to obtain data for mapping and resource evaluation.
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Cruises (C)
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Report
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1989
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IFREMER's Planed New Projects in the Southwest Pacific
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New projects proposed by IFREMER for future cooperation with member countries are 1) set up of a new station in Noumea for satellite remote sensing work and the SPOT satellite will be be launched in 1986. 2) the assessment of nearshore minerals will benefit from using new technology such as, different magnetism associated with high seismic resolution and seafloor mapping with side scan sonar 3) may introduce and developed new technologies for site surveys of atoll slopes by the French OTEC project in Tahiti 4) studies of new energy project such as OTEC and wave energy can be initiated. Some of the work for the new proposed projects would be linked to a Jean Charcot cruise planned for the South-west Pacific in late 1985.
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Uncategorised (UC)
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Proposal
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1984
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Compendium