• SPSLCM Project Development
• Cook Islands Government: Contacts
• Participating Countries

SPSLCM Project Development

ESTABLISHMENT, Phase I: July 1991 to June 1995: 11 Seaframe (Sea Level Fine Resolution Acoustic Measuring Equipment) monitoring stations were established in the South Pacific at Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa. All are located on wharves. A system for transmitting the data via satellites and telephone links was set up, and computer databases were established at the then National Tidal Facility Australia (NTFA) at Flinders University in Adelaide, for processing, analysing, archiving and making the data available to the international community.

MONITORING, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND DEVELOPING THE RECORD, Phase II: July 1995 to December 2000: The NTFA provided tidal charts and sea level data to regional partners which were used in navigation, planning for coastal development and forecasting of weather hazards. Between eight and nine years of data at various sites had been collected by the end of Phase II.

PRECISION RECORDING AND CAPACITY BUILDING, Phase III: January 2001 to December 2005: Seaframe stations continued to record sea level and climate data. Feasibility and design studies into two more possible stations in Palau and Niue were undertaken but did not proceed. Regional technical involvement through SOPAC was introduced, and information products and scientific studies were expanded. A major new initiative in this phase was a Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) network linked to Seaframe sites and managed by Geoscience Australia. The network will monitor vertical movement of the gauges and help determine absolute sea level.

MONITORING, REPORTING AND REVIEW, Phase IV: January 2006 to December 2010: The 12 Seaframe stations will continue recording and the data will be processed by the National Tidal Centre (established within the Australian Bureau of Meteorology). CGPS stations will be installed in the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands This Phase is managed and operated by The Bureau of Meteorology in partnership with AusAID, SOPAC, Geosciences Australia and National Meteorological Services within the Pacific Island Countries (PIC). A review of project services having common purposes with other projects will be undertaken during Phase IV, with a view to sharing resources.

Cook Islands Government: Contacts

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE
Arona Ngari
Director
P.O Box 127
Nikao
Rarotonga
COOK ISLANDS
Ph: 25-920
Fax: 21-603
Email: angari@oyster.net.ck

MINISTRY OF WORKS
Timoti Tangiruaine
CGPS Site Manager
P.O Box 102
Arorangi
Rarotonga
COOK ISLANDS
Ph: 20-034
Fax: 21-134
Email: t.tangiruaine@mow.gov.ck

Participating Countries

The 14 participating Pacific Island countries in the project are Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa.

Key partner agencies within PICs includes:
* National Meteorological Services
* Lands and Survey Organisations
* Environmental Planning and Management Agencies
* Ports and Harbour Authorities
* Fisheries and Agricultural Departments
* Educational Institutions.