Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said that six years of fieldwork, covering about 476,000 square kilometres and led by the WA Museum, had been captured on video beneath the Waves, showcasing the majesty of Western Australia’s Kimberley coastal and offshore waters and made available to the public.
“But rather than presenting these extraordinary images as a simple documentary, $100,000 in development funding from ScreenWest has enabled production company Periscope Pictures to create a dynamic platform which weaves in multiple layers of information and extra visuals,” Mr. Day commented “The interactive mix of stunning images and additional data that can be accessed with the click of a mouse or the touch of a finger is an incredible learning tool. This is about making important scientific research engaging and accessible for people of all ages, and aligns perfectly with Perth Big Data Week 2016 which is currently highlighting innovative data applications.”
Mr. Day explained that the project was funded by Woodside Energy Ltd, this long-standing partnership has seen the collection of more than 16,000 marine species to help further biodiversity understanding, and led to the discovery of 180 new species to date.

Beneath the Waves can be viewed on the Western Australian museum’s website